Page 8 - TORCH Magazine #23 - July 2023

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CUFI.ORG.UK
How the Spitfire helped Iosrael win the War
Uf Independence
ndoubtedly, the most famous British fighter aircraft of World War II, the Spitfire,
is deeply ingrained in the
collective memory of Britons who remember the decisive victory of the Battle of Britain.
After this battle that tested the nation’s resolve and resources, this iconic
and revered aeroplane became the symbol of British defiance in the
air and an emblem of strength through times of adversity. After the Battle of Britain in 1940,
the Spitfire
continued to be
used successfully
by the Allies serving in combats overseas. Today, those who have had the rare privilege of occasionally hearing its recognisable throbbing engine, focus on the skies for a glimpse of its passing.
Just a few years after this much-loved bird was flying over the white cliffs of
Dover, the Spitfire was
flying over a completely different terrain, the arid
land of Israel.
Many may not realise that
the Spitfire was not only used by the newly independent State of
Israel, but it helped bring a turning point in the Jewish nation’s fight for
survival.
On 15 May 1948, one day after
David Ben-Gurion declared Israeli independence, the Jewish nation was invaded by five Arab nations. Israel was significantly under-resourced to defend itself and, at this point, did not possess a single Spitfire. Egypt, on the other hand, had received 62 Spitfires from Britain between 1945 and 1947 in addition to its other aerial capabilities. Defeat for Israel seemed a certainty.