Shlomo Erell

Shlomo Erell (Hebrew: שלמה אראל; 20 November 1920 – 20 November 2018) was an Israeli military officer who was a Major General in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the seventh Commander of the Israeli Navy.

Among the first recruits of the nascent Israeli Navy, Erell commanded the Palmach patrol boat during the 1948 Palestine war, leading an attack on the German aviso Grille near Lebanon. After the war, he rose up the ranks of the IDF, taking several command roles in the Navy and serving as Israel's military attaché to several European countries. He played a key role in the development of Israel's missile boats, convincing German shipbuilders to send modified Jaguar-class fast attack craft to Israel which were later converted to missile boats.

He was appointed Commander of the Israeli Navy in 1966. During his term, he oversaw the Navy's activities in the Six-Day War and the opening of the War of Attrition. Three major naval disasters occurred under his tenure, namely the sinking of the INS Eilat by Egypt, the USS Liberty incident, and the disappearance of the INS Dakar. He retired from the IDF in 1968, joining the Likud party and serving as an advisor for Israeli officials on naval affairs.