Grandma's army

  The Royal Egyptian Air Force was the main adversary of the Israel Air Force in the War of Independence.  In 1945, the British had supplied 21 Spitfires to the Egyptian Air Force, and an additional 41 Spitfires during 1946 and 1947.   The Egyptian Spitfires had more success against the Israelis on the ground than in the air.  Until the Israel Air Force could fight them in the air with more planes, the Egyptian Spitfires indiscriminately shelled and bombarded Israeli civilian and military targets.  By mid-December 1948, 15 additional Spitfires were ready for delivery to Israel.   On the 18th six Spitfires, led by Sam Pomerance, left for Yugoslavia. Due to a very severe snow storm, the aircraft were forced to turn back.  Two Spitfires were lost as a result of the storm. Sam Pomerance, who had orchestrated the Operation, was killed when he crashed into a mountain during the storm. The second pilot, Bill Pomerantz, survived his crash – landing ...

  By the time another cease-fire took effect on the 31 st October 1948, the roles of the warring sides had been reversed. With invaluable assistance from the three bombers in Israel’s arsenal, Israel forces now occupied the upper Galilee all the way to the Lebanese border. They had extended Israel’s northern borders into Arab-designated land. With the truce barely in place, Ben-Gurion suddenly received a shocking notice! The UN Security Council informed him that Israel must withdraw to its previous positions held on October 14 th! This meant that Israel would have to hand back the Galilee, and withdraw from Beersheba. The Egyptian army would be allowed to return to Ishdud, able to attack Tel-Aviv. Israel would surrender the supply route to the Negev, which had cost them so many lives. It was obvious that the demand originated from the British Foreign Secretary, the notorious Ernest Bevin, who had compiled the “white paper”. Cease fires and withdrawals were never proposed...

  Only three out of the six Spitfires, which were the first batch to be flown out of Czechoslovakia, made it to Israel. By the time Israeli ground forces had captured Beersheba from the Egyptians, strengthening the Negev, only four Spitfires and two other fighters   were operational.  They were engaged in multiple operations – escorting bombers, supporting ground forces, flying air patrols and air reconnaissance.  In October 1948, a tremendously successful attack on the Negev El-Arish air base was carried out, destroying several Egyptian aircraft on the ground and in their hangars. The air base was in a shambles,   putting the airfield temporarily out of action.  Because it was a surprise attack, Israeli bombers had not been threatened by a single Egyptian warplane. The report informing Modi Alon that the Egyptians were pulling out of Ishdud, sounded too good to be true. Ishdud was where they had flown the squadron’s first combat mission, and s...

  Dr. Otto Felix, an old friend of Ben-Burion, was a Czech-born lawyer. From the start, he was the one who had initiated the arms-buying expedition to Czechoslovakia, including the Messerschmitts. The lack of fighter planes had become critical. Even after the Czechs had evicted the Israeli airlift operation from their country, Felix decided to call on the Czech government once more. He doubted that they would be agreeable to selling anything at all to the Israelis, but   the desperate need for fighter planes gave him no choice but to try. As Felix anticipated, the Messerschmitt option was finished but - they agreed to sell him something else. Felix was stunned when they offered to sell him no less than fifty Spitfires! Even though they had been last used in WWII, they were still considered one of the top air combat aircraft. The mystery of this completely unexpected bonanza could be explained by the fact that the Czechs were under the dominance of the Soviet Union. ...