some more des::
The IAF's first Spitfire was put together in 1948, from parts of British planes that the RAF had left behind when the British pulled out of Palestine. The plane carried out various airborne intelligence missions. A second Spitfire was built, this time from the remains of an Egyptian plane shot down by AAA while attacking Sde Dov on May 1948. The plane was taken to the 'Kiryah' area in northern Tel Aviv and patched up. It equipped the IAF air fleet together with 3 additional Spitfires that had been purchased from Czechoslovakia. A short time later, 47 additional planes arrived by air and sea, in Operation 'Velveta'. Before the end of 1949, nine more Spitfires had arrived, also bought in Czechoslovakia, and after the war 30 more were brought in from Italy.
The two Spitfires that had been assembled in Israel entered service in the 'First Combat Squadron' during the second lull in fighting in the War of Independence. The first was a photo reconnaissance plane that 'Mahal' volunteer John Doyle used for a photo reconnaissance flight over Damascus. A technical malfunction later caused it to burn down while on the ground.
On October 15 1948, three Spitfires accompanied two Beaufighters in an attack on El Arish, and the next day another Spitfire escorted two B-17 bombers raiding Faluja. In the 1950's the planes were organized in 3 different squadrons, escorting bombers and carrying out espionage activity. In air battles during the War of Independence, The Israeli Spitfires shot down around 12 airplanes - a number that was without precedent at the time.
The IAF Spitfires were sold to Burma in 1954. A number of planes, including the 'Black Spitfire', were left in Israel, at the initiative of Ezer Weizmann. Two are on display in IAF Museum at Hatzerim, and one of theses is still flightworthy; it is among the handful of Spitfires in the world that are still in flying condition.
