Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.IXE 

Israel Air Force, 101 Tayeset "The First Fighter Squadron"
Israel, 1948

The IAF was formed when Israel achieved statehood in 1948 and found itself under immediate attack. Its predecessor, Sherut Avir, was the air wing of the Haganah. The IAF's humble beginnings made its first air victories particularly impressive and noteworthy; at first, it was assembled from a hodge-podge collection of civilian aircraft commandeered or donated and converted to military use. A variety of obsolete and surplus ex-World War II (mostly Ex-Luftwaffe) combat aircraft were quickly sourced by various means to supplement this fleet. The backbone of the IAF consisted of 25 Avia S-199 (purchased from Czechoslovakia, and essentially were Czechoslovak-built Messerschmitt Bf 109s) and 62 Spitfire LF Mk IXE.

Artwork by Lieuwe de Vries. Graphic by Ugo Crisponi
Art. LW-06 size 30x40cm available through www.aviationgraphic.com