Grandma's army

  I am indebted to Robert Gandt for his fascinating book called “Angels in the Sky”, from which I selected most of the facts in this incredible story. Reviewing Roert Gandt’s book, Walter Boyne, the former director of the U.S. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, wrote: “It is always rewarding to read a book about combat flying written by an author who obviously knows the subject firsthand! Robert Gandt’s book on the infant Israel Air Force fills a real need, and shines new light on one of the most heroic battles in history. The prowess of the IAF in recent years has   caused us to forget just how precarious was its beginning, and how joyfully the battle was joined by a wide variety of pilots flying airplanes better suited for a museum than combat.” A YEAR LATER At the auspicious date of May 15 th , 1949, Israel’s first victory parade was taking place before   a deliriously happy crowd in Tel-Aviv. Perhaps as many as a quarter of Israel’s tiny population, ...

  From the early hours, on the Sabbath of January 8 th , pilots were already strapped in their cockpits. They were waiting for the inevitable reprisal attack from the humiliated RAF. The hours crept by as the tension mounted. Contrary to the demands of the RAF squadron leaders who were begging for the go-ahead to launch a massive retaliatory strike against Israel, RAF headquarters withheld permission. Instead, the British Foreign Office fired off a furious protest to the Israeli government, demanding compensation for the loss of airmen and aircraft. Truman was condemning  the British for interfering in the Middle East conflict. The British House of Commons was in an uproar. While they were debating the issue, Winston Churchill demanded an explanation for the unreported downing of another British warplane shot down over the coast of Israel the month before ! Although the British Air Ministry tried to dodge the question, Churchill continued to probe. When finally admitting th...

  Just before the ceasefire, the Israeli armoured column was caught by surprise when they heard a wave of enemy warplanes suddenly appearing - killing several soldiers. When another wave came along, the gunners were ready, and hit at least one of the fighters. McElroy, one of the two veteran WWII pilots who were sent to engage in an air battle with the enemy, succeeded in gunning down two of their   Spitfires. His fellow pilot, Goodlin, was caught up in a dangerous duel with another enemy plane, in which he was successful. Neither of the pilots was Jewish. Happening to glance at the Spitfire’s fuselage, Goodlin couldn’t credit what he was seeing!    It was a distinctive large blue, white and red round emblem. The emblem of the British Royal Airforce. It transpired that the   British had been sending armed scouting flights over the battle area since the day before. Two Mosquito aircraft with four Spitfire escorts had flown over the battle zone, without be...

  When sudden rains came to the Negev, the planned offensive had to be postponed. Meanwhile, the Egyptians had been reinforcing their garrisons in the Gaza Strip, predicting that the Israelis planned to attack around Gaza. The predictions were correct. On December 22 nd a massive artillery   barrage on Egyptian positions in the Gaza Strip commenced. After two days of hard fighting and many casualties, little ground was gained on either side. But the assault on Gaza was a deception. Two armoured brigades of the Israeli Army were slipping into position   near Beersheba. From there, they would cut across the Sinai to the Mediterranean coast – behind the enemy stronghold at Gaza. The Egyptian Army would be encircled. Israeli archeologists had recently uncovered a Roman trade route from Beersheba to the Sinai. This way, the Israeli force intended to bypass the enemy fortifications, cutting off all Egyptian forces between El Arish and Gaza. Yigal Allon, who was a for...

  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...