SAVIOURS IN THE SKY - AIRMEN IV

 

The long arm of the US State Department, as well as the British Foreign Office had finally reached Czechoslovakia. For three months, the pilots from the base in Czechoslovakia had flown ninety-five round trips to Israel, delivering 300 tons of desperately needed weapons and ammunition. They had hauled 25 Messerschmitts, together with the fighters’ spare parts, armament, mechanics, and most of the pilots. Now it was all over. They were given only one day to get out of the country.

Since the end of May, 1948, the Negev had been occupied by the Egyptian army. Behind the Egyptian line was a complex of Israeli settlements and a badly depleted brigade of the IDF. Every attempt to resupply and relieve the cut-off units by truck conveys had failed. When the truce was over, the battle-fatigued fighters in the Negev would be crushed. The only solution was if the isolated Negev settlements could be resupplied by air.

Working day and night an improvised runway was carved out, in the inhospitable terrain of the Negev, in the space of only five days. Flying by night, to avoid Egyptian fighters, the cargo planes made three to four trips in one night. The overworked planes had constant maintenance problems, made worse by the constant dust and high frequency of takeoffs and landings. Without an inventory of spare parts, resourceful mechanics had to improvise. The flight crews knew they were flying airplanes that wouldn’t meet the standards of any airline.

After a second airstrip was carved out, the crews made 417 round trips to the Negev, carrying 5,000 tons of material, and over 5,000 passengers, most of them troops being rotated into and out of the desert.

Ben-Gurion and his commanders were determined that, when the war resumed, the Israeli brigades in the Negev would strike from inside the ring of Egyptian forces - depending on heavy support from the air. Both the Arab and Israeli sides understood that what happened in the Negev desert would determine the outcome of the war.

During the cease-fire, the Egyptians had solidified their hold on the Negev. They had sealed off the Negev from the rest of Israel, isolating Israeli settlements behind the Egyptian line. In addition a massive, almost impregnable, former British police fort near Gaza, controlled both main roads in the desert. Called Iraq Suwedan, it was nicknamed “the Monster on the Hill.”

After provoking the Egyptians to violate the truce, three Israeli infantry brigades stormed into the Negev. Supporting them was a newly-formed armoured regiment, which included two Cromwell tanks stolen from the British Army, and a mobile artillery corps. Even the nascent Israeli Navy joined the battle, shelling Egyptian shore positions in Gaza. Now it was up to the air force to seize control of the sky.

And that meant fighters!