101 Squadron of the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...
, also known as the First Fighter Squadron, is Israel's first fighter squadron, formed on May 20, 1948, six days after Israel declared its independence. Initially flying the
Avia S-199, it has since operated the
Supermarine Spitfire,
North American Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
,
Dassault Mystere IV
Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, and led by son Ser ...
,
Dassault Mirage III
The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach number, Mach 2 ...
CJ,
IAI Nesher
The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher (Hebrew: נשר, ' griffon vulture', often mistranslated as 'eagle') was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter.Gupta 1997, p. 105.
Having sustained aircraft losses during the ...
and
IAI Kfir
, abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sport ...
. It currently operates out of
Ramat-David Airbase, flying the
F-16C Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
.
History
101 Squadron was formed on May 20, 1948, at two air bases simultaneously: IAF Ekron (former
RAF Aqir
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, currently
Tel-Nof Airbase) and
Žatec
Žatec (; german: Saaz) is a town in Louny District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře river. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monumen ...
(code-named "Zebra") in northwestern Czechoslovakia, a former Luftwaffe airfield close to a
Messerschmitt production facility, where pilots received initial basic type flight training on the
Avia S-199s, Czechoslovak-built copies of the Bf 109G with 1,320 hp
Junkers Jumo 211
The Jumo 211 was a German inverted V-12 aircraft engine, Junkers Motoren's primary aircraft engine of World War II. It was the direct competitor to the Daimler-Benz DB 601 and closely paralleled its development. While the Daimler-Benz engin ...
F powerplants. During one
ferry flight some of the squadron's 15 aircraft were forced to land in Greece, and were immediately impounded, so during the next ferry flight a C-46 was used as a navigation guide, and a corvette was readied off the coast in case any aircraft had to be ditched and pilots rescued from water. Four of these flew the squadron's first mission on May 29, strafing the Egyptian ground forces near
Ad Halom, in the prelude to
Operation Pleshet
Operation Pleshet ( he, מִבְצָע פְּלֶשֶׁת, ''Mivtza Pleshet'', lit. "Operation Philistia"), named after the geographical region where it took place, was an Israeli military operation during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was car ...
. 101 Squadron was responsible for the Israeli Air Force's first aerial victories when on 3 June 1948,
Modi Alon, after taking off from
Herzliya Airport
Herzliya Airport ( he, שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה הֶרְצְלִיָּה ar, مطار هرتسيليا, is an airport located in the city of Herzliya in central Israel. The airport is mainly used by flight schools and for general avia ...
, shot down a pair of
Royal Egyptian Air Force C-47s which had just bombed Tel Aviv.
A makeshift strip located around the current
Herzliya Airport
Herzliya Airport ( he, שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה הֶרְצְלִיָּה ar, مطار هرتسيليا, is an airport located in the city of Herzliya in central Israel. The airport is mainly used by flight schools and for general avia ...
was the main operating base of the squadron between June and October 1948, and the squadron moved to it after un-assembled planes were strafed on the ground on May 30th. The airfield was used as it was some distance behind the front lines, and was clandestine; it was a purpose built strip that was constructed after the beginning of hostilities in between the orange orchards around Herzliya, and did not appear on published maps. During these initial operations, the squadron operated with a few planes in the face of the Arab forces' near-
Air supremacy
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of comm ...
and the airplanes were dispersed between the orange trees when parked. The squadron was moved in October to
Hatzor Airbase
Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר) , also titled Kanaf 4 (''lit.'' Wing 4) is an Israeli Air Force military air base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor after which it is named. ...
from the strip in due to its unsuitability in rainy conditions, probable loss of clandestine status, fluidity of the front lines which made former British bases safe for use, and a shift in the balance of
air superiority towards the Israelis.
In 2021 the squadron was relocated from
Hatzor Airbase
Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר) , also titled Kanaf 4 (''lit.'' Wing 4) is an Israeli Air Force military air base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor after which it is named. ...
to
Ramat David Airbase
Ramat David Israeli Air Force Base (, he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִיר רָמַת דָּוִד ''Basis Kheil HaAvir Ramat David'') is one of three principal airbases of the Israeli Air Force, located southeast of Haifa, close to kibbu ...
alongside the
105th Squadron.
See also
*
Yosef Alon
Yosef (Joe) Alon (Hebrew: יוסף (ג'ו) אלון), born Josef Plaček, also known as Joe Alon (July 25, 1929July 1, 1973), was an Israeli Air Force officer and military attache to the U.S. who was mysteriously shot and killed in the driveway o ...
*
Giora Epstein
Brigadier General Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein ( he, גיורא אפשטיין; born May 20, 1938), today Giora Even ( he, גיורא אבן), is a retired brigadier General in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victorie ...
*Aaron "Red" Finkel
*
Mitchell Flint
*
Avi Lanir
*
Gordon Levett
Gordon Levett (1921–2000) was a former Royal Air Force pilot in World War II who volunteered for a covert mission to fly supplies including dismantled fighter planes into the fledgling state of Israel in its 1948 Arab–Israeli War as part of ...
*
Christopher Magee
*
Milton Rubenfeld
Milton Rubenfeld ( he, מילטון רובנפלד; September 13, 1919 – February 21, 2004) was a pilot who flew for the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army during World War II, later becoming one of the five founding pilots of the Israeli Air Force ...
*
Iftach Spector
*
Bob Vickman
*
Ezer Weizman
Ezer Weizman (; he, עֵזֶר וַיצְמָן ''Ezer Vaytsman''; 15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Ai ...
*
George Lichter
References
External links
Global Security Profile101 Squadron, Israel's first fighter squadronArchived2009-08-13) -->
*
{{Israeli Air Force Squadrons
Israeli Air Force squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1948