Reports from Moscow today quoted Soviet sources as identifying the guided missiles which sank the Elath as the Soviet Styx type. The Soviet sources said they were fired from 160-ton Osa-class missile attack boats which the Soviet Union recently supplied to Egypt. The craft were used for the first time in combat.
The Styx is described as a rocket-powered projectile which, like a small airplane, can change course to insure a direct hit. The three missiles that struck the Elath hit her in the boiler room, the engine room and at the stern, presumably where the vessel’s steering gear is located. A fourth missile reportedly exploded in the water. Each of the Osa-class boats carries four missile firing tubes.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
