11 November 1969 an F-4E first shot down a MiG-21. Shortly after on 9 December 1969, the first Israeli F-4 was downed by an Egyptian pilot, 1st Lts Ahmad Atef, flying a Mig-21 F-13. Egyptian fighters had a hard time dealing with the F-4s, and their SA-2 Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) were not effective at low altitudes. To address the problem, SA-3s were shipped to Egypt, along with up to 5,000 Soviet advisers. In a fierce aerial battle on 30 July 1970, four Phantoms baited the Egyptian MiGs which this time were Soviet-manned. Up to five MiGs were shot down when eight Israeli Mirages, flying at low level, jumped them, achieving complete surprise. Late June and early July 1970 was a difficult time for the new F-4s, with two shot down by SAMs on 30 June, another on 5 July and two on 18 July. A total of 24 Phantoms were delivered under Peace Echo II and III. Operation Night Light involved the loan of two RF-4Cs to the IDF while they were waiting for their order for six RF-4Es to be delivered. Operation Peace Patch involved another batch of 12 Phantoms, delivered in 1971. Israeli F-4Es scored 116.5 aerial victories against Arab aircraft, including two Su-7s shot down on 9 September 1972 and a Libyan Boeing 727 in January 1973. Peace Echo IV brought another 52 F-4s to the IDF, 24 of which were ex-USAF. These were delivered between April 1972 and October 1973, when the Yom Kippur War broke out. At that time there were 122 F-4E and 6 RF-4Es in service with the IDF. Israeli Phantoms scored 11 air victories during this period although several were lost, mainly to SAMs, but above all they inflicted heavy damage on Egyptian land forces during the War of Attrition. Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War started with Egyptian and Syrian air strikes on Israel. During this opening phase a pair of Phantoms managed to shoot down seven Egyptian aircraft, and others shot down five Mil Mi-8s carrying assault troops over the Sinai desert. On the second day of the war, the IDF launched attacks with F-4s and A-4 Skyhawks but the enemy air defence and MiGs shot down six Phantoms and 30 A-4s. The new SA-6 Gainful surface-to-air missile (SAM) system and the radar-guided ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) were much more effective than the old SA-2 Guideline. The