in the early stages of the war of independence, the israeli army had no artillery other than a primitive, homemade mortar that was not accurate but that made a thunderous explosion. the noise from this weapon – called the davidka ("little david") after its inventor, engineer david leibovitch – often sent the enemy fleeing in panic. mistaking the davidka's explosion for an atomic bomb, the arabs abandoned the northern town of safed. the mortar was also used by the harel brigade in its defense of jerusalem. the israeli army used the davidka exclusively until july 1948, when it was able to acquire conventional artillery such as mountain howitzers, cannons and field guns.