Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר) , also titled Kanaf 4 (''lit.'' Wing 4) is an

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 Defense ...

military air base, located in central

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

near kibbutz

Hatzor Hatzor ( he, חָצוֹר), officially Hatzor Ashdod, is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Ashdod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The kibbutz is named after a b ...

after which it is named. It was opened

RAF Qastina Qastina ( ar, قسطينة) was a Palestinian village, located 38 kilometers northeast of Gaza City. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Location Qastina was situated on an elevated spot in a generally flat area on the coastal ...

in 1942 by the

Royal Air Force 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 ...

of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the then British Protectorate of Palestine.

History

RAF Qastina

RAF Qastina, after the nearby Palestinian village of the same name, was an RAF station in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

between 1942 and 1948. On the night of 25 February 1946,

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

militants attacked the airfield and destroyed several parked RAF

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

transports. Two additional RAF airfields,

RAF Lydda 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 ...

(Ben Gurion International Airport) and RAF

Kfar Sirkin Kfar Sirkin or Kefar Syrkin ( he, כְּפַר סִירְקִין) is a moshav in central Israel. Located south-east of Petah Tikva, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kfar Sirk ...

, were attacked in what became known as the "Night of the Airplanes". Altogether, the attacks destroyed 20 RAF aircraft and damaged several others. Following these attacks, the RAF closed some of its

bases to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. RAF Units stationed at RAF Qastina: * No. 47 Squadron RAF (1946) Handley Page Halifax A.7 & A.9 * No. 512 Squadron RAF (1945)

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

* No. 644 Squadron RAF (1945-1946) Handley Page Halifax A.7 & A.9 *

No. 651 Squadron RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

(1947-1948)

Auster AOP6 The Auster AOP.6 was a British military air observation aircraft produced by Auster Aircraft Limited to replace the numerous wartime Taylorcraft Auster aircraft then in-service. History The Auster AOP.6 (Auster Model K) was designed as a succ ...

On 15 March 1948, as the British Mandate for Palestine drew to a close, the RAF evacuated the airfield and it was taken over by

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

forces.

Israeli Air Force Base Hatzor

On the morning of 16 August 1966, an Iraqi

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, De ...

landed at Hatzor, the culmination of

Operation Diamond Operation Diamond ( he, מִבְצָע יַהֲלוֹם, ''Mivtza Yahalom'') was an operation undertaken by Mossad. Its goal was the acquisition of a Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, the most advanced Soviet fighter plane at that time. The ...

Munir Redfa Captain Munir Redfa ( ar, منير ردفا, syr, ܡܘܢܝܪ ܪܕܦܐ), born Munir Habib Jamil Rufa ( ar, منير حبيب جميل روفا, syr, ܡܘܢܝܪ ܚܒܝܒ ܓܡܝܠ ܪܘܦܐ‎) (1934 – 1998) was an Iraqi fighter pilot. After ...

, an Iraqi Air Force pilot, had been persuaded by the

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

to fly the flagship of the Soviet export aircraft industry to Israel. The MiG was the most advanced aircraft in Arab inventories at the time. Hatzor has a network of eight simulator pods which use satellite footage of countries including Lebanon and Syria to train pilots for deep strike missions. On April 2, 2017, the first two batteries of Israel’s latest missile defense system - the

David’s Sling David's Sling ( he, קלע דוד, Kela David), also formerly known as Magic Wand ( he , שרביט קסמים, Sharvit Ksamim , links= no), is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor R ...

- went operational on the Air Base.

Israeli Air Force Units

* 100st Squadron – operating Beechcraft B-200 "King Air" & Beechcraft A36 "Bonanza" * 420th Squadron - operating Flightsimulator Network * 2 Batteries of

David's Sling David's Sling ( he, קלע דוד, Kela David), also formerly known as Magic Wand ( he , שרביט קסמים, Sharvit Ksamim , links= no), is an Israel Defense Forces military system being jointly developed by the Israeli defense contractor Ra ...

Missile System

References

{{authority control 1942 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Israeli Air Force bases Military units and formations established in 1942

History

RAF Qastina

Israeli Air Force Base Hatzor

Israeli Air Force Units

See also

References