Palyam

The division was in charge of amphibious warfare, beach reconnaissance, close-quarters combat, maritime security, naval boarding, providing security at naval base or shore stations, raiding with small unit tactics, screening, and underwater demolition.

The majority of their activities were related to the escorting of ships of Aliyah Bet, immigration ships (66 of them in all) bringing Jewish refugees from Europe by boat, despite the British White Paper of 1939 limiting Jewish immigration into Mandate Palestine.

From August 1945 to May 1948, approximately seventy Palyamniks escorted close to 70,000 immigrants in 66 sea voyages, from Sweden in the north to Algeria in the south, France in the west to Romania in the east.

On March 17, 1948, the Naval Service (the precursor of the Israeli Sea Corps) was formed, and the Palyam were ordered to join.

Palyam members who specialized in maritime sabotage formed Shayetet 13, the IDF Naval Commando unit.