WIX Archives
Re: Israeli Beaufighter?
Posted by Bruce Gordon on Sat Oct 20, 2001 06:05:27 AM
In reply top Re: Israeli Beaufighter? posted by Tony on Fri Oct 19, 2001 03:02:00 PM
They have a wing centre section, complete with engines and undercarriage for a Mosquito. Looks like a Mk6/TR33 as they are short engines.
Dont know what else they have.
The only other mossie stuff in Israel was the wing from TR33 TW233, which we have almost rebuilt at the Mosquito Museum for use with FB6 TA122
All the best
Bruce
: Hi Steve,
:
: I got an e-mail, from a member of staff at the IDFAF museu
: m, requesting Merlin Drawings. Tom Woodhouse was kind enou
: gh to provide them, so, I opened a dialogue, for our own m
: utual nerfarious ends :0)
:
: (Tom, I need the views from the other side as well, just r
: eceived 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 d
: etail, but I've lost the link, i think Mick or Paul may ha
: ve 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 thre
: ad
: : something about the IAF still having a Mosquito and Bea
: uf
: : ighter. I can't speak with any authority on the Mossie (
: or
: : much on the Beau for that matter!), but I always though
: t
: : the Israeli Beau's only lasted a few weeks. I heard abou
: t
: : the Israeli Beaufighter story a couple of years ago, and
: i
: : t's a fascinating account of an attempt to overcome adve
: rs
: : ity by surreptitious means - some would say typical of t
: he
: : then fledgling state of Israel.
: :
: : The story I heard was that the Israelis purchased five s
: ur
: : plus Beaufighter TF10's here in the UK and placed them o
: nt
: : o the British civil register, saying they were to be use
: d
: : for 'film work'. The five were then flown to an airfield
: i
: : n England by British pilots sympathetic to the Israeli c
: au
: : se (Haddenham rings a bell, but I can't be sure), who th
: en
: : managed to slip four of them out of the UK before anyon
: e
: : 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 f
: ou
: : r engined aircraft (possibly a Halifax?), and eventually
: m
: : ade it to Israel where they were immediately pressed int
: o
: : service. I can't for the life of me remember where I rea
: d
: : this story though. Hopefully someone else on here has re
: ad
: : it and can confirm that I'm NOT entirely mad!
: :
: : Anyway, by 1948 the Beaufighter was obsolete as a fighti
: ng
: : 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 II
: F
: : shown on the list of aircraft used by Israel, that's the
: f
: : irst time I've ever heard that one!