Seeing the preparations by Egypt and Syria for war in 1973; specifically the supply of over 600 advanced surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), 300 MiG-21 fighters, 1,200 T-72 tanks and hundreds of thousands of tons of war material supplied by the Soviet Union prior to the Yom Kippur. The US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger urged Israeli Prime Minister to NOT mobilize Israeli forces nor take ANY "preemptive Strike", to "not antagonise the Arabs" so that "war will NOT breakout".
Once the full truth of the American "miscalculation" and the full "brunt" of the massive Egyptian and Syrian successes and the tragically high loss human lives, tanks, and aircraft was felt by Israel. Golda ordered the readying of IAF A-4s and Jericho rockets with nuclear warheads. The outfitting was purposely made visible to US Spy satalites.
The NSA informed United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who then urged then President Richard M. Nixon to initiate an aerial resupply operation to Israel, codenamed Nickel Grass, beginning on October 14th through November 14th, 1973.
Kissinger swiftly made arrangements for the Israeli national airline, El Al to pick up some items, including ammunition, "high technology products" and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles at a U.S. naval base in Virginia.
The Military Airlift Command of the United States Air Force shipped approximately 22,325 tons of supplies, including tanks, artillery, and ammunition, in multiple flights of C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxys.
During the beginnings of the resupply operation El Al's limited supply of ill-configured passenger aircraft were insufficient. Still wanting to avoid direct U.S. involvement, starting 10 October, the use of commercial carriers was explored to provide 10–20 flights a day.
None of these were willing to accept the job for fear of being refused entry to Arab nations after the war. Only Portugal seemed willing to help though, so aircraft were dispatched to Lajes Field in the Azores Islands and Lajes became a key staging point for the rest of the airlift.
To comply with the demands of the cowardly European nations, even supplies already stored on US Bases in Europe were routed through Lajes. Soon over thirty aircraft per day were moving through Lajes.
So on 12 October, Nixon decided that no more delays could be allowed, and ordered the USAF to "send everything that can fly." Within nine hours, C-141s and C-5s were en route to Israel.
In the opening days of the war, Arab forces destroyed significant numbers of IAF aircraft, surprising the Israelis with aggressive use of the new Soviet SA-6 Gainful SAMs. Consequently, at least 36 F-4 Phantom II fighters were sent to Israel under Nickel Grass.
The cowardly European nations continued to hamper the efforts of the USAF as traditional European allies refused to allow re-supply aircraft to land for refueling or even overfly their territory. Because of this cowardice Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) were the first to arrive at Lajes Air Base.
The KC-135 Stratotankers had left Pease AFB, New Hampshire, the night of Saturday, 13 October (one of the bases El Al was using to re-supply the war effort); the tankers were ferrying factory-fresh Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and F-4 Phantom II aircraft flying non-stop from the factory in St. Louis, Missouri to Ben Gurion Airport where American pilots were swapped for their Israeli counterparts.
After the replacement of USAF insignia with IAF insignia if needed, the planes were refueled and ordered to the front, often taking to the air within hours of having arrived.
Some aircraft came directly from European bases and operated in USAF camouflage, but with Israeli insignia, thus earning the Israeli nickname "Frog".
Thirty-six A-4 Skyhawks from U.S. stocks, staging from Lajes were refueled by SAC KC-135A tankers from Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire and U.S. Navy tankers from the USS John F. Kennedy west of the Straits of Gibraltar.
They then flew on to the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt southeast of Sicily where they stayed overnight, then continued on to Israel refueling once more from tankers launched from the USS Independence south of Crete.
Additionally, twelve C-130E Hercules transports were also transferred to Israel, the first of the type to be delivered to the IAF.
Operation Nickel Grass had immediate and far-reaching effects. Arab members of OPEC had declared they would limit or stop oil shipments to the U.S. and other countries if they supported Israel in the conflict. Holding to their threats, the Arab states declared a complete oil embargo on the U.S.. Oil prices skyrocketed, fuel became scarce and the U.S. was soon embroiled in the 1973 oil crisis.
Nickel Grass also revealed a severe deficiency in American airlift capabilities: the need for staging bases overseas. Without Portugal's assistance, the airlift might not even have been possible. As a result, the U.S. greatly expanded its aerial refueling capabilities and made long-distance flight operations the standard rather than the exception.
A GAO study of the operation discussed the shortcomings of the C-141A. As a result, the C-141B was conceived. The A models were sent back to Georgia where they were cut fore and aft of the wing, extended in length by three pallet positions, and refitted for in-flight refueling.
Nickel Grass vindicated the USAF decision to purchase the C-5 Galaxy. Since its introduction in 1970, the C-5 had been plagued by problems. The USAF claimed to have rectified the problems, but the C-5 was still viewed by the press as an expensive failure. During Nickel Grass, C-5s carried 48% of the total cargo in only 145 of the 567 total missions. The C-5 also carried "outsize" cargo such as M60 Patton tanks, M109 howitzers, ground radar systems, mobile tractor units, CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters and A-4 Skyhawk components, cargo that could not fit in smaller aircraft. This performance justified the C-5's existence
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