Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base Air Wing 4 | |||||||||||
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בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר | |||||||||||
Hatzor, Southern District in Israel | |||||||||||
Coordinates | 31°45′45.00″N 34°43′38.00″E / 31.7625000°N 34.7272222°E | ||||||||||
Type | Airbase | ||||||||||
Site information | |||||||||||
Owner | Israel Defense Forces | ||||||||||
Operator | Israeli Air Force | ||||||||||
Site history | |||||||||||
Built | 1942 RAF / 1948 IAF | ||||||||||
In use | 1942 – present | ||||||||||
Airfield information | |||||||||||
Identifiers | ICAO: LLHS | ||||||||||
Elevation | 45 metres (148 ft) AMSL | ||||||||||
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Hatzor Airbase (Hebrew: בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר) (ICAO: LLHS), also titled Kanaf 4 (lit. Wing 4) is an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor Ashdod after which it is named. However, there have been no fighter jets stationed there since 2021, only patrol aircraft, UAVs and defense missiles. A Combined Operations Center for the US military and Israel has also been built there in 2021.[1]
The airbase was opened in 1942 as RAF Qastina by the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom in the then British Protectorate of Palestine. It was named after the perished Palestinian village Qastina southeast of it and the nearby British military base Camp Qastina.
On the night of 25 February 1946, Irgun militants attacked the airfield and destroyed several parked RAF Handley Page Halifax transport aircraft. Two additional RAF airfields, RAF Lydda (nowadays Ben Gurion International Airport) and RAF Sirkin, were attacked in what became known as the "Night of the Airplanes". Altogether, the attacks destroyed 20 RAF aircraft and damaged several others. Following these attacks, the RAF closed some of its Palestine bases to Egypt.[2]
RAF Units stationed at RAF Qastina:
On 15 March 1948, as the British Mandate for Palestine drew to a close, the RAF evacuated the airfield and it was taken over by Haganah forces and renamed Hatzor Airbase after the nearby kibbutz Hatzor Ashdod (see map).
The 101 Squadron "First Fighter" was founded in May 1948 as the first military aircraft squadron in Israel and relocated to Hatzor in November – at that time still with Avia S-199 fighter aircraft imported from Czechoslovakia. It was followed by the Supermarine Spitfire together with the North American P-51 Mustang, from 1956 by the Dassault Mystère IV and from 1961 by the Dassault Mirage III Shahak, which was also used during the Yom Kippur War. From 1971 and 1976 respectively, the IAI Nesher (griffon vulture) and the improved IAI Kfir (young lion) – built in Israel and based on the Dassault Mirage 5 – were handed over to the squadron. From 1987 onwards it flew the F-16C/D Barak and had been involved in numerous missions since its inception.[7]
The 105 Squadron "Scorpion" was founded in 1950 at Ramat David Airbase and initially flew the English Spitfire, later the US P-51 Mustang and the French Dassault Mystère IV. In 1958 it moved to Hatzor and flew the Dassault Super Mystère and from 1962 the Dassault Mirage III Shahak. From 1975 the F-4E Phantom II Kurnas was introduced, then also the IAI Kfir and from 1991 finally the F-16C/D Barak. It was also involved in numerous missions.[8]
The 109 Squadron "The Valley" was founded in 1951 under a different name at Tel Nof Airbase and was relocated to Chazor from 1952 to 1956, where it flew the De Havilland Mosquito purchased from the British as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. In 1956 it took part in the fighting during the Suez Crisis. After that, its Mosquitos were decommissioned and the squadron transferred to Ramat David Airbase.
The 113 Squadron "Hornet" was founded in 1955 at Hatzor as the second jet squadron of the IAF – after the 117 Squadron "First Jet" founded in 1953 at Ramat David. From then until 1973 it flew the Dassault Ouragan, from then on the IAI Nesher and from 1976 the improved IAI Kfir. In 1986 the 113 Squadron at Hatzor was closed and re-established in 1989/90 at Ramon Airbase with AH-64 Apache attack helicopters.
The 201 Squadron "The One" was established at Hatzor in September 1969 as the first of what would later be five F-4E Phantom II Kurnass squadrons. It then took part in the War of Attrition with Egypt and the Yom Kippur War, suffering heavy losses in the latter. In June 1988, the squadron and its Phantoms were relocated to Tel Nof Airbase, where they remained in service until 2004.
In 2021 the 101 Squadron and 105 Squadron moved to Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel, so there are no longer manned jets stationed at Hatzor.[9]
In April 1956, Operation Shacharit (Morning Prayer in Judaism) began with the delivery of Dassault Mystère IV jets from France to Israel. 12 aircraft arrived in the first wave at Hatzor (see black and white photo above), 12 more in August, and in October – shortly before the Suez Crisis – another 36 aircraft in two waves took off from France. On their way to Israel, the planes landed in Brindisi, Italy, to refuel. The Italians were previously stated that the jets are flying from Israel to France for repairs. For the last major transfer, they were divided into two groups of 18 with identical tail numbers, so that it appeared as if the jets were flying there and back. A total of 61 aircraft arrived in Israel (including a photo aircraft), but some of them could not be made combat-ready due to a lack of spare parts and ammunition.[10]
Since Hatzor Airbase is located in a valley between two streams – which are dry most of the year – flooding has occurred repeatedly since its founding, affecting military equipment. This happened in the 1950s, in the winter of 1991/92, in 2013 and most recently in 2020, when fighter aircraft and a battery of defense missiles were so heavily damaged that repairs took five months.[12] This is also a reason why the last two squadrons of manned fighter aircraft at Hatzor were relocated to Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel in 2021.[9] Further expansion of the airbase will also take place mainly in the northern area, which is not affected by flooding (see map).
Since 2010 Hatzor has a network of eight fighter aircraft simulator pods which use satellite footage of countries including Lebanon and Syria to train pilots for deep strike missions.[13] There are simulators for all F-15 and F-16 models installed.
On 2 April 2017, the first two batteries of Israel's latest missile defense system – the David's Sling – went operational on the airbase.[14] A battery of the smaller Iron Dome system has been installed there since 2012, but was damaged in a flood in the winter of 2012/13 and had to be repaired.[15]
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