SAVIOURS IN THE SKY - AIRMEN III
After Modi Alon’s downing of the two Dakota bombers, the Egyptians had given up attacking Tel-Aviv from the air. Now they were coming from the sea. After one of the new volunteer airmen had crashed the last Messerschmitt fighter, the tiny Israeli Navy had nothing that could engage the Egyptian ships. With no choice, an urgent call went out to the domestic airfield at Sdeh Dov. The Sdeh Dov airbase consisted of only a handful of utility planes, fewer than two dozen airmen and only one military trained pilot. A little band of three amateur “bombers” were sent to engage with the Egyptian navy. The desperate airmen had to toss bombs from the cockpits of wooden airplanes by hand. It was broad daylight in a clear blue sky. The Egyptian warships were armed with antiaircraft guns. Each plane made multiple round trips, re-arming at Sdeh Dov and returning to harrass the Egyptian ships. When Israeli Intelligence received reports that the top officials of the Arab League were meeting i...