The Israel back-to-the-wall arguement doesn't really hold water. By the time they attacked the Liberty the Israelis had broken the back of the Egyptian Army in the Siani
Every Egyptian that wasn't already a prisoner was running for the canal and, in most cases, not making it.
The Egyptian (and Jordanian, and Syrian) air force was destroyed on the first day
When the Liberty was attacked the Israelis had in effect already removed the threat to their national existance
They just goofed the execution of the attack on the Liberty. The planes did well enough. The torpedo boats were supposed to finish her off.
Most Liberty survivors accounts talk about 5 torpedos and one hit. There were probably six torpedos launched (two from each boat) with one malfunction on launch (it happens)four clean misses and one hit.
The Israeli boats were originally designed to carry four torpedos apiece but probably downloaded two to compensate for the top weight of the extra 20mm and 40mm cannons plus ammunition.
Why didn't they do a better job of finishing the Liberty off?
Embarrassingly for the Israelis, they were probably just out of ship killing munitions
Oops
But they tried to make up for it by strafing the decks and the first aid and firefighting parties, at close range, making slow runs to insure their gunners had as stable a platform as possible.
Such heros
God bless CAPT Mcgonagle and the crew of the Liberty. DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP wasn't just a motto to them - they lived it.
It has always bothered me that we have never held Israel to account for this.
She was a tough ship, and I guess the Israelis really were scratching their heads as to why she just would not go down. McGonagle and her crew were real heroes that day.