# Davidka

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidka
> Source revision: 1357106707
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{{distinguish|text=[Little David](/source/Little_David), an American large caliber mortar}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Davidka
| image              = MY-Davidka-1.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = Davidka mortar, [Givati](/source/Givati) Museum, Israel
| origin             = Israel
| type               = [Mortar](/source/Mortar_(weapon))
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes
| is_explosive       = yes
| is_artillery       = yes
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1948
| used_by            = [Palmach](/source/Palmach)
| wars               = [1948 Arab–Israeli War](/source/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War)
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = David Leibowitch
| design_date        = 1947–48
| manufacturer       =
| unit_cost          =
| production_date    = 1948
| number             = Six
| variants           =
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         =
| weight             =
| length             =
| part_length        =
| width              =
| height             =
| diameter           =
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = Explosive grenade
| cartridge_weight   = {{convert|40|kg|lb|sigfig=3}}
| caliber            = {{convert|3|in|cm|sigfig=3}}
| rate               =
| velocity           =
| range              =
| max_range          =
| feed               =
| sights             =
<!-- Artillery specifications -->
| breech             =
| recoil             =
| carriage           =
| elevation          =
| traverse           =
<!-- Explosive specifications -->
| filling            = [TNT](/source/Trinitrotoluene)
| filling_weight     = {{convert|60|lb|kg|sigfig=3}}
| detonation         =
}}

The '''Davidka''' ({{langx|yi|דוידקה}}) was a homemade Israeli [mortar](/source/mortar_(weapon)) used in [Safed](/source/Safed) and [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem) during [1947–1949 Palestine war](/source/1947%E2%80%931949_Palestine_war). Its bombs were reported to be extremely loud, but very inaccurate and otherwise of little value beyond terrifying opponents; they proved particularly useful in scaring away both Arab soldiers and civilians. It is nominally classified as a 3-inch (76.2&nbsp;mm) mortar, although the bomb was considerably larger.<ref>
{{cite book
| author = Bernard Joseph
| authorlink = Dov Yosef
| date = 1960
| title = The Faithful City: The Siege of Jerusalem, 1948
| publisher = [Simon & Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster)
| location = New York
| page = 73
| oclc = 266413
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xkcxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73
| quote = It fired a bomb of nails and metal scrap which exploded with some force and - what was more important - with tremendous noise and fury.
| lccn = 60010976
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
| author = Collins, Larry
| authorlink = Larry Collins (writer)
| author2 = Lapierre, Dominique
| authorlink2 = Dominique Lapierre
| date = 1972
| title = [O Jerusalem!](/source/O_Jerusalem!)
| publisher = [Weidenfeld & Nicolson](/source/Weidenfeld_%26_Nicolson)
| location = London
| page = 152
| isbn = 978-0-297-99459-6
| quote = They fired a shell made out of water pipes and packed with explosives, nails and bits of scrap metal.
| lccn = 73160924
}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The '''Davidka''' (the word may be interpreted either ''"Little David"'' or ''"Made by David"'' in Russian) was named for its inventor, {{ill|David Leibowitch|he}}, although the name also [metaphorically](/source/metaphorically) evoked the biblical battle of [David](/source/David) and [Goliath](/source/Goliath) (I Samuel chap. 17): In 1948, the defense forces of the state of Israel felt themselves fighting against the "giant" British-trained and British-led <ref>Dupuy, Trevor N, Elusive Victory, The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1947–1974, Hero (1984)</ref> professional [Arab Legion](/source/Arab_Legion), amongst many others,<ref>The poorly trained and equipped Israelis were fighting against the armies of 7 Arab nations{{snd}} Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan, and Yemen{{snd}} as well as thousands of irregulars organized as other "armies."</ref> and so they felt the metaphor appropriate.<!-- in this section, highly emotive terms are used to exclusively convey an Israeli interpretation/point of view: BECAUSE the point of view of the people who named the device is the only one that counts when explaining WHY they named it what they did! -->

==History==
The mortar was designed at the [Mikveh Israel](/source/Mikveh_Israel) agricultural school in [Holon](/source/Holon) in the winter of 1947–1948. It was first used in combat on March 13, 1948, in the attack on the [Abu Kabir](/source/Abu_Kabir) neighborhood of [Jaffa](/source/Jaffa). The greatest victory attributed to the Davidka was the liberation of the [Citadel](/source/Citadel_of_Safed), a strongpoint in the center of [Safed](/source/Safed), on the night of May 9–10, 1948.<ref name=":0">[http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/mideast/011500/011500kevsafed.html "Safed: A Battle of Living History"] mentions the use of the Davidka in the attack of [Safed](/source/Safed)
</ref><ref name="atom1">
{{cite book
| author = Bernard Joseph
| authorlink = Dov Yosef
| date = 1960
| title = The Faithful City: The Siege of Jerusalem, 1948
| publisher = [Simon & Schuster](/source/Simon_%26_Schuster)
| location = New York
| page = 73
| oclc = 266413
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xkcxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73
| quote = Its effect on the Arabs was sometimes considerable, notably at Safad, where they mistook it for an atomic weapon when they abandoned the city.
| lccn = 60010976
}}</ref><ref name="atom2">
{{cite book
| author = Collins, Larry
| authorlink = Larry Collins (writer)
| author2 = Lapierre, Dominique
| authorlink2 = Dominique Lapierre
| date = 1972
| title = [O Jerusalem!](/source/O_Jerusalem!)
| publisher = [Weidenfeld & Nicolson](/source/Weidenfeld_%26_Nicolson)
| location = London
| page = 379
| isbn = 978-0-297-99459-6
| quote = The stunned Iraqis in the Allenby Barracks (Jerusalem) shouted over the telephone that the Jews had a weapon like the atomic bomb and begged for help. [As reported to be overheard by a telephone switchboard operator]
| lccn = 73160924
}}</ref>

Six Davidkas were manufactured in all, and two were given to each of the [Palmach](/source/Palmach)'s three [brigade](/source/brigade)s (''Harel'', ''Yiftach'', and ''HaNegev''). One was used by the [''Yiftach''](/source/Yiftach_Brigade) Brigade in the battle for Safed, and now stands in a square in Safed. Another stands in [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem)'s [Davidka Square](/source/Davidka_Square), memorializing the [''Harel''](/source/Harel_Brigade) Brigade's participation in the battle for Jerusalem.<ref>
{{cite news
| last = Zandberg
| first = Esther
| authorlink =
| date = 6 January 2009
| title = The Mexican's magic hat
| newspaper = [Haaretz](/source/Haaretz)
| url = https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052976.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121103203816/http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/the-mexican-s-magic-hat-1.267504
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = November 3, 2012
}}</ref> The [Hebrew](/source/Hebrew) inscription on the monument ("וגנותי על-העיר הזאת, להושיעה") is from 2 Kings 19:34, meaning "For I will defend this city, to save it" (where God miraculously saves Jerusalem in honor of [King David](/source/David), the namesake of the weapon).

==Characteristics==
The secret of the Davidka was its 40&nbsp;kg (88&nbsp;lb) [bomb](/source/shell_(projectile)), which was much larger than the mortar from which it was fired.

In conventional mortars, the bomb is inserted into the tube and the entire [projectile](/source/projectile) travels through the tube to gain initial guidance at launch time. The Davidka's tail tube is the only part of the shell which fit inside the launch tube. This contributed to the weapon's notorious inaccuracy, as the shell lacked adequate guidance during the launch phase to acquire [aerodynamic](/source/aerodynamics) [stability](/source/directional_stability) in the intended direction.<ref>Collins & Lapierre, p. 443: During the 19 May [Palmach](/source/Palmach) attempt to relieve the [Jewish Quarter](/source/Jewish_Quarter_(Jerusalem)) one round  fell short and 'deprive[d] the attacking force of two of its members.'</ref>
It is not a [spigot mortar](/source/Mortar_(weapon)), either; in a spigot mortar the "barrel" is a guiding rod inserted '''inside''' the shell's propellant chamber.  The Davidka's propellant chamber fires inside the mortar tube (barrel) as does a conventional mortar, but the 3 inch (76.2&nbsp;mm) [caliber](/source/caliber) of the [barrel](/source/gun_barrel) is much smaller than the caliber of the [warhead](/source/warhead) of the bomb. It is therefore an oversized conventional mortar, where most of the bomb, and especially its [center of gravity](/source/center_of_gravity), remain outside the barrel&mdash;an aerodynamically unstable design, which only worked at all because the [center of pressure](/source/Center_of_pressure_(fluid_mechanics)) was still within the barrel.  The head of the bomb was essentially a large can filled with nails, rocks, or any other material which could be used for shrapnel.  This meant that the blast effects of the weapon were completely random and of dubious efficacy as an [anti-personnel weapon](/source/anti-personnel_weapon). It was of no practical value for [siege combat](/source/siege_engine) or other light artillery purposes,{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}} but it made a loud bang.

Small pieces of metal and tubes were welded onto the outside of the casing, reducing the weapon's accuracy even further than its already non-aerodynamic design, but contributing greatly to the whistles and shrieks which it made when in flight. The noise was its most important effect, so that anyone attacked by a Davidka mortar would hear the shell seeming to fall very near to them before bursting very loudly, increasing the fear factor. The Arabs abandoned many strongholds during the war as a direct result of this visceral fear: one story relates that, having been told that many of the proponents and designers of America's atomic bomb were Jewish (e.g., [Einstein](/source/Albert_Einstein) and [Oppenheimer](/source/Robert_Oppenheimer)<!-- please see Talk before changing -->), the Arabs thought that they were being attacked with [atomic weapons](/source/nuclear_weapons) and subsequently abandoned their homes. This was especially true in the [liberation of Safed](/source/Operation_Yiftach).<ref name=":0" /><ref name="atom1" /><ref name="atom2" /><ref>{{cite web
| title = History of Zefat
| url = http://www.zefatpalace.com/
| archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928104618/http://www.zefatpalace.com/
| archivedate = 2007-09-28
| accessdate  = 2010-07-20
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| author = Binny, Rav
| title = Portion of Tazria-Metzora
| url = http://www.isralight.org/assets/Text/RBF_tazriametzora07.html
| accessdate = 2010-07-20
| quote = It seems that the greatest fear of the Arabs was the fact that most of the people behind the development of America's atomic bomb were Jewish (most notably Einstein and Oppenheimer), and the Arabs had heard a little bit about acid rain. So they assumed the Jews had just set off an atomic bomb, and the rest is history!
}}</ref>

The Davidka was used in the battles for [Haifa](/source/Capture_of_Haifa_in_1948), [Ein Zeitun](/source/Ein_al_Zeitun_massacre), [Safed](/source/Safed) and Biddu. According to Palestinian historian [Walid Khalidi](/source/Walid_Khalidi), the Davidka carried a bomb that weighed {{cvt|60|lb|kg}} and caused fear and panic when used in built-up areas.<ref name=Khalidi>
{{cite journal
| author = Khalidi, Walid
| authorlink = Walid Khalidi
| date = 1988
| title = Plan Dalet: Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine
| journal = [Journal of Palestine Studies](/source/Journal_of_Palestine_Studies)
| publisher = [University of California Press](/source/University_of_California_Press) on behalf of the [Institute for Palestine Studies](/source/Institute_for_Palestine_Studies)
| volume = 18
| issue = 1
| pages = 4–33
| issn = 0377-919X
| url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/19199199/Plan-Dalet-Master-Plan-for-the-Conquest-of-Palestine-by-Walid-Khalidi
| format = JPG
| doi = 10.1525/jps.1988.18.1.00p00037
| url-access = subscription
}}</ref>

==Syrian rebels' copy ==
In a May 2013 [Al Jazeera](/source/Al_Jazeera_Media_Network) video, the first still photo on the title page shows a concept copy of the DAVIDKA made by the Syrian rebels, but with larger wings and an [LP](/source/Liquid_propane) tank added to enhance the effect of the high explosive payload.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2013/05/201355155749551891.html |title=Syrian Army Changes Tactics|work=[Al Jazeera English](/source/Al_Jazeera_English)|date= May 2013}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Davidkabirya.jpg|Davidka at Birya Fortress
File:Davidka-batey-haosef-1.jpg|[Batei HaOsef Museum](/source/Israel_Defense_Forces_History_Museum) exhibit of a Davidka mortar with a cutaway [shell](/source/shell_(projectile)) to the left of the mannequin
File:Davidka Mortar Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel.jpg|Davidka memorial in [Davidka Square](/source/Davidka_Square), [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem)
</gallery>

==See also==
* [Improvised artillery in the Syrian civil war](/source/Improvised_artillery_in_the_Syrian_civil_war)
* [Barrack buster](/source/Barrack_buster) - improvised mortar created by the [Provisional Irish Republican Army](/source/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}

Category:Infantry mortars
Category:Mortars of Israel
Category:20th century in Jerusalem
Category:76 mm artillery

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Davidka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidka) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidka?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.