Strana 61
101 Tayeset, Cheyl Ha´avir, Hatzor, Israel, October 1948
101 Tayeset, Cheyl Ha´avir, Herzliya, Israel, July-August 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.
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.
KITS 02/2026
INFO Eduard
61
February 2026