Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חֲצֵרִים, ''Basis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim'') is an

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

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 ...

in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

Desert on the west outskirts of

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

, near Kibbutz Hatzerim. The base was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 1966. At Hatzerim is the

Israeli Air Force Museum The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert. The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft, as well as a ...

, which opened in 1977 and has allowed public access since June 1991. The

IAF Flight Academy The Israeli Air Force Flight Academy trains aircrew to operate Israeli Air Force aircraft, qualifying fighter, helicopter and transport pilots as well as combat and transport navigators. The IAF flight course is considered one of the most pres ...

has been housed at Hatzerim since April 1966 and the IAF Aerobatic Team is located there as well. Every year, on Israeli independence day the base is opened to the Israeli public to tour.

Units

69 Squadron (Israel) , ''Patishim'') , colors=Black and Yellow , equipment= F-15I Thunder , battles= 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez CrisisWar of AttritionYom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon WarSecond Lebanon War , notable_commanders=Pinchas Ben-PoratAvihu Ben-Nun Yoram AgmonTo ...

F-15I The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...

* 102 Squadron (Israel) M-346 Lavi *

107 Squadron (Israel) Squadron 107 ( he, טייסת 107) is a squadron of the Israeli Air Force. Squadron 107 is also known as the Knights of the Orange Tail ( he, אבירי הזנב הכתום). It was formed in January 1953 to operate Supermarine Spitfires out ...

F-16I A large number of variants of the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon have been produced by General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and various licensed manufacturers. The details of the F-16 variants, along with major modification programs and ...

History

Hatzerim Airbase was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 1966. The base was built on the order of the Israeli Air Force Commander, Ezer Weizmann and was designed by the architect Yitzhak Moore. The first commander of the base was

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 ...

. It was the first Air Force base built from the ground up, as a new base for the Israeli Air Force, and not on existed base areas of 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) an ...

Commanders

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

"Joe"

(first commander and founder) (1966-1970) *Colonel Yeshayahu Bareket (1970-1973) *Colonel Amichai Shmueli (1973-1977) *

Yaakov Turner Yaakov Turner ( he, יעקב טרנר, born 27 February 1935) was the mayor of Beersheba. Prior to his election as mayor, he was an Israel Air Force pilot and Israel's Chief of Police. Turner was the founder and head of the Israeli Air Force M ...

(1977-1981) *

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Asher Snir (1981-1983) *Brigadier General

Ron Huldai Ron Huldai ( he, רוֹן חוּלְדָּאִי; born 26 August 1944) is the current Mayor of Tel Aviv, since 1998. Before he entered his role as Tel Aviv mayor, Huldai served as a fighter pilot and a commander in the Israeli Air Force. After ...

*Brigadier General Amiram Elyasaf *Brigadier General

Amos Yadlin Aluf (Major General, res.) Amos Yadlin ( he, עמוס ידלין; born 20 November 1951) is a former general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C. and head of the IDF Military Intelligence Di ...

(1995-1998) *Brigadier General Roni Falec (1998-2001) *Brigadier General Yohanan Lucker (2001-2004) *Brigadier General Shelly Gutman (2004-2007) *Brigadier General Haggai Topolansky (2008-2010) *Brigadier General Ziv Levi (2010-2012) *Brigadier General Tal Kalman (2012-2014) *Brigadier General Nir Barkan (2014-2015) *Brigadier General Avshalom Amosy (2015-2018) *Brigadier General Aviad Dagan (2018-)

References

Hatzerim on globalsecurity.org

External links

Hatzerim Israel Airforce Museum
(''Hebrew'') Israeli Air Force bases {{Israel-mil-stub

Units

History

Commanders

See also

References

External links