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The Mossie
The famous British Mosquito – known to many as “Mossie” – was a versatile aircraft used extensively during World War II. Constructed primarily of plywood with a balsa wood core, it had excellent speed, altitude and range. First flown on November 25, 1940, the Mosquito entered production in mid-1941 and was produced until well after the end of the war. Almost 8,000 Mossies were built in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia.
Although best known for its service with the Royal Air Force, the Mosquito also flew with the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
Israeli Mosquitos and the 109 Squadron
As told by Bill Norton in his book 75 Years of the Israeli Air Force Volume 1, dozens of used Mosquito fighter-bombers were purchased and those made airworthy were concentrated in 109 Squadron, stood-up at Hatzor AB (the former Qastina) in 1951. The unit was not operational until 1952 and not fully mission-capable until the next year. There were initially too few pilots, and those on staff had to go to the UK for training. By 1953, sufficient aircrew had been trained locally to allow a second unit to be broken out as 110 Squadron, also at Hatzor.
Although the IAF had been looking forward to establishing a night-fighter capability, the few (Night Fighter) NF.30 Mosquitos were never fitted with intercept radar because that equipment was not released to Israel. The IAF mounted an AN/APS-4 search radar pod into the noses of a handful in hopes it would serve for intercept. This unit was poorly suited for night intercept, displaying only azimuth returns, lacking elevation. Although crews trained with the system, the means was so marginal that the night-fighter requirement remained essentially unfulfilled. The best that was achieved was aircrew in various aircraft vectored via ground control to a hopeful visual acquisition under lunar illumination.
Training for night fighting
The “Mossie” teams trained hard, even deploying to spartan forward bases to practice preparing for operations in the Sinai during wartime. The 110 Squadron focused on training for night fighting and were unique in the force at the time – ground attack under the illumination of parachute flares. The Israelis fitted rocket launch points under the wings to support such missions. However, the Ramat David AB fighter squadrons continued to receive the bulk of the accolades and promotions, leaving the Mosquito teams at run-down Hatzor feeling second-class. This made them prone to prove themselves with sometimes-reckless flying. That, the age of the wooden machines with prodigious maintenance demands, and the low-altitude mission, contributed to discouragingly high accident rates and some fatalities. Morale suffered and aircrew sought transfers.
A unique capability that helped improve spirits was PR (photo reconnaissance) that included missions beyond the borders. Even after jets began coming into the force, the range and payload of the Mossies were superior and the old aircraft was retained. This was challenging as the plywood airframes aged, but the IAF could afford little else. It became a common theme for decades to come as the service operated a high-end force of relatively current fighters and a low end of aging, less capable warplanes.
The Israeli 109 Kamikaze Squadron Mosquitos
The plywood Mosquitos were obsolete when purchased. The Air Force then flew the old warhorse far beyond its useful service life. (The average life of such an airplane in the Second World War had normally been counted in months). As a consequence, the airplanes required considerable maintenance support and experienced low serviceability. This and numerous operational accidents earned the airplane a bad reputation. Then a spat of crashes spelled the demise of the type in Israel. These losses may have been due to warping and disbonding of the plywood structure in the dry climate of the Eastern Mediterranean, resulting in in-flight break-up.
On Oct. 26, 1953, Lieutenant Ovadya Nachman was flying Mosquito FB.6 2105 when, pulling out of a dive, the aircraft disintegrated. He found himself and his seat hanging in midair and so released himself and opened his parachute just in time to land safely. Although the cause was disputed, this accident was another source of grim speculation and falling morale. Flying such unreliable airplanes of questionable airworthiness on long-range reconnaissance (recce) missions over hostile territory earned 109 the nickname “Kamikaze Squadron.” The fact that the IAF had to buy such machines and then operate them in such conditions for many years illustrates the neglected state of the service in the early 1950s.
75 Years of the Israeli Air Force Volume 1 is published by Helion & Company and is available to order here.
Photo credit: Israeli Air Force and David Whitworth (Tony Clarke Collection) via Wikipedia
