The Nazi Hunters

In the airport terminal, Yosef Klein and the navigator step out. This is a highly unusual occurrence, and they fear again that they have been found out. However, it is revealed that the flight plan is only missing two items: an alternate route, and a signature. At 12:05 AM, the plane lifts off, to excitement and relief. Only then does Harel allow the El Al security chief, Adi Peleg, to inform the crew that they are holding Adolf Eichmann.

The flight crew, however, has more than its work cut out for them. Navigation—particularly night navigation—is still a difficult enterprise, made more difficult by the extreme distance of this flight. Every forty minutes, the navigators calculate the positions of the stars in the sky, checking and rechecking the calculations every five minutes. Although the pilots and navigators are all highly skilled—Zvi Tohar and Shimon Blanc were involved in the development of the Britannia aircraft in which they now flew—any mistakes could be costly, even deadly. Fuel, airspeed, altitude, and weight must be exactly determined and precisely calculated; running out of fuel over the Atlantic simply can’t occur.

Back at Safehouse Tira, a number of the agents—Rafi Eitan,