Air-Defense & Anti-Aircraft Forces
Israel received its first anti-aircraft artillery
(AAA) during the Passover holiday of 1948. The
first guns were Swiss-made, 20 mm cannons which arrived by boat, hidden
among sacks of potatoes. An air defense school was formed at Herzlia
under the guise of a factory. Most of the instructors were Israelis
who had served with the British during World
War II. Their students included high school pupils and newly arrived Holocaust survivors. AAA gunners registered
their first victory by downing an Egyptian Spitfire as it attacked Sde
Dov air field north of Tel
Aviv.
In January of 1950, the Air Defense Forces were formally organized
under the command of Boris Senior, a veteran IAF pilot. Initially, the AAA was independent of the IAF and directly subordinated to the IDF Vice Commander. The Air Defense Forces continued to grow throughout
the Fifties, adding radar-directed guns and establishing reserve units
and control facilities. The argument over who should control AAA raged
on.
When the first Hawk missiles arrived in 1965, IAF Commander Ezer
Weizmann succeeded in placing this sophisticated air defense system
under Air Force control. The working relationship between the Air Defense
Forces and the IAF continued to improve ... and so did the results.
Air Defense Forces shot down three aircraft during the Six
Day War and fifteen during the 1969-70
War of Attrition. Finally, in December 1970, the Air Defense Forces
were officially incorporated into the Air Force.
During the Yom Kippur War
of 1973, the Air Defense Forces rose to the occasion, downing forty-three
Egyptian and seven Syrian planes. Towards the end of the war, Chaparral
and Red-eye missiles and 20 mm Vulcan cannons were added to the service.
Captured Soviet-made 23 mm guns and shoulder-launched SA-7 missiles
joined their Western counterparts in the IAF and were used against their
former owners.
In 1982, Air Defense units advanced along with the ground forces inside Lebanon. A 20 mm Vulcan
unit managed to shoot down a Syrian Mig 21 after engaging surface targets
during a fierce battle with terrorists. A Hawk missile helped bring
down a high flying Syrian Mig-25, marking the first time the Soviet-built
Mach-3 fighter had ever been hit by a surface-to-air missile. Reserve
units were equally effective, hitting a Syrian fighter with a Red-eye
missile.
Today the Air Defense Forces continue to play an important role in
protecting Israeli airspace and working closely with the ground forces,
especially along the volatile northern border.
By far the most important recent development in air
defense was the acquisition of Patriot missile batteries during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Israeli crews mastered the system under the pressure of live combat.
U.S. Army and IAF personnel worked side by side to protect Israeli cities
from Iraqi Scud surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources: IDF |