WIX Archives

Re: Israeli Beaufighter?

Posted by Tony on Fri Oct 19, 2001 03:02:00 PM

In reply top Israeli Beaufighter? posted by Steve Young on Fri Oct 19, 2001 02:13:08 PM

Hi Steve,

I got an e-mail, from a member of staff at the IDFAF museum, requesting Merlin Drawings. Tom Woodhouse was kind enough to provide them, so, I opened a dialogue, for our own mutual nerfarious ends :0)

(Tom, I need the views from the other side as well, just received another e-mail.)

The IDF confirm, they have PARTS of a Beau and a Mossie in storage, and I am waiting for confirmation of identities. The Beau is exciting, because no one knows, which one it is, errrrrr including them by the sounds of it. There is a site on the Israeli AF webring, which does go into some detail, but I've lost the link, i think Mick or Paul may have details.

I am keeping in contact with them, and will post more as I know it

Tony :0)

: Tony, you mentioned in the Israeli Air Force Museum thread
: something about the IAF still having a Mosquito and Beauf
: ighter. I can't speak with any authority on the Mossie (or
: much on the Beau for that matter!), but I always thought
: the Israeli Beau's only lasted a few weeks. I heard about
: the Israeli Beaufighter story a couple of years ago, and i
: t's a fascinating account of an attempt to overcome advers
: ity by surreptitious means - some would say typical of the
: then fledgling state of Israel.
:
: The story I heard was that the Israelis purchased five sur
: plus Beaufighter TF10's here in the UK and placed them ont
: o the British civil register, saying they were to be used
: for 'film work'. The five were then flown to an airfield i
: n England by British pilots sympathetic to the Israeli cau
: se (Haddenham rings a bell, but I can't be sure), who then
: managed to slip four of them out of the UK before anyone
: realised what was happening. Presumably the fifth either w
: ent u/s or was stopped from departing somehow.
:
: The story I heard says they flew out in company with a fou
: r engined aircraft (possibly a Halifax?), and eventually m
: ade it to Israel where they were immediately pressed into
: service. I can't for the life of me remember where I read
: this story though. Hopefully someone else on here has read
: it and can confirm that I'm NOT entirely mad!
:
: Anyway, by 1948 the Beaufighter was obsolete as a fighting
: aircraft, and apparently all four were destroyed within w
: eeks of arriving in Israel, so if any have survived I'd be
: amazed! I'm also very intrigued to see a Beaufighter IIF
: shown on the list of aircraft used by Israel, that's the f
: irst time I've ever heard that one!

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