How Four Israeli Fighter Pilots Stopped A Massive Arab Invasion In 1948

Business Insider ^ | 5/16/2014 | Corey Adwar

[iowamark]

Steven Pressfield's new book "The Lion's Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War" contains a remarkable account of the Israeli Air Force's first-ever mission in 1948, in which four planes succeeded against overwhelming odds to stop a massive Egyptian army in its tracks.

When Israel became an independent nation on May 14, 1948, the armies of four Arab neighbors — Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq — immediately invaded the new country to prevent its creation.

The Israelis were desperate to defend themselves, but they lacked many modern weapons and had no aircraft to protect troops, Pressfield wrote. Meanwhile, western nations including the U.S. and Britain were enforcing a ban on arms shipments to Israel.

Basing his book on dozens of interviews with various individuals who experienced Israel's early wars, Pressfield wrote the chapters from the perspectives of veterans who survived combat, telling the story in their voices.

Knowing a massive Arab invasion was imminent, American Lou Lenart helped recruit foreign war veterans like himself to fly for Israel. Czechoslovakia was one of the only countries willing to sell aircraft to Israel, because it was a Soviet bloc nation desperate for American dollars.

Just two days before the Arab nations invaded, Lenart and a handful of recruits rushed to Czechoslovakia to train on that country’s version of a German Messerschmitt 109 fighter plane — ironically, the type flown by the Nazis during World War II. Lenart, who had served as a U.S. Marine fighter pilot against the Japanese, was not impressed with the Czech aircraft:

[GOPJ]

Would make a great Movie!

Loved the ending - Arabs were sure the four planes were the tip of the spear... that Jews had hundreds of planes... You're right - it would make a great movie.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Reminds me of the story of Gidon (Gideon) and his army of 300 against the much larger Midianite army.