69 Squadron (Israel)

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69 Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress

The 69 "Hammers" Squadron is an

F-4 Phantom II
.

69 Squadron operated the Kurnass (Sledgehammer), as the Phantom was known in Israel, for 25 years. Its Phantoms saw extensive action during the

suppression of enemy air defences
(SEAD) efforts and took part in repeated battles against Egyptian and Syrian air defence.

The squadron retired its Phantoms in 1994 and reformed shortly thereafter to operate the F-15I Thunder. Described as the "long-range, heavy bombing element of Israeli air power",[2] 69 Squadron, together with Squadrons 119 and 253, carried out Operation Outside the Box, the September 2007 airstrike on a nuclear site in Syria.[3]

Formation and B-17 years

1948 Arab–Israeli War

In early 1948, with the upcoming end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the looming confrontation with Israel's Arab neighbors, the leadership of the Yishuv embarked on a worldwide effort to purchase weapons. Despite an American arms embargo, Israeli acquisition agents managed to purchase four commercial B-17 Flying Fortresses in the US. Two were demilitarised and modified for freighter use by Aerodex Inc. of Miami, then sold unknowingly to a front company that said they would be used in the Caribbean. The first two departed the city on June 12, followed a day later by a third, and made their way first to Puerto Rico and then across the Atlantic via the Azores to Žatec, Czechoslovakia, where they arrived on June 14.[4][5]

By June 16 the story had made it to the press and the fourth plane, whose crew only barely managed to elude the FBI, was impounded in the Azores by Portuguese authorities. At Žatec the three B-17s, missing bomb shackles and sights, oxygen systems and defensive weapons, were militarized and the squadron that was to operate them, at the time referred to as the "Hammers Program", first took shape. Ray Kurtz, a former B-17 navigator with 31 missions over Europe, was assigned command of the squadron, staffed by an international crew of World War II veterans who volunteered to fight for Israel.[6][5] Robert Luttrell, a sailor by trade, flying as a bombardier, recalled that for each mission the B-17s were given new markings and their armament was altered to lead the enemy to believe Israel possessed an entire squadron of the type.[7]

Israeli B-17s in flight, 1953

On July 15, 1948, with fighting raging in Israel and Tel Aviv suffering from

El-Arish. While Katz and Kurtz successfully bombed the Abdeen Palace, the other two failed to locate their target and bombed Rafah instead. All landed that evening at Tel Nof.[8][9]

The three aircraft were back in action at 06:30 on the next day, hitting the REAF base at El-Arish they had missed the previous night. As Tel-Nof was deemed vulnerable to Egyptian attacks, the aircraft then landed at

Majdal, Damascus and Tulkarm. Raising the average bomb load of an IAF sortie from 100 kg per sortie to 743 kg per sortie, the B-17s are credited with propelling the Israeli Air Force into the realm of modern aerial warfare.[5][10]

All three bombers flew in support of

Tarshiha, in the Upper Galilee, in support of Operation Hiram against Fawzi al-Qawuqji's Arab Liberation Army.[12][13]

Operation Yoav had left Faluja as an enclave within Israeli-held territory. During November 1948 the Hammers routinely returned to bomb what became known as the Faluja Pocket.

flak on most occasions, both participating bombers were hit, rendering one unserviceable.[15]

Postwar deactivation

A PBY Catalina at the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim. The aircraft bears the B-17-era squadron badge

With the end of the

Hebrew speaking unit. Training was stepped-up to qualify Israelis to take over vacated positions. The squadron settled into a peacetime routine, with the B-17s conducting bombing and cloud seeding tests and participating in IDF exercises. The IAF itself was undergoing major changes, and in early May 1949 69 Squadron relocated to Tel Nof.[16]

In October 1951 the squadron moved, this time to

PBY Catalinas, acquired to guarantee supply to the town of Eilat at Israel's southern extremity. Utilization of these aircraft was low and they were soon withdrawn from service with the squadron. Spares, meanwhile, were hampering B-17 operations. In March 1954 69 Squadron was deactivated and its assets handed over to 103 Squadron,[17] which soon retired the Catalinas but continued to operate the three B-17s.[18]

Suez Crisis

In 1956, growing diplomatic tensions in the Middle East, tensions that would soon culminate in the

Israeli Aircraft Industries, at Lod. Three weeks later, on October 25, the IAF reactivated the squadron.[19]

Only two Fortresses had left Bedek's storage facility by the time hostilities commenced on October 29, 1956. The squadron had not flown a single training sortie before fighting began and had only two full crews ready for battle. Israeli piston-engined aircraft flew few missions in the first two days of the war, but on October 31, 69 Squadron received an order to bomb Rafah in support of IDF Brigade 27 operations. Arriving over the target early on November 1, the aircraft could not tell the location of friendly troops, and without being able to communicate with the forces on the ground, were forced to dump their bomb loads in the Mediterranean. The B-17s were back in action the following night, to attack retreating Egyptian forces. A repeat of the previous night's lack of communications with Israeli forces operating in the same area again prevented the strike, and the bombers dropped their loads on the outskirts of Gaza.[20]

With the threat of Egyptian air power curtailed by Anglo-French strikes against Egyptian air bases, the B-17s began flying daylight operations. On November 2, the squadron supported the Israeli push towards

Sharm el Sheikh, on the southern tip of the Sinai
. Two aircraft bombed the local barracks but were met with effective anti-aircraft fire which damaged the lead aircraft. The damaged aircraft managed to return to Ramat David, just as the third B-17 returned from storage at Bedek. Two aircraft were therefore available for the B-17s' final combat sorties with the IAF, another failed strike on Sharm el Sheikh on November 4.

The squadron flew 8 sorties throughout the war and dropped 27 tons of bombs. With the conclusion of hostilities the squadron continued training and on November 10 moved to Tel Nof. The B-17s flew a few more sorties during a January 1957 survey of the Sinai but were soon sent back to storage. 69 Squadron was disbanded on March 1, 1957. It was initially slated to operate the IAF's next heavy bomber, the

Sud-Ouest Vautour, but these plans were dropped in favour of 110 Squadron.[21]

Flying the F-4 Phantom II

War of Attrition

Israeli airmen learning to fly the F-4 Phantom (kneeling) and their American instructors (standing) at George AFB, 1969
Checkered tail of 69 Squadron F-4 Phantom II

69 Squadron was reactivated at Ramat David on November 1, 1969, headed by Major Avihu Ben-Nun. A year earlier Israel had ordered 50 F-4 Phantoms, enough to equip two squadrons. Ten IAF airmen had spent March to August 1969 training with the 479th Tactical Training Wing at George Air Force Base in California. These included five 69 Squadron airmen: Ben-Nun, Ehud Hankin, Rami Harpaz, Shaul Levi and Achikar Eyal. Upon their return to Israel, then in the midst of the War of Attrition, the 69 Squadron airmen flew both training and combat missions with 201 Squadron, the IAF's first Kurnass squadron.[22][23] On one such mission on November 11, Hankin and Eyal shot down an Egyptian MiG-21 to score the Phantom's first aerial victory with the IAF.[24]

69 Squadron received its first four aircraft on November 15, the third Peace Echo I batch to arrive in Israel. Although still far from the 12 aircraft required to achieve IAF operational certification, on November 25, 1969, Avihu Ben-Nun led the squadron's debut operational mission, a

SA-2 battery near Fayid. Still busy forming, receiving new aircraft, training and qualifying fresh airmen, the squadron was soon taking an increasingly large part in the IAF's ongoing battles against Egyptian air defences along the Suez Canal.[25][26]

When the IAF launched

MiG-21. Operations, meanwhile, were also conducted to deter Syria from joining the fight, with Phantoms conducting low level runs over Damascus on January 6, 1970, and over 5 major Syrian cities on January 29.[27][28] The squadron suffered its first combat loss on April 2, when Gideon Magen and Pinchas Nachmani were shot down by a Syrian MiG-21, becoming prisoners of war.[29]

Israeli aerial supremacy prompted Egypt to turn to the

USSR for assistance and by the spring of 1970 an entire Soviet air defence division had deployed to Egypt.[30] The Soviet presence spelled the end of Priha and Egypt regained the initiative, rolling its air defence array towards the Suez Canal. The IAF sought to hamper these advances through a renewed SEAD campaign and 69 Squadron saw repeated action against Egyptian air defences and related infrastructure. Egyptian SAMs soon exacted a toll on the attackers, with Rami Harpaz and Achikar Eyal falling into Egyptian captivity on June 30, a fate shared by Amos Zamir and Amos Levitov on July 5.[31]

AN/ALQ-71

Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pods were soon rushed to Israel but proved only partially effective against surface-to-air missiles. On July 18, the IAF attempted to fly eight F-4 Phantoms in close-knit pod formations, thought to maximize the effect of the ECM pods, only to lose 201 Squadron leader Shmuel Hetz, while an injured Avihu Ben-nun was forced to crash land his badly damaged aircraft at Rephidim.[32][33]

The SEAD campaign was halted. Although the IAF possessed no operational answer to the massive air defence array forming west of the Canal, it still enjoyed supremacy in the air-to-air arena.[33] On July 30, 69 Squadron took part in Operation Rimon 20, a ruse designed to draw Soviet-flown MiG-21s into battle. In the ensuing dogfight, five Soviet fighters were downed, of which one was shot down by Avihu Ben-Nun with Shaul Levi and another by Aviem Sella with Reuven Reshef. With no side securing a clear advantage, yet both able to claim military achievements, American pressure soon bore fruit and a ceasefire marking the end of the war came into effect on August 7, 1970.[34][35]

Reconnaissance

With the next round of the

C-97 Stratocruiser.[36] As for reconnaissance, the IAF had ordered the RF-4E reconnaissance variant of the Phantom, but these were not slated for delivery until 1971.[33][37]

69 Squadron had already modified two F-4s in early 1970 for the role by removing their cannons and replacing them with cameras.

Mirage III.[36][39]

Yom Kippur War

Experienced and well-trained, 69 Squadron nevertheless entered the

SA-7s over the Golan Heights.[40]

The next morning saw the squadron participate in Operation Tagar, a SEAD offensive against Egyptian air defences, which began with strikes against Egyptian air bases. Seven Phantoms led by squadron leader Yoram Agmon struck the air base at Gianaclis, and although two defending MiG-21s were shot down, the strike failed to cause significant damage. Tagar was quickly discontinued when the dire situation on the Golan Heights became apparent. 69 Squadron efforts were redirected north where the IAF staged the ill-fated Operation Model 5. Flying with outdated intelligence and no electronic screening against mobile SAM batteries and heavy flak, 6 IAF Phantoms were lost, including 69 Squadron's Ehud Hankin and Shaul Levy in Kurnass 123. Both were killed.[41]

The same evening saw appeals for help from the southern front, leading the squadron to fly strike missions against Egyptian bridges and assembly points on the Suez Canal. Another Phantom was lost to surface-to-air missiles, its crew falling into captivity. Four more aircraft were lost on the following day, October 8. One was lost in an otherwise successful morning strike against the Syrian air base at

SA-6. Although four airmen were rescued by Israeli forces, pilot Zvulun Amizi and navigator Zeev Yogev were killed.[42]

A "Toad"-liveried F-4E Phantom II

Three days into the war, 69 Squadron had lost six aircraft. Four airmen had been killed and four became prisoners of war. The detailed planning and extensive training undertaken before the war had gone to waste and the sustained campaign required to defeat enemy air defences was abandoned in the face of Egyptian and Syrian advances. Nevertheless, it had been the close air support provided by the IAF that helped Israeli troops on the ground to stem the tide and eventually go on the offensive, first in the north and later in the south.[43]

October 10 saw the Hammers strike the Egyptian air base at Quweisna, while two Syrian MiGs were claimed on the northern front. The next day the IDF pushed into Syria, and 69 Squadron was at hand striking fuel depots, SAM sites and the air bases at Dumayr, Nasiriya and Damascus. One aircraft was lost over Lebanon, where its crew were interned until the end of the war.[44] Syria was the primary target for air base strikes on October 12 and 13. Yoram Agmon and Daniel Whittman claimed two aerial victories, one on each of these two days.[45]

The squadron lost another aircraft on October 14, possibly the result of friendly fire on the southern front, with the crew rescued. The same day the IAF began receiving attrition replacements from

USAF stocks. These Phantoms were delivered in their darker Southeast Asia scheme and rushed into service without repainting, gaining the name "Toads". To ease maintenance, most were retained by 69 Squadron, which transferred several of its airframes to 201 Squadron.[46]

Unlike Israeli aircraft, the new aircraft were equipped with TISEO targeting equipment, allowing them to launch the

Hermon. Some 50 missiles were launched in the course of the war.[47] 69 Squadron continued hammering Syrian infrastructure and Egyptian air bases in the following days. On October 16, Yoram Agmon shot down a Syrian MiG-21 to become to only pilot to achieve ace status while flying with the squadron.[48] The Hammers flew their final air base strike of the war on October 20, striking the EAF air base at Khutamiyah. Pilot Doodi Zait and navigator Yoram Rubinstein were hit by a SAM and forced to ejected, becoming POWs in Egypt.[49]

Postwar activity

The Yom Kippur War ended on October 24. 69 Squadron had flown 789 sorties, had lost 9 aircraft, and had shot down 10 enemy aircraft. Four airmen had been killed and eight had become prisoners of war.[50] The end of the war did not spell an end to the fighting. On December 6, a mixed 69 and 119 squadrons combat air patrol over the Gulf of Suez engaged a flight of MiG-21s to score one kill, possibly two. The kill was credited to 69's Yiftach Shadmi and Meir Gur, with the MiG-21s revealed to be a part of a North Korean contingent that had deployed to Egypt during the war.[51][52] With the arrival of spring, fighting resumed in the north, where Israel and Syria had yet to sign a disengagement agreement.[53] On April 8, 1974, while on patrol against low flying Syrian helicopters, the squadron lost one of its aircraft, probably to a shoulder-launched SA-7. The crew, Shadmi and Rafaeli, were interned in Lebanon for a month. Three weeks later, on April 29, the squadron scored two aerial kills against Syrian MiG-21s, the squadron's final victories to date. Fighting ceased on May 31 1974.[54]

The postwar years were spent implementing the lessons of the Yom Kippur War. SEAD tactics were improved, training was stepped up and innovative technologies introduced. The Hammers cooperated with

F-16 Fighting Falcon.[54][55] The squadron was the first IAF squadron to introduce Rafael's Python 3 into service in March 1977.[56]

Air-to-air training continued and on December 29, 1977, during combat against a pair of F-15s, two squadron aircraft collided. Squadron leader Avsha Friedman and navigator Avihu Ikar were killed. The remains of their aircraft, Kurnass 305, stand as a memorial to the two pilots on the

Carmiel road.[57] On January 20, 1981, the squadron lost another pilot in similar circumstances, when Kurnass 222 collided with F-16 222. Squadron leader Eliezer Adar ejected, but Dani Weiss was killed, as was the F-16 pilot, Uri Ben-Amitai.[58]

The Hammers flew 28 support, 13 reconnaissance and 6 combat air patrols during

SA-9 batteries protecting PLO bases near Beirut.[60]

1982 Lebanon War

By the spring of 1982 tensions had risen again and the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to London

Operation Peace for Galilee.[61] 69 Squadron flew 27 sorties in the preparation phase for the operation, from June 4 to the actual beginning of the invasion on June 6. The first of these were carried out on the afternoon of June 4, when a 4-ship formation struck the stadium in Beirut, used as a PLO weapons depot. Once Israeli ground forces began pushing into Lebanon, 69 Squadron provided close air support. One aircraft was damaged by enemy flak on the first day of the invasion, and two suffered landing accidents, but with poor weather and a shortage of targets, there was initially little fighting to be done.[62] This changed on June 8 when it became apparent the Syrian forces in Lebanon would have to be engaged,[63] and that same afternoon two squadron Phantoms bombed a Syrian electronic warfare facility at Jabel Barouk.[64]

Kill-marking borne by Mole Cricket 19 Phantoms

Syrian SAMs had been a constant threat to IAF operations, and as the war progressed the Syrian SAM array in the

Bekaa Valley was bolstered with additional batteries. It was therefore decided to launch a comprehensive assault on the Syrian defences, in order to secure aerial superiority over the area and ensure air support for Israeli ground forces.[63] At 14:00 on June 9 the IAF launched Operation Mole Cricket 19, the culmination of 10 years of planning and preparation. 69 Squadron participated with 13 Tadmit and four follow-up free-fall bombers sent against the Syrians. The former operated individually, targeting Syrian fire control centers and radars, in all engaging seven SAM batteries.[63][65][66]

Mole Cricket 19 was a resounding success, with 14 out of 19 SAM batteries in the Bekaa destroyed and dozens of Syrian fighters downed in the ensuing dogfights.[63][67][68] After the peak of June 9, during which 29 sorties were flown, activity declined. 12 more sorties were flown on June 10 and 19 on June 11, when a ceasefire came into effect. The squadron had flown 152 sorties throughout the offensive, of which 71 were close air support, 35 SEAD and 31 reconnaissance.[69]

Once again, the official end of hostilities did not spell an end to fighting and Israel remained engaged in Lebanon for years to come. When the Syrians introduced the

Ron Arad was captured by members of the Shi'a Amal Movement. Initial negotiations for an exchange of prisoners failed and Arad has been missing since and his fate remains unknown.[71]

In early 1986 the squadron introduced the

F-15E Strike Eagle. 69 Squadron was disbanded in early 1994 in expectation of its re-equipment with the new aircraft.[72][73]

Thunder Squadron

F-15I Ra'ams
at Red Flag 04-3
Independence Day
2011

Four Israeli airmen, led by future squadron leader Dror Ben-David, travelled to the US in 1997 for the F-15E conversion course. The first two aircraft landed in Hatzerim on January 19, 1998. 16 aircraft had arrived by January 1, 1999, when the squadron was declared operational, and 10 days later the unit carried out it first operational sorties over southern Lebanon. Deliveries were completed in June 2000, by which time the squadron had taken part in operations in support of the May 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.[74][75]

The squadron has since undertaken numerous missions during the

Operation Orchard, the destruction of a Syrian nuclear site on September 6, 2007.[76][77][78] The squadron has been linked to a possible Israeli strike against the Iranian nuclear program.[79]

Since its reactivation, the 69 Squadron has undertaken multiple deployments abroad. It was the first Israeli unit to participate in exercise

RAF Waddington International Air Show.[80][81][82]

2023 Israeli anti-judicial reform protests

On 5 March 2023, as part of the

2023 Israeli anti-judicial reform protests, 37 out of 40 of the squadron's reservist pilots announced that they would refuse to take part in an upcoming training exercise in response to a planned judicial reform by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement, the pilots stated that they were not prepared to serve a "dictatorial regime". According to The Guardian, the refusal raised questions concerning the IDF's operational competence, as the pilots, who fly F-15I Strike Eagle jets, are "strategically crucial" to the Israeli military. In response, Commander of the Israeli Air Force Tomer Bar and Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi announced they would meet with reservist pilots on 7 March.[83]

See also

  • 1973 Syrian General Staff Headquarters Raid

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Pinchas Ben-Porat" (in Hebrew). Palmach web site. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  2. ^ "Hammers: Israel's Long-Range Heavy Bomber Arm: The Story of 69 Squadron". Schiffer Books. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  3. ^ "Ending a decade of silence, Israel confirms it blew up Assad's nuclear reactor". Retrieved 2018-03-21.
  4. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 9-14.
  5. ^ a b c Norton 2004, pp. 138–140.
  6. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 9-14.
  7. ^ Luttrell, Robert J., "I flew for Israel," Flying Magazine, May 1949, p.58; illustration on p.23.
  8. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 14-15.
  9. ^ Nordeen and Nicolle 1996, p. 96.
  10. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 15–19.
  11. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 20-25.
  12. ^ Nordeen and Nicolle 1996, p. 102.
  13. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 25-36.
  14. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 36-39.
  15. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 40-53.
  16. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 56-79.
  17. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 56-79.
  18. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 80.
  19. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 80-84.
  20. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 84-86.
  21. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 86-89.
  22. ^ Norton 2004, p. 228.
  23. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 100-106.
  24. ^ Aloni Israeli Phantom II Aces 2004, p. 86.
  25. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 100-111.
  26. ^ Norton 2004, p. 229.
  27. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 100-111.
  28. ^ Norton 2004, p. 229.
  29. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 113.
  30. ^ Aloni Israeli Mirage and Nesher Aces 2004, pp. 57-58.
  31. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 115-118.
  32. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 118-119.
  33. ^ a b c d Aloni 2001, p. 73.
  34. ^ Aloni Israeli Phantom II Aces 2004, pp. 13–14.
  35. ^ Norton 2004, p. 206.
  36. ^ a b Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 121–127.
  37. ^ Norton 2004, pp. 231–232.
  38. ^ Norton 2004, pp. 231–232.
  39. ^ Aloni Israeli Phantom II Aces 2004, pp. 21–22.
  40. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 129–130.
  41. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 130–139.
  42. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 130–139.
  43. ^ Norton 2004, pp. 38–39.
  44. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 140–143.
  45. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 144–145
  46. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 144–145
  47. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 150.
  48. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 146.
  49. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 148.
  50. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 152, 224.
  51. ^ a b Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 153–154.
  52. ^ Aloni Israeli Phantom II Aces 2004, pp. 78–79.
  53. ^ Aloni 2001, p. 88.
  54. ^ a b Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 155–156.
  55. ^ Aloni Israeli Phantom II Aces 2004, pp. 76–78.
  56. ^ a b Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 158.
  57. ^ Segev, Amir. התנגשות קורנסים 305 ו-310 - 29.12.1977 (in Hebrew). www.sky-high.co.il. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  58. ^ Segev, Amir. תאונת קורנס 222 ונץ 222 (in Hebrew). www.sky-high.co.il. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  59. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 160–161.
  60. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 163–164.
  61. ^ Norton 2004, p. 44.
  62. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 165–167.
  63. ^ a b c d Norton 2004, pp. 46–47.
  64. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 167.
  65. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 168–170.
  66. ^ Aloni 2001, p. 90.
  67. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 168–170.
  68. ^ Aloni 2001, p. 90.
  69. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, p. 173.
  70. ^ Weiss, Arik; Solomon, Ronen (August 2, 2008). פרשת רון ארד: החולצה שלא נבדקה (in Hebrew). Ma'ariv NRG. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  71. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 173–178.
  72. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 176-190.
  73. ^ Aloni 2006, p. 77.
  74. ^ Aloni 2006, p. 80.
  75. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 203-208.
  76. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 219–221.
  77. ^ Mahnaimi, Uzi (September 16, 2007). "Israelis 'blew apart Syrian nuclear cache'". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  78. ^ Follath, Erich; Stark, Holger (February 11, 2009). "The Story of 'Operation Orchard' - How Israel Destroyed Syria's Al Kibar Nuclear Reactor". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011. Squadron explicitly mentioned in attached graphic.
  79. ^ "Report: IAF trained for Iran attack". The Jerusalem Post. January 15, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  80. ^ Aloni 2006, p. 94.
  81. ^ Aloni and Avidror 2010, pp. 209-212.
  82. ^ "F15I Ra'am Waddington 2001". Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  83. ^ McKernan, Bethan (7 March 2023). "Israeli military reservists refuse to train in protest at far-right government". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

Bibliography

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