Strana 53
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 11/2025
INFO Eduard
53
November 2025