Heroes of the Skies by Avi Heiligman

The Jewish Home | JULY 28, 2022

Forgotten Her es Heroes in the Sky

By Avi Heiligman

George Lichter Wayne Peake

In the months leading up to the Israeli Independence in May 1948, the call had gone out that volunteers would be needed in an inevitable war with the Arabs. Especially needed were pilots and ground crews with combat experience. Hundreds of pilots, other air crew and ground crew members from sixteen countries answered the call and made up the bulk of the Israeli Air Force. Called Machal, these volunteers helped Israel reach air superiority over the Arabs air forces and laid the groundwork of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).

George Lichter was from Brooklyn and decided to become a pilot after hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was accepted into training and during World War II flew in a P-47 Thunderbolt and a P-5 Mustang. During his 88 operational sorties, Lichter flew over the Normandy landings and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross among several decorations while downing two enemy aircraft.

After the war, he was a flight instructor in China before signing up to fly for the fledgling Israeli Air force in 1948. The Israelis were flying the outdated Avia S-199, and Lichter learned to fly the plane in Czechoslovakia. Later in 1948, he ferried more planes to Israel from Europe and joined the 101st Squadron – the first fighter squadron in the IAF.

Wayne Peake was another Machal pilot from the U.S. with World War II experience. The North Carolinian was not Jewish, but of all his war experiences, he was most proud of his time serving with the Israeli Air Force. He earned the nickname “The Friendly Fighter Pilot” when during an aerial dogfight he noticed that his opponent’s guns had jammed. Instead of swooping in for the easy kill, Peake gave him a wave and let him go. pictures at will over Israel. They couldn’t shoot it down and the best that could be done was to watch out for it on radar screens. Finally, on November 2, the plane was spotted by the Gefen Mobile Station, and the information was passed onto the air force. Peake went up in his P-51 Mustang and gave a short burst of gunfire before the guns stopped. He assumed they had jammed, but in reality, it was because Israel was short on aircraft bullets. Peake broke off the attack assuming that he had missed the plane,

Instead of swooping in for the easy kill, Peake gave him a wave and let him go.

Peake experienced a frightening encounter once when he was taking off in an S-199 when the plane crashed. South African pilot Syd Cohen, who had medical training, performed CPR on Peake until he regained consciousness.

In October 1948, an assumed enemy reconnaissance plane was causing uneasiness as it flew undisturbed taking but others observed it smoking, and it soon crashed into the sea. Another Israeli plane flew above the wreckage but couldn’t identify its origin. It was later learned that the plane was a British Mosquito.

After the war, Peake flew with the Flying Tigers, and when he died in 1979, he was given a military funeral in Israel.

While fighter pilots got a lot of press for their heroics during the war, Israel also had a bomber squadron.

The 69th Squadron, commanded by American Bill Katz, flew three B-17 Flying Fortresses out of the Ramat David Air Base. Their flight from the U.S. to Israel was hazardous Soon after they were airborne, Katz thought he heard a strange whistling. After looking around, he noticed that the navigator was halfway out of the airplane hanging on for dear life. In a place where Plexiglas should have been, there was broken plywood which the navigator, Eli Cohen, accidently stepped upon. Katz grabbed him and soon other crew members came to their rescue, and they were attended to while in the Azores. A fourth plane was supposed to accompany them but was impounded and never reached Israel.

A few weeks later, on July 25, 1948, the three bombers left Europe headed for Israel. Instead of heading directly to their air bases, the planes made a bombing run on Egyptian targets with Katz’s target being the Abdeen Palace in Cairo. Katz’s B-17 had over 100 holes from enemy anti-aircraft fire, but the plane survived. The Egyptians were not expecting the attack and were taken off-guard. The three Fly Fortresses were soon back in action and until the ceasefire in July

Sidney Cohen, right, with Nelson Mandela and Ezer Weizman Al Schwimmer, left, with David Ben Gurion

were active on all fronts. After hostilities began, again the squadron was reformed and participated in several raids until the end of the war.

Dr. Sidney Cohen was an experienced World War II pilot from South Africa. In October 1948, he replaced Modi Alon, who was killed on a mission, as the commanding officer of the 101st Squadron. In addition, he served as the base commander and was in charge of the IAF’s first pilot training course. Cohen graduated the four candidates, which included future commander of the IAF Moti Hod. Cohen later returned to Israel to become a doctor at Tel Hashomer Hospital and served as an airborne doctor during the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War.

New Yorker Al Schwimmer was the man responsible to track down planes and get them to Israel. Schwimmer had been a flight engineer for TWA and used his contacts to obtain surplus World War II American planes. The three B-17 bombers mentioned earlier and P-51 Mustangs, S-199, as well as transport planes, made it to Israel under his direction. He also organized the transfer of supplies and weapons from Europe to Israel and delivered them to beleaguered troops on the battlefield. Many of the Machal volunteers left Israel at the end of hostilities. The pilots that joined the Israeli Air Force came to defend the new nation and help it survive against superior Arab air forces. The planes they had were rudimentary, but their skills were very often better than their adversaries. After the war, the IAF graduated more Israelis as pilots, and they took over the air force. However, during the Israeli War of Independence, it was the Machal volunteers that were the backbone of the soon formidable air force.

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.

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