Successful but scrappy: Air Force marks 75 years since its 1st-ever strike mission

The Israeli military on Monday marked 75 years since the Air Force conducted its first-ever strike mission, during the War of Independence in 1948. A memorial plaque for the operation and for one of the pilots who was killed in the mission was also unveiled.

The daring airstrike at the Ad Halom site, close to the modern coastal city of Ashdod, is thought to have prevented the Egyptian army from marching on Tel Aviv just two weeks after Israel declared itself a state, changing the course of the war.

The four Avia S-199 aircraft — a bastardized Czech variant of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter — had been shipped over to Israel in dozens of parts in cargo planes owned by Al Schwimmer, a Jewish New Yorker and World War II pilot, violating a US arms embargo on the newly founded state.

While the aircraft were being secretly and hastily assembled in a hangar at what is known today as the Tel Nof base, an Egyptian division was marching up Israel’s coast, believed to have been aiming to capture Tel Aviv.

The four fighter planes were hand-painted with the Air Force roundel for the first time, but before they were even tested properly, Israel decided to gamble its entire air force on targeting the Egyptian convoy at the Palestinian village of Isdud, near the Ad Halom bridge, just 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Tel Aviv.

While the strike did not cause significant damage to the Egyptian division, it stunned them, as they had believed Israel had no air force. The Egyptian army halted its advance, a move thought to have changed the course of the war, which ended in Israeli victory nearly a year later.

The mission was led by Lou Lenart, an American fighter pilot who helped smuggle the plane parts into Israel and later helped establish the Air Force’s 101st Squadron.

His number two in the mission was Ezer Weizman, who later became the chief of the Air Force, defense minister, and president.

The third pilot was Modi Alon, an Israeli-born pilot who had volunteered for the Royal Air Force during the British Mandate of Palestine.

And the fourth was Eddie Cohen, a South African fighter pilot in World War II who then moved to Israel.

Cohen’s plane was thought to have been hit by Egyptian anti-aircraft fire during the mission, causing it to crash close to the Ad Halom bridge. Cohen was killed and the Avia S-199 he was flying was destroyed.

Despite losing 25 percent of its air force and causing minimal damage, the first-ever Israeli strike was thought to have shocked the Egyptians into halting their advance on Tel Aviv. Troops from the Givati Brigade later attempted to push forward during what is known as Operation Pleshet, though it suffered heavy losses.

During the ceremony on Monday, Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar noted the surprise action.

“[It is] exactly 75 years since the quartet of Messerschmitt planes of the 101st Squadron went out to attack the Egyptian armored column — an action that threw the enemy off balance, surprised them and stopped them,” said Bar, shortly after unveiling a ceramic plaque with an art piece depicting the airstrike.

“The story of the first attack quartet is significant in shaping the ethos of the Air Force that we are so proud of. We arose thanks to Jewish volunteers and lovers of Israel, volunteers from abroad,” Bar said, referring to Lenart, Cohen and the Mahal volunteer unit.

“Like them, many more took part in the establishment of the Air Force, and for that, we owe them so much. The monument established here in their memory today is a symbol and example of their heroic actions,” Bar continued.

“I vow today that we will continue to cross this path, any path, however difficult it may be. With companionship, even risking our lives, we will protect our country, because we have no other country,” he added.

Families of the pilots, former Air Force chiefs, and others who were involved in the Air Force’s early missions were present at the ceremony on Monday evening, at the site where the first-ever strike took place.

Four Air Force F-16C fighter jets from the modern 101st Squadron flew over the site during the event, with one separating from the other three, commemorating the death of Cohen during the mission 75 years ago.

Lenart died in 2015; Weizman died in 2005; and Alon died on October 16, 1948, while attempting to land his Avia S-199 after carrying out a fresh wave of strikes against Egyptian forces at Isdud with Weizman.