Donald J. McCarthy - The Sword of David: The Israeli Air Force at War

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by

Pen & Sword Aviation

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Copyright Donald J. McCarthy Jr 2013

ISBN 978 1 78159 290 8

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Copyright 2014 by Donald J. McCarthy Jr.

F IRST N ORTH A MERICAN E DITION 2014

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Pen & Sword Aviation, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd

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Contents

Dedication

To Lynda
My wife and best friend of over fifty years

Acknowledgements

I t would have been impossible to complete this project without the help of many people who gave of their time and help. I wish to offer my thanks and sincere appreciation to those who have given to this project, many of whom started out as contacts and became good friends: Dave Hansen, Major Richard Kierbow USAF (Retd), Dave McNeil, Theo Elbert, Library Research, US Naval Aviation Museum, Major David Erff USAFR (Retd), Christine M. Pelka, Detective Sergeant Joseph D. DePasquale, Sergeant Roger Reed, Waterford Connecticut Police Department, Inspector Michael Hurley, States Attorney Office.

I wish to offer a special thanks to the following friends who have opened up their photo collections to me; without them this project would never have been completed: Commander Peter Mersky USN (Retd), Ofer Zidon, Israel, Tsahi and Hagit Ben-Ami, Israel, Amos Dor, Israel, Sariel Stiller, Israel and R. Weiss.

Others to whom Im truly indebted for their support with this project: Anne-Marie Lizarralde, Connecticut College Botany Department, for help in editing the manuscript, Tyler P. Petrini, photo selection/narratives, Leah N. Petrini, Nicolas I. Petrini, Natalie R. Petrini, Lieutenant Joseph A. San Juan Sr, Connecticut Army National Guard, (Retd) and Technical Sergeant Harvey O. Thorp, late Connecticut Air NG.

Introduction

I n a speech given by Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel during a ceremony honouring Israeli war dead he spoke about the future of Israel when he told the gathering, We extend one hand in peace to all our neighbours who wish for peace. The Prime Minster continued, Our other hand grasps the Sword of David in order to defend our people against those who wish to kill us.

The tip of the sword spoken of by Prime Minster Netanyahu is without doubt the combined armed forces of the State of Israel. At the very tip of the sword stands the Heyl HaAvir (Israeli Air Force) which today is called the Zroa HaAvir VeHalalal (Israeli Air and Space Force) (IASF). The air-to-air combat history of the IASF in the Middle East is legendary.

The best friend and strongest ally the United States has in the Middle East is undoubtedly the State of Israel. In 1947 the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The new State of Israel is located in the south-eastern edge of the Mediterranean where it borders Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the east and Egypt in the south-west. From its very inception Israel has been involved in major wars and has been further subjected to decades of violence.

Forged from many wars and countless attacks by its neighbours, the State of Israel has built and maintained one of the worlds most powerful air forces. The Zroa HaAvir VeHalala (Israeli Air and Space Force) can claim more jet aces than any other modern air force, among them being retired Israeli Air Force Reserves Colonel Giora Even (Epstein), who is the worlds leading jet ace with seventeen confirmed aerial victories. During the Yom Kippur War he shot down twelve Egyptian aircraft, eight of them in just twenty-six hours.

For more than thirty years the IASF security censors controlled the release of all information and photographs that showed IASF aircraft with unit markings. During the mid-1980s the restriction imposed by the censor was eased somewhat. The Sword of David features an outstanding collection of IASF aircraft photographs starting with the delta-winged fighters (Mirage and Nesher). Included in the collection are photos of Mirage IIICJ Nos. 158/159, each of which claimed thirteen combat aerial victories. The IASF was one of the first of Americas allies to employ the F-4E Phantom in combat. While serving in the IASF the Phantom was used primarily as a strike fighter attacking ground targets. However, Phantom aircrews, while engaged in air base attack (ABA), battle field interdiction (BAI), suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) and quick-reaction alert (QRA) missions were also credited officially with 116.5 aerial victories.

Many of the historic Phantoms of the IASF are presented on the pages that follow. Phantom 608 was the first IASF Phantom to be credited with an aerial victory. On 11 November 1969 No. 69 Squadrons Ehud Henkin and Achikar Eyal were the first IASF pilots to engage an Egyptian MiG-21 while on a combat air patrol (CAP) mission. In the ensuing air battle they downed the MiG with an AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Kurnass (Sledgehammer) No. 609 is the highest scoring F-4E Phantom II in the IASF with seven kills.

The air battles flown by the delta-winged Mirages and Neshers, and the Phantoms of the IASF against the Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Libyans and even Russian and North Korean pilots are too numerous to count. The Mirages, Neshers and Phantoms of the IASF for the most part have flown their last combat missions in the simmering cauldron known as the Middle East. The IASF has rebuilt its air force around the American-designed and manufactured McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) F-16 Fighting Falcon.