Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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As Israel declared independence, it had to create its own armed forces while being under a weapons embargo. Resourceful agents were able to outsmart governments of countries such as the USA and Britain and smuggle weapons to the former British protectorate. In August 1948, two P-51 Mustangs arrived on board of a freighter ship and soon became an asset in the Israeli Air Force. The service initially consisted of Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers and mercenaries from all over the World. These pilots would take the P-51 Mustang to the skies against their Arab adversaries.

Main sources:
- Robert Gandt - Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel
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- Boris Senior - New Heavens: My Life as a Fighter Pilot and a Founder of the Israel Air Force
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- Shlomo Aloni - Israeli Air Force Operations in the 1948 War
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#militaryaviationhistory #p51mustang #israeliairforce