Markings for Avia S-199 ERLA canopy 1/48
COL A
101 Tayeset, Cheyl Ha´avir, Hatzor, Israel, October 1948
The aircraft coded D-123 was delivered to Israel on July 28 on board Balak Flight No. 79 and joined the action on August 15, 1948. A month prior to entry into service, ex-USAAF volunteer pilot Stan Andrews drew up the 101 Tayeset’s (Squadron) insignia of a winged skull of death wearing a flight helmet and goggles. The skull symbolizes the Jewish faith’s belief in the rising of the dead to form a large army when the messiah comes to earth. The insignia was printed on paper and applied to the left side of the nose of 101 Tayeset’s planes. In preparation for Operation Ten Plagues (October 15-22, 1948), later renamed Operation Yoav, 101 Tayeset fighters obtained high visibility markings consisting of red spinners and red and white stripes on the rudders in order to distinguish them from Egyptian aircraft. More to it, the Star of David roundels were applied atop the wings for the first time. During Operation Yoav, Rudi Augarten claimed a Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire Mk.IXc flying D-123 on the first day of the offensive, on October 16. The kill was not confirmed by IAF intelligence. In November, D-123 was given the number 1905 as part of the introduction of a new military aircraft marking system. There are a few repairs to the fuselage that appear darker areas on photos of D-123. This has led some researchers to believe the aircraft received a two-tone camouflage. However, it is merely a contrast of older and newer paint of the same shade of green.
COL B
101 Tayeset, Cheyl Ha´avir, Herzliya, Israel, July-August 1948
One of the “Messers”, as these aircraft were dubbed in Israeli use, that survived the First Arab-Israeli War, was this aircraft coded D-117. It was delivered on July 15, 1948, aboard Balak Flight No. 63 and made its first operational sortie on July 21. In the summer of 1948, 101 Tayeset’s (Squadron) lead mechanic, Eli Reuveni fell in love with his sweetheart named Nechama. He commemorated this occasion with a photograph in which he posed next to “Messer” D-117 with Nechama’s name chalked atop the airplane’s Star of David; Nechama went on to become his wife. However, D-117 had a less romantic future, suffering its first accident on August 20, 1948, when Mitchell Flint flipped it over onto its back in a crash landing. Further serious fuselage damage occurred on October 17 when, after being hit by ground fire, Giddy Lichtman made a forced landing at Aqir Air Base. Along with the repairs made to the airframe, D-117 was also fitted with a high-resolution camera to conduct photo reconnaissance missions. In November 1948, the Israeli Air Force changed its alpha numeric aircraft numbering system to a four-digit identification number, and D-117 was renumbered 1901, where 19 stood for the airplane type and 01 for the first airframe on the squadron list.
COL C
101 Tayeset, Cheyl Ha´avir, Herzliya, Israel, July 1948
D-108 was part of the first shipment of S-199s from Czechoslovakia to Israel to be deployed in combat in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. D-108, as can be inferred from its designation, was among the last examples to arrive in the first series, and thus missed the very first missions of the Israeli S-199s. D-108 was fully assembled and ready for combat within the 101 Tayeset (Squadron) sometime in early June, along with D-107 and D-109. At the time of their assembly, the Israeli Air Force had only five operational S-199s. To avoid Egyptian air raids, the 101st Squadron moved to an improvised dirt airstrip near the town of Herzliya. Mitchell Flint crashed D-108 on August 21 during landing, and this incident put the aircraft out of service for a significant part of the war. The accident also marked the end of Flint’s service with the unit. D-108 was returned to service after extensive repairs on November 21, when the 101 Tayeset was transferred to Qastina. At that time, the numbering system in the Israeli Air Force was changed, and D-108 was given the designation 1906. With this designation, it participated in Operation Horev at the end of December 1948. Among other things, it accompanied the Beaufighter TF Mk.X during the attack on El Arish airport on December 24, and the Spitfire D-130 during a photographic reconnaissance mission over Gaza. At the end of the war, it was one of four operational S-199s that survived the Arab-Israeli War and the only one to survive from the first series of S-199s delivered. It was finally scrapped sometime after October 15, 1950.
COL D
S-199.54, Sgt. František Novák, Fighter Training Center, No. 2 Squadron, Aviation Regiment 4, Planá u Českých Budějovic, Czechoslovakia, May 1948
After the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, military pilot defections to the West were nothing unusual. Former RAF members, who either suspected or even knew that they would be persecuted by the communists, crossed the border and many younger pilots also decided to leave the country. One of them was Sgt. František Novák, at that time a trainee of the second class from the Fighter Training Centre (SVS), who fled to then West Germany on May 24, 1948. The aircraft was stored in Munich and, after various obstacles were ironed out, was transported to Czechoslovakia by land in March 1950. From March 31 until October 24, 1950, there was a general overhaul at the Avia factory. Later it served with LP 4 (Aviation Regiment 4). The Avia produced aircraft bore the standard MNO Smalt Avion 2036.02 paint scheme on all surfaces and this aircraft was the tenth Avia factory production piece to be fitted with a heat exchanger instead of the original oil cooler. The canopy was of the older design, and the aircraft did not have machine guns in the wings, nor underwing cannons.
COL E
S-199.66, ak. Ladislav Strnad, Air Military Academy, Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia, June 1950
This aircraft was assigned to Air Regiment 7 on August 4, 1948. On May 10, 1950, it was sent to the LVA (Air Military Academy), where it was damaged during take-off from the Pardubice airfield. A good quality photo of this crashed aircraft exists and shows very interesting coloring, as the rear fuselage and engine cowls are clearly different shade of lighter color compared to the original green. There might be several reasons about this aircraft’s colors. We believe there were probably some minor repairs needed on the rear fuselage (or just overpainting of original user’s code) and as the LVA probably did not have the standard green color the tan color intended for C-104s was used. As there was also a need to change the engine cowl at some point, the cowl from a dark green aircraft was used and overpainted in the same color as the rear fuselage to keep the aircraft in some color “order”. But the new coat chipped around the machine gun barrels and the darker green surfaced there. Also, the right slat is clearly dark green color. The question mark hangs over the national insignia on upper wing surfaces. On the photo it seems like they were not painted there, but it might well be only due to the over exposition of the surface under the direct sun. Interesting is also the obvious absence of most of the stencils. The front of the fuselage and wings were quite worn out, while both green and rear tan part of fuselage looks like new. The engine cowl sports some chipping and repairs in contrast.
COL F
S-199.486, Lt. František Fořt, No. 1 Squadron, Aviation Regiment 7, Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, 1950
This “Mezek” was test flown by factory pilot Antonín Kraus on December 12, 1949. On January 24, 1950, the aircraft was taken over by the military administration and assigned to LP 7 (Aviation Regiment 7) stationed at Brno-Slatina airport on February 7 of the same year. It was coded IV-8 and, according to the memories of veterans and unit logs, it sported a drawing of Diana carrying her bow. The author of the drawing was the fiancée and future wife of the deputy Squadron Commander and Flight Commander František Fořt. According to period witnesses, the same emblem also appeared on the aircraft of two other Flight Commanders, Lieutenants Jaromír Jech and Jiří Váňa. As is mentioned in the unit memoirs, more S-199s were equipped with various emblems, at least for a certain period of time. They are even documented in the said memoirs, but it is not clear to which specific aircraft they refer to. The aircraft was probably painted with darker green paint on all surfaces. At that time, the white of the spinner belonged to the aircraft of Air Division, to which LP 7 and LP 8 (Aviation Regiments 7 and 8) belonged, but not all aircraft were so marked, and IV-8 was probably one of these. There is no photographic evidence, unfortunately.