Forgotten Her es Israel’s B-17 Bombers

By Avi Heiligman

Following World War II there was large supply in surplus aircraft in the United States. More than 300,000 planes and aircraft of all types had been produced during the war, and with the downsizing of the Air Corps, a lot of the planes were destined for the scrapyard. One of the few aircraft that served from the beginning to the end of the war was the Boeing B-17 bomber. Over 12,000 of the heavy bombers were built, and after the war some of them were being employed in interesting roles. In 1948, Israel was on the hunt for any aircraft when agents received word that there were four that they could possibly obtain. Their journey to Israel and subsequent combat is a story often overlooked in IAF history.

The B-17 Flying Fortress was first introduced in 1938 and was a workhorse for the Army Air Corps throughout the war. It was a four-engine bomber that had a 2,000-mile range, flew with a crew of ten airmen and could carry up to 8,000 pounds of bombs. During battle, the high-altitude bomber was used extensively against German and Japanese targets that other bombers couldn’t reach. As World War II ended, most of the planes were flown back to the U.S. where they were sold for scrap. Some were used for transportation, search and rescue, or stayed in the newly formed Air Force until the 1950s.

Four demilitarized B-17s caught the attention of businessman and engineer Al Schwimmer in 1948. He was on a mission to acquire planes and crews for the IAF, and after tracking down these four planes, they were secretly sold to bolster Israel’s fledgling air force. Two of these planes were bought for $30,000 and had belonged to a company based out of Miami that used them as freighters between the United States and Puerto Rico. Together with another two bought from a businessman from Tulsa, the bombers flew to Puerto Rico and then to the Azores.

At the time, the U.S. had an arms embargo on Israel, and Portuguese authorities impounded one of the bombers. Many other countries also had an arms embargo on both Israel and her Arab neighbors, but Czechoslovakia wasn’t one of them as it was openly friendly towards Israel. The three remaining planes then flew to Zatec, Czechoslovakia, where they were fitted for military use. Although the planes were airworthy, they had holes that needed to be fixed, guns and bomb racks to be placed, and proper military gear to be put into the cockpit. In a twist of irony, German-made bomb racks were used. Once the planes had the weapons placed and the problems fixed, they were given a new paint job and deemed ready for combat.

The pilots of the planes were instructed to fly to their new bases in Israel but to make a bombing run on the way. On June 15, 1948, they took off from Czechoslovakia and were then given the order to bomb targets over Egypt on their way to Tel Nof Airbase. Only one of the bombers had a working oxygen system and an adequate bomb sight, and it was sent to target the king’s palace in Cairo. The other two were sent to bomb an Egyptian air base. While the bombing runs caused minimal damage, they were a morale crusher for the Egyptians who left their airspace wide open with no air defenses. The planes then landed safely at Tel Nof Air Base in Israel.

The three bombers were the backbone of the 69 Squadron, known as the Hammers, throughout the rest of the Israeli War of Independence and flew over 200 sorties. The squadron transferred the bombers to the Ramat David Airbase where they staged for long-range missions. Many of the airmen that flew on the B-17 were Machal volunteers from outside of Israel and had bomber experience in World War II. The commander of the squadron was Ray Kurtz who had been a B-17 navigator who had flown 31 bomber missions during World War II.

Most of the aircraft utilized by the IAF in 1948 were fighters, transport and reconnaissance, as most of the fighting was within the borders of Israel. The usage of the long-range bombers was to bomb enemy targets as well as to support missions like Operation Yoav in September and Operation Chorev in late December. There were some missions to bomb locations like Damascus in an effort to strike fear in the enemy. After the war, the bombers stayed in the air force until 1958 – they were used on a small scale during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Early Israel Air Force missions were a vital part in the success during the War of Independence. While most of the media attention is placed on the fighters, the story of the B-17 bombers is one that needs to be remembers as well. The Machal volunteers that served on the bombers are Forgotten Heroes whose story is finally coming to light in recent documentaries.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.