KITS 05/2022
S-199, D-106, Modi Alon, 101 Squadron (tayeset), Cheyl ha-avir,
Aqir, Israel, June 4, 1948
Eight S-199s from the first delivery batch to Israel were
of early Avia production (aircraft serial numbers 30, 32,
33, 36, 37, 38, 42, 63) and two from the Aero factory (Nos.
282, 286), so these were all equipped with an oil cooler
under the nose. The aircraft with the fuselage code D-106
was delivered to Israel on May 30, 1948, during Operation Balak’s Flight No. 16. On June 1, it joined the fighting
and just two days later Modi Alon achieved the first two
air-to-air kills for the Czech- built S-199 fighter and, by
extension, the newly established Israeli Air Force. Alon’s
victims were two Egyptian C-47s makeshift bombers of
the Royal Egyptian Air Force’s No. 3 Squadron. On the
fateful day of the kills, "Mule" coded D-106 was the only
airworthy fighter available to Israel, as the other S-199s
delivered up to that time were either destroyed, damaged,
or in various stages of assembly. The following day, No.101
squadron pilot Dov Ben Zvi damaged D-106 on takeoff, thus
leaving the squadron without an airworthy fighter and
Israel without air cover. To counter REAF air raids, No 101
squadron relocated to an improvised dirt airstrip set up
in the town of Herzliya. Repaired "Mule" D-106 was made
airworthy again, but not for long. On takeoff, while flown
by Gideon from the Herzliya airstrip, one of the wheels hit
a patch of mud, causing the airplane to flip over. Gideon
Lichtman survived the crash, but D-106 was scrapped.
S-199, D-117, 101 Squadron (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
an aircraft coded D-117. The aircraft 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
Squadron's 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.
S-199 , D-123, 101 Squadron (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 D-123's entry into service, ex-USAAF volunteer pilot Stan Andrews drew up the
101 squadron’s 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 poster paper and applied to the left side of the
nose of 101 Squadron’s planes. In preparation for Operation
38
INFO Eduard
Ten Plagues (15-22 October 1948), later renamed Operation
Yoav, 101 Squadron fighters obtained high visibility markings consisting of red spinners and red and white stripes
on the rudders in order to distinguish them from Egyptian
Spitfires. To further differentiate the Israeli fighters, 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-121 on
the first day of the offensive, on October 16. The kill was
not confirmed by IAF intelligence and is only considered
as damaged. 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 as darker areas from photos of D-123. This
has led some researchers to believe the aircraft received
a two-tone camouflage scheme on the upper surfaces.
However, it is merely a contrast of older and newer paint
of approximately the same shade of green.
May 2022