Tel Nof Airbase

Main base of the Israeli Air Force

Tel Nof Israeli Air Force Base
Air Force Base 8

בסיס חיל-האוויר תל נוף

Rehovot, Central District in Israel

Tel Nof Airbase

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Tel Nof Airbase

Tel Nof Airbase (Israel)

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Coordinates| 31°50′22.10″N 34°49′18.64″E﻿ / ﻿31.8394722°N 34.8218444°E﻿ / 31.8394722; 34.8218444
Type| Airbase
Site information
Owner| Israel Defense Forces
Operator| Israeli Air Force
Site history
Built| 1939 RAF / 1948 IAF
In use| 1939 - present
Airfield information
Identifiers| ICAO: LLEK
Elevation| 59 metres (194 ft) AMSL
| Runways

Direction | Length and surface
15R/33L | 2,388 metres (7,835 ft) Asphalt
15L/33R | 2,387 metres (7,831 ft) Asphalt
18/36 | 2,750 metres (9,022 ft) Asphalt
09/27 | 1,830 metres (6,004 ft) Asphalt

Tel Nof Airbase (Hebrew: בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר תֵּל נוֹף, English: Lookout hill) (ICAO: LLEK), also known as Air Force Base 8, is the oldest and main base of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) located 5 km south of Rehovot, Israel. Tel Nof houses two strike fighter, two helicopter and a UAV squadron. Also located on the base are the Flight Test Center and several special units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), among others Unit 669 (heliborne Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)) and the Paratroopers Brigade training center and its headquarters.

## History

[edit]

Established in July 1939 as RAF Aqir during the British Mandate, it served as the main base for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Palestine. It was named after the Palestinian village Aqir north of it that perished in the 1948 Palestine war and was located in the area of today's Kiryat Ekron.

Operational units from 1941 to 1948:

* No. 6 Squadron between 17 and 24 February 1941 with the Westland Lysander[1]
* No. 10 Squadron detachment (1942) Handley Page Halifax
* No. 11 Squadron (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 32 Squadron (1946) Supermarine Spitfire IX
* No. 37 Squadron (1945) Consolidated Liberator VI
* No. 45 Squadron (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 55 Squadron (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 70 Squadron (1945) Consolidated Liberator VI
* No. 80 Squadron (1941) Hawker Hurricane I
* No. 84 Squadron (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 113 Squadron (1946–1947) Handley Page Halifax
* No. 159 Squadron (1942) Consolidated Liberator II
* No. 160 Squadron (1942) Consolidated Liberator II
* No. 162 Squadron (1942) Vickers Wellington later Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 208 Squadron (1941) Hawker Audax and (1946) Supermarine Spitfire VIII
* No. 211 Squadron (1941) Bristol Blenheim IV
* No. 215 Squadron (1947) Douglas Dakota I
* No. 221 Squadron detachment (1945) Vickers Wellington XII
* No. 227 Squadron (1942) Handley Page Halifax
* No. 250 Squadron (1941) Curtiss Tomahawk IIB
* No. 294 Squadron detachment (1944) Vickers Wellington IC
* No. 335 (Greek) Squadron (1941) Hawker Hurricane I
* No. 450 Squadron RAAF (1941) Hawker Hurricane I
* No. 620 Squadron (1946) Douglas Dakota and Handley Page Halifax
* No. 621 Squadron (1946) Avro Lancaster ASR.III
* No. 680 Squadron detachment (1945) Fairchild Argus
* No. 76 Operational Training Unit Vickers Wellington \- Formed at RAF Aqir on 1 October 1943, equipped with Vickers Wellington Mk.IIIs and Xs to train night bomber crews for squadrons in the Middle East, disbanding on 30 July 1945.[2] 76 OTU, despite operating Wellingtons, were also working up crews for B-24 Liberators. After completion of their course those crews were passed on to Liberator conversion units.[3][4]

* A Greek pilot in front of a British Hawker Hurricane at RAF Aqir, 1939-1943

* A 76 OTU Vickers Wellington Mark X at RAF Aqir, 1944-1945

* Handley Page Halifax of 113 Squadron from RAF Aqir, 1946-1947

After the British withdrew in 1948, the base was named Ekron Airbase after this Israeli village and, from 1950, Tel Nof Airbase (English: Lookout hill). The name "Tel Nof" dates back to the 1930s, when the area was known by this name as an urban development area, similar to the then-thriving "Tel Aviv" (English: Spring hill).

### First fighter aircraft

[edit]

On 29 May 1948, the first four fighter aircraft Avia S-199 of the first aircraft squadron 101 "First Fighter" of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) took off from here for their first mission, an attack on the Ad Halom Bridge on the eastern outskirts of Ashdod, which was in the hands of Egyptian troops. Important was less the modest military success of this operation than the shock to the Egyptian soldiers when they saw with their own eyes that Israel now had an Air Force.

On 17 August 1948, Tel Nof Airbase was officially and ceremoniously opened. Hatzor Airbase and Ramat David Airbase taken over by the British soon followed. The IAF Flight Academy was initially set up in Tel Nof until it was moved to the newly built Hatzerim Airbase in 1966.[5]

* Czech Avia S-199 of Israeli 101 Squadron at Ekron Airbase in 1948

* An Avia S-199 of 101 Squadron at the IAF Museum in 2006

* A Spitfire Mk.IXe of 101 Squadron, from the early days of the IAF

* A P-51D Mustang of 101 Squadron of the IAF, from the early days too

### Paratroopers Brigade

[edit]

During the 1948 Palestine War there was a provisional paratroopers unit in Israel, which was expanded from the beginning of the 1950s into a regular Paratroopers Brigade, whose headquarters and training center is still located on Tel Nof to this day. This brigade and its units has since been involved in many important operations in Israel's wars, such as: the Suez Crisis and the Six-Day War, where the conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem with the capture of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall by Israeli paratroopers was particularly remembered. One and a half kilometers west of Tel Nof is the main Paratroopers Memorial on Road 40, which commemorates those who fell in these units.

* Soldiers of the Israel Paratroopers Brigade at Tel Nof Airbase in 1955

* Israeli paratroopers reach the Western Wall on 7 June 1967

* Paratroopers Memorial west of Tel Nof near Road 40

### Yom Kippur War

[edit]

An F-4E Phantom II Kur­nass of 119 Squadron "Bat" at Giv'at Olga Technoda

Tel Nof Airbase has been steadily expanded over the years, and during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, seven air squadrons operated at the base. While the Six-Day War 1967 was still characterized by French-made fighter aircraft, US ones now dominate:

* 119 Squadron "Bat" with F-4E Phantom II Kurnass heavy strike fighter jets
* 115 Squadron "Flying Dragon" with A-4H/N Skyhawk Ayit light strike fighter jets
* 116 Squadron "Defenders Of The South" with A-4H/N Skyhawk Ayit light strike fighter jets
* 118 Squadron "Night Riders" with CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur heavy transport helicopters
* 114 Squadron "Night Leaders" with Super Frelon medium transport helicopters
* 124 Squadron "Rolling Sword" with Bell 205 light general-purpose helicopters
* 103 Squadron "Elephants" with Nord Noratlas transport aircraft

* A-4H/N Skyhawk Ayit, stationed in two squadrons at Tel Nof, here in the IAF Museum  at Hatzerim Airbase

* CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur of 118 Squadron "Night Riders" in the Yom Kippur War 1973

* A Super Frelon transport helicopter in the IAF Museum at Hatzerim Airbase

* Two Bell 205/206/UH-1 general-purpose helicopters in the IAF Museum at Hatzerim Airbase

* A Nord Noratlas transport aircraft in the IAF Museum at Hatzerim Airbase

### Arrival of the F-15

[edit]

From 1976, the then new F-15A/B Eagle Baz fighter jets were introduced with 133 Squadron "Knights Of The Twin Tail", which made Israel the first country in the world outside the United States to possess this aircraft. Because the landing of the first three planes was delayed on that Friday, 10 December 1976, the reception ceremony was also delayed and only ended shortly before the beginning of Shabbat. As a result, some government ministers didn't have enough time to return home before the start of Shabbat. Its "desecration" led to a government crisis and ultimately to the collapse of the coalition of the first government of Yitzhak Rabin.

### Nuclear weapons

[edit]

It is assumed that Israel is in possession of nuclear weapons since the late 1960s and that they are stored at some point on Tel Nof in a specially secured area (presumably here: 31°50′52″N 34°48′53″E﻿ / ﻿31.847892°N 34.814606°E﻿ / 31.847892; 34.814606﻿ (Nuclear weapons bunker at the Tel Nof Airbase?)) and on the neighboring Sdot Micha Airbase in bunkers (presumably here: 31°45′21″N 34°55′03″E﻿ / ﻿31.755783°N 34.917572°E﻿ / 31.755783; 34.917572﻿ (Nuclear weapons bunker at the Sdot Micha Airbase?)) near the positions of Jericho missiles.[6][7][8][9] Fighter aircraft that can carry such weapons over long distances, like the F-15 Eagle (see gallery below) and once the F-4E Phantom II (see picture above) have been on alert around the clock at the base since the 1970s. This form of deterrence was one of the lessons that Israel learned from the Yom Kippur War in 1973, even though the country has not yet admitted that it has nuclear weapons.

### Operation Wooden Leg

[edit]

On 1 October 1985, under the name Operation Wooden Leg, ten two-seat F-15B/D Eagle Baz from Tel Nof (two of them in reserve) attacked the headquarters of the PLO near Tunis. On their 2,300 km long flight to the destination on the Mediterranean coast of Tunisia the F-15s were refueled several times by two Boeing 707 Re'em. The headquarters were completely destroyed and - depending on the source - 50 to 75 PLO fighters were killed, including many leaders, but not Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The action was condemned without dissent in the UNO, and the USA also criticized it because it strained its relationship with Tunisia. The eight F-15 jets from Tel Nof involved received a corresponding symbol (target cross in the red circle with a wooden leg, see picture in the gallery below).[10]

* An F-15A Eagle Baz of 133 Squadron "Knights Of The Twin Tail" in the IAF Museum at Hatzerim Airbase

* An F-15D from Tel Nof involved in Operation Wooden Leg with wooden leg symbol (left to the Star of David)

* The F-15I Eagle Ra'am of the Flight Test Center at Tel Nof (see special symbol on tail)

### Today

[edit]

Today (2024), Tel Nof is home to two strike fighter jet and two transport helicopter squadrons as well as a drone squadron. Also located there is the IAF headquarters and the Flight Test Center with one example of all aircraft variants (see F-15I Eagle Ra'am in the gallery above and F-35I Adir in the gallery under "Units").

## Current

[edit]

Since January 2019, the so-called "Red Baron" Squadron has been operating on Tel Nof to train Israeli and German soldiers on the IAI Eitan (Heron TP) UAV. IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) has built its own version of this UAV for the German Air Force, whose crews are now being trained by Israeli soldiers and technicians. This unit is the only non-fully Israeli squadron within the IAF.[11]

In November 2020, a brand-new F-35I Adir from the USA landed directly on Tel Nov. This specially equipped machine will serve as a test platform at the local Flight Test Center for further improvement of this stealth jet (see gallery under "Units").[12]

At the end of 2021, Israel ordered twelve new CH-53K King Stallion Wild transport helicopters from the US for two billion dollars, which will complement the CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur on Tel Nof in the next few years. In July 2023, the 114 Squadron "Night Leaders" was temporarily closed and merged with the 118 Squadron "Night Riders". The former will reopen in the future and accommodate the new CH-53K King Stallion as they arrive from the United States (see gallery under "Units").[13][14][15][16]

The aging F-15C/D Eagle Baz fighter jets on Tel Nof will be replaced in the medium term by new F-15IA (Israel Advanced), which are based on the F-15EX Eagle II. 25 new jets for a complete squadron have already been ordered (but still need US approval), which will not be delivered until 2028 at the earliest, and 25 more aircraft are to be added at some point. These new, powerful strike fighter jets would be needed to carry heavy bunker-busting bombs that could then be used against Iran's underground nuclear facilities.[17][18]

During the Gaza War 2023/24, drones of the type IAI Eitan (Heron TP) from Tel Nof are 24 hours a day in the air over Gaza to provide the IDF with target data for its attacks against positions of the terrorist militia Hamas.[19] According to unofficial sources, these drones are also capable of attacking targets on the ground using guided weapons.

* Tel Nof Airbase badge aka Air Force Base 8

* The badge of Unit 669 Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), nickname "Flying Cats"

* The badge of the Israeli-German "Red Baron" Squadron at Tel Nof

* ATC Tower at Tel Nof Airbase with a CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur helicopter flying by

* Aluf Tomer Bar (right) takes command of the IAF at Tel Nof in April 2022

## Units

[edit]

* 106 Squadron "Edge Of The Spear" – operating F-15C/D Eagle Baz[20]
* 114 Squadron "Night Leaders" – temporarily closed until new CH-53K King Stallion Wild arrive from the US[16]
* 118 Squadron "Night Riders" – operating CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur[16]
* 133 Squadron "Knights Of The Twin Tail" – operating F-15C/D Eagle Baz[21]
* 210 Squadron "White Eagle" – operating IAI Eitan UAVs[22][23]
* 5601 Squadron "Flight Test Center" Manat – operating examples of all IAF aircraft
* Unit 555 "Sky Ravens" – Electronic Warfare EW[24]
* Unit 669 "Flying Cats" – heliborne Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) (at Palmachim also)[25][26][27]
* Unit 888 "Refaim" – combined special operations task force[28]
* Paratroopers Brigade Training Center
* "Red Baron" Squadron – to train German and Israeli crews on the Heron TP Eitan UAV[11]

* An F-15D Eagle Baz two-seater of 106 Squadron at Tel Nof

* CH-53K King Stallion Wild will be based at Tel Nof in the coming years

* CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur of 118 Squadron from Tel Nof

* An F-15C Eagle Baz of 133 Squadron with four "Kill Marks"

* An IAI Eitan UAV of 210 Squadron from Tel Nof

* The Tel Nof Flight Test Center gets a special F-35I Adir in 2020

* The Unit 669 trains the rescue of people with a CH-53D Sea Stallion Yas'ur

* Paratroopers rain down over southern Israel in March 2012

Note: IAF aircraft can usually be assigned to their squadron by the symbols on the tail

## Accidents

[edit]

The F-15D Eagle Baz #957 from Tel Nof involved in the collision at an exhibition in 2011

* In May 1983, an F-15D Eagle Baz from Tel Nov and an A-4 Skyhawk Ayit collided in mid-air during an exercise over the Negev desert in southern Israel. While the A-4 pilot ejected, the two-seat F-15D managed to land safely at nearby Ramon Airbase, despite having its right wing almost completely torn off in the collision. This was only possible because the F-15 pilot turned on the afterburners, compensating for the lack of lift. The landing took place at about twice the normal speed, and the jet only came to a stop shortly before the end of the runway. The aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas was so impressed by what was happening that it sent over a new right wing free of charge. The aircraft with the number 957 was repaired and put back into service (see photo on the right).[29][30]

* On 4 February 1997, two CH-53 Sea Stallion Ya'sur helicopters of 118 Squadron "Night Riders" from Tel Nof collided over northern Israel while they were carrying soldiers into the Israeli security zone in Southern Lebanon. Both planes crashed, killing all 73 people on board - all male military personnel. The two crash sites were located in the Moshav She'ar Yashuv (Today's memorial: 33°13′23″N 35°38′28″E﻿ / ﻿33.222984°N 35.641142°E﻿ / 33.222984; 35.641142﻿ (Memorial of the 1997 helicopter crash)) and in an open field near the Kibbutz Dafna. The crash, which represents the worst Israeli aviation disaster to date, sparked nationwide mourning and is considered one of the main reasons for Israel's decision to withdraw from Southern Lebanon in 2000.[31]

* Remains of one of the two crashed CH-53 helicopters

* Debris of the second crashed CH-53 helicopter

* Rescue and transport of victims of the two helicopter crashes

* Funeral of one of the victims with great sympathy

* Portrait photos of all 73 victims of the accident

* Memorial in Migdal HaEmek

* Memorial in She'ar Yashuv, one of the two crash sites

* On 26 July 2010, a CH-53 helicopter of 118 Squadron from Tel Nof crashed near the town of Brașov in Romania during a Romanian-Israeli military exercise in the Carpathian Mountains. All seven passengers died: four Israeli pilots, two Israeli mechanics and a Romanian liaison officer. An investigation determined that the crash was most likely due to human error.[32]

## See also

[edit]

* List of former Royal Air Force stations

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 25.
2. ^ IWM CM 5756
3. ^ "76 Otu - 21-9-1944".
4. ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 205.
5. ^ "Tel Nof". Global Security. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
6. ^ "Tel Nof Airbase – Facilities – NTI". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
7. ^ "Tel Nof / Tel Nov - Israel Airfields". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
8. ^ "The Phantom of Dimona". Spiegel-Online (in German). 25 January 2004. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
9. ^ "Israeli nuclear weapons, 2021". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
10. ^ "The Long Leg". WayBack-Machine: IAF-Website. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
11. ^ a b "The IAF Squadron that trains German Crews". IAF-Website. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
12. ^ "Flight Testing Center Receives First Experimental "Adir"". IAF-Website. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
13. ^ "The IAF's Future Helicopter". IAF-Website. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
14. ^ "Israel wählt CH-53K". Flugrevue (in German). 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
15. ^ "Israel unterschreibt für CH-53K und KC-46A". Flugrevue (in German). 1 January 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
16. ^ a b c "End of period - 114th Squadron merged with 118th Squadron". IAF-Website. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
17. ^ "Senior Boeing official in Israel to push sale of advanced F-15 jets for Iran strike". The Times Of Israel. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
18. ^ "F-15 Sale To Israel Reportedly Ready To Close, Will Gaza Change That?". The War Zone. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
19. ^ "The Israeli Air Force's Heron UAV Squadron: the IDF's Largest Target Provider". Israel Defense. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
20. ^ "The Edge Of The Spear Squadron". IAF-Website. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
21. ^ "Knights Of The Twin Tail Squadron". IAF-Website. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
22. ^ ""White Eagle" Squadron Looking Ahead". IAF-Website. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
23. ^ "The 210th Squadron Turns 10". IAF-Website. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
24. ^ "And they struck them with blindness". The Jerusalem Post. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
25. ^ "Unit 669". IDF-Website. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
26. ^ "A Rare Peek into SAR Unit 669". IAF-Website. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
27. ^ "Officially Cats: End of 669 Course". IAF-Website. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
28. ^ "Such a unit has not existed in the IDF - until today". IDF website (in Hebrew). 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
29. ^ "How an Israeli F-15 Eagle managed to land with one wing". theaviationist.com. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
30. ^ "CREW'S STORIES: NO WING F15". uss-bennington.org. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
31. ^ "Helicopter accident 25 years ago - "Like a blanket over the country"". Israelnetz (in German). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
32. ^ "IDF soldiers killed in Romania helicopter crash". ynetnews.com. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Jefford, C. G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
* Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.) & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2009) [1st. pub. HMSO:1954]. Butler, Sir James (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I: The Early Successes Against Italy, to May 1941. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84574-065-8.
* Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J. (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tel Nof IAF base.

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