SAVIOURS IN THE SKY - RESOURCES II

 

Emmanuel Tsur was an Israeli agent and pilot. Armed with a stack of passports in various names, and a portfolio of false companies, he made acquisitions for the IDF.

In July 1948 he was in England, looking for fighter airplanes that could come in fast and low, and make precise drops. He was examining two war-surplus Mosquito bombers. They were ideal for Israel’s needs – fast, multi-role fighter bombers – and in good condition. Tsur’s problem was now how to get them to Israel.

John Harvey, going by the alias “Terence Farnfield” was an ex-RAF flier and he worked for Tsur. Flying one of the Mosquito’s, after filing a flight plan to Exeter, he turned south and headed toward France. He barely made it to Haifa. A few day’s later, a hired pilot was taking off in the second Mosquito when he was slammed back into the airfield. He survived the crash, but the plane was destroyed. It didn’t burn because the fuel tanks were empty, even though he had supervised the fuelling the night before. It was obviously a case of sabotage, but by whom?  Another thing to worry about.

Still hunting warplanes, Tsur discovered six surplus Beaufighter warplanes stashed in an airfield near Manchester. Not only were they in poor shape, but they had been stripped of their armaments. As bad as they were, there was no other option. They had to be bought and fixed. Tsur was facing the same problem in Britain that Al Schwimmer had to contend with in the US. Smuggling was a dangerous game - and Britain was a much smaller country, in which to cover up their activities.

Harvey aka Farnfield, chartered a Halifax bomber, declaring that he was flying cargo inside Europe. Stashed in the back were the spare parts and armament for the Beaufighters: cannons, machine guns, four spare engines - in addition to the hardware needed to convert it back to its original purpose.

Almost out of fuel and with no response from the ground, he had to prematurely land the Halifax on the too short runway in Sdeh Dov, rolling off its end. The Halifax was wrecked, most of the parts, munition, engines, scattered around. They would eventually find their way into other IAF warplanes.

British agents had already been informed that the vanished Halifax had ended up on a beach in Israel. Scotland Yard and the Ministry of Civil Aviation were hot on their heels. The other Beaufighters were almost ready to go, but how was Harvey going to get them out of Britain?

Then Tsur  hit on a crazy idea. They would make a movie! Founding another bogus company called the “Airpilot Film Company” he was going to produce a film about a wartime New Zealand Beaufighter squadron. Harvey and a crew of hired pilots were in the cast. It would be as authentic as possible, with the Beaufighters on a dangerous mission against the Japanese. There was the obligatory love story - in which the leading actress bid a tearful farewell to the dashing hero on his way to the waiting Beaufighter. The large and curious audience even included the inspectors of the Ministry of Civil Aviation!

The thrum of the engines was still in their ears as the mesmerized spectators watched the warplanes join in formation. As the shapes of the fighters grew smaller they gradually disappeared, leaving a puzzled audience. They were supposed to return. The rumour that the rest of the film was to be shot in Scotland, as the landscape was reminiscent of New Zealand, sounded reasonable.

Not until later would it occur to any of them - including the Civil Aviation’s watchdogs - that the last glimpse they had of the Beaufighters, they were flying south! Like the Mosquito and the Halifax, they had been smuggled to Israel. In violation of the embargo. And by the same smuggler.

The warplanes landed safely in Israel in broad daylight. Not long afterwards, they were fitted with the guns and bomb racks Harvey had brought in the Halifax.