Avia S.

199
101Fighting Squadron IAF
No 1907 in overall camouflage,national insignia
in six positions, stencil letters in black ,
on 25th Dec 1948 was written- off by Wayne Peake,
Hatzor 1948, Israel
12/2003

The Avia S.199 was a Czech version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109G-14
manufactured at previously German-controlled factories from the
Messerschmitt blueprints. The standard airframe was combined with the only
available engine, the Jumo 211F, and so the result differed from the original
German design by having a larger engine cowling. The plane had difficult
handling characteristics, especially during takeoff and landing and very
unforgiving controls, reasons for which it earned the nickname “mule.”
Having the most rudimentary of air forces upon its creation, Israel was
hard pressed for air power and so bought 25 examples of the type in early
1948. Pilot training commenced at the beginning of May when 12 pilots,
including Ezer Weizman, current president of Israel, were dispatched to
Czechoslovakia. On May 15, however, the creation of the state of Israel was
declared and with it came the Arab invasion that began the War of
Independence. The pilots demanded to return to Israel despite having very
little flight training and no weapons training, and on May 20, 1948, a C-54
Skymaster containing the first S.199 landed at Tel-Nof AFB.
The first weeks of fighting had not gone well for the newly born Israel
Technical Data:
Wing Span:. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.92 m (32 ft 6.5 in)
Length: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.94 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in)
Wing Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.50 m2 (177.6 sq ft)
Empty Weight: . . . . . . . . . . 2860 kg (6300 lb)
Max.Weight:. . . . . . . . . . . . 3736 kg (8240 lb)
Speed:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 km/h (366 mph)
Range: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860 km (535 miles)
Defense Forces, with an Egyptian armored column progressing on Tel-Aviv
and threatening to destroy the newly born state, while enemy aircraft roamed
the skies unchallenged, bombing Israeli cities. And so it was that on the
evening of May 29, with four assembled planes and another five in various
stages of completion, that Israel's first fighter squadron first went into action.
Four S.199s took off from Tel-Nof, where the fighters were based, to attack
the Egyptian forces headed for Tel-Aviv. The fighters descended on the
surprised Egyptians and began to bomb and strafe them but one crashed before
completing his mission. Despite losing a valuable fighter, the attack had
achieved its goal — although inflicting very little damage and a small number
of casualties, it had a great psychological effect which halted the enemy's
advance and allowed ground forces to organize and go on the offensive.
Within days, the newly arrived fighters had participated in attacks on all
fronts and were instrumental in pushing back the invading Arab armies. With
another S.199 lost a day after the first attack, they were more valuable in what
they represented than in the actual damage they inflicted — the appearance of
an Israeli fighter arm was a complete surprise to Arab commanders and also a
great morale boost to the local population. It was on June 3 that the citizens of
the young state learned of the existence of a local fighter force, with the first
aerial victories of the Israeli Air Force.
Expecting very little resistence from the ground, two Egyptian Dakotas
appeared over Tel-Aviv on the evening of June 3. After dropping their
bombing loads they began making their way home when they were pounced
upon by a lone S.199 piloted by Moddy Alon, Israel's first fighter squadron
leader. Both bombers were shot down, signaling an end to Arab domination of
the air.
The Avia S.199s continued to serve as fronting fighters with the IAF
until the end of the war, first from the airfield at Herzlia and later from Hazor
AFB, although attrition had taken a great toll on them — toward the end of
1948, of the 25 originally purchased, 12 had been lost, seven were in different
stages of repairs and only six were fully operational.

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