Israeli Air Force

the israeli air force was born in to the war of independence in 1948. preceded by “sherut avir”, the air wing of the haganah (that was later to become israeli defence force), it was a small group of people and only a few planes. recruits and aircraft joined the young force bringing in valuable skills, aircraft, and equipment. on may 29th 1948, the iaf deployed for the first time, and using four czechoslovakian messerschmitt planes, helped to bring to a halt an egyptian advance near the port city of ashdod. during the war of independence, the iaf intercepted enemy air craft, supported ground forces, and went on attack sorties to cairo, damascus, and amman. with the war end, most of the foreign volunteers were released, and the iaf, which now relied on israeli pilots only, began organizing its air bases, formulate its combat policies and establish new squadrons which were equipped with new aircraft.