Page Fifty-four

DETROIT JEWISH

CHRONICLE

Arabs Win Superiority in Air
With British Aid, Says Article

..

•

NEW YORK (Special)
If
Great Britain withdrew its di-
rect aid today, the Arab air
forces would collapse, it is dis-
closed in an article on the air
war in Palestine in the October
issue of "Flying," national avia-
tion magazine published by
Ziff-Davis.
Official British air missions
are active in training and
equipping military forces in Iraq
and Saudi Arabia, and the
Transjordan Air Force is com-
pletely operated and financed by
the British crown, writes John
C. Ross in the aviation maga-
zine.
Israel's air power is much less
than that of the Arabs—whose
aerial might is largely concen-
trated in Egypt's British-spon-
sored air force—but if both
sides were left to fend for them-
selves, there is no question of
the outcome, the article declares.
HURT BY EMBARGO
The Arabs would be left help-
Pess, the author asserts, but Is-
rael, freed of paralyzing re-
strictions, would bring into full
play its technical brains and re-
sourcefulness.
The arms embargo imposed on
both sides in the Holy Land
warfare has hurt Israel much
more than it has the. Arabs—
although the Jews have exer-
cised considerable ingenuity in
manufacturing their own small
arms and field-pieces.
But both sides have tasted air
war and are determined to build
their air forces as soon as cir-
cumstances permit — regardless
of whether the present anxious
peace becomes enduring, or the
war is resumed.
An effective air force, the
writer says, will be "a collosal
luxury" for these small nations,
but all are eager to have such
a fighting arm.
ARABS BACKWARD
"The Arab League nations are
so backward by western stand-
ards," the article states, "that
they seemed almost sub-human
to American soldiers who saw
them during the war."
In addition to a shortage of
industrial resources is the prob-
lem of training recruits to oper-
ate as complex as an air force.
Here, the disciplined Israelis
have a great advantage over the
illiterate a n d
individualistic
Arabs. The Israelis . learned Co-
operation and team-work in Eu-
ropean armies and in the task
of reclaiming the arid Palestine
deserts.
ISRAELI MEN TRAINED
"Israel, unlike the Arabs, has
RO shortage of trained men. The
Israelis, trained in all the armies
tif Europe, include high quality
officer material and a large pro-
portion of technical proficiency
per capita, than is to be found

in any other county in the world.
They have no officer caste sys-
tem. Messes are together and
the men work in close combat
teams."
•The Palestine air war started
exactly 5 hours and 14 minutes
after the State of Israel was offi-
cially proclaimed on May 15th.
It came in the form of two
bombers and two fighters, drop-
ping bombs on Tel Aviv from
a 300-foot altitude. No one was
killed. The same day, the Jews
brought down an Egyptian plane,
a British-built Spitfire, and cap-
tured the pilot.

JEWS RETALIATE
Israeli planes retaliated 'four
days later with an attack on
military objectives in Northern
Palestine—and issue was joined!
Estimates of the number of
planes involved in the Holy
Land war vary widely. The
United Nations set the figure at
400 total, which U.S. Intelli-
gence believes is too high. How-
ever, other informed sources be-
lieve the Arabs have "many
more" than 400 planes, and Is-
rael has a small part of that
number.
The Arabs seem to have a
great many American AT-6 type
of training planes, which per-
mit them to carry 50-pound
bombs slung under the wings;
they also have some light bomb-
ers, Spitfires and transports.

OWN WARTIME PLANES
Israel's air might, however, is
more varied but more effectively
employed. Probably most use-
ful are said to be late model
wartime Messerschmitts, with
increased fire power, flown dis-
mantled from Czechoslovakia in
U.S. C-47's, bought from sur-
plus stocks.
In Palestine, they were reas-
sembled in a matter of hours
and were taken into combat by
American war veteran volun-
teers. A number of wartime
B-17's have also been seen in
action, flying Israel's colors.
In the matter of engaging for-
eign pilots, the Arabs have been
having difficulty but have hired
a few Frenchmen. Israel, having
attracted much broader world

RAF airmen or flew for other
countries.
Three flying schools have been
operating in Israel since it be-
came a state last May.
Many of the new nation's fliers
got their start with the estab-
lishment about 10 years ago of
two glider schools in Palestine.
They were subsidized by the
Jewish Agency, but because of
the restrictions of the British
mandate, were called "sporting"
organizations.
About five years ago, the
Agency founded an air service
U. S. Savings Bonds provide
which served incidentally as an a means for the best possible
excellent training school for education for your children.
pilots. A number of them were
sent to England for further
training.

THE HOME
RELIEF SOCIETY

2 LEADING ACES

Al.

This woman dentist, Dr. Elsa
Pollack, was put out of busi-
ness when the Nazis confiscated
her equipment and sent her to
a concentration camp. She has
reopened her office in Prague
with the help of the •JDC.

The best-known fliers in Is-
rael, the article reports, are two
27-year-old former RAF fighter
pilots. They are Dan Tolkowsky,
chief of operations for its Air
Force, and Mordechai Alon, cur-
rently Israel's leading air ace
by his achievement in having
shot.down three Egyptian planes,
including two British Dakotas.
The extent of British partisan-

Extends New Year's Greetings
To All Their Members and
Friends

Our Fund Raising Luncheon
will be held at the Statler
Hotel at 12:30.
Ann Birk Kuper will present
the play "The Heiress."

Rosh Hashonah Greetings

and Best Wishes to all

sympathy, has been able to get
all the foreign volunteers it
needs, but has brought most of
them from the United States,
and a lesser number from Cana-
da, a British Dominion.
AIRMEN ARE JEWS
Actually, the greatest part of
Israel's 'air force consists of its
own nationals. Available figures
show that not more than one
percent is of foreign, non-Jewish
origin, while ten percent is Jew-
ish but non-Israel. Most of the
remainder are young Jews who
were trained during the war as

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Best Wishes for a Happy New Year

•
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Rosh Hashonah Greetings

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Back at Work

Friday, October I, 1948

•
ship in the Holy Land war is
indicated by an incident re-
counted in the article. After an
Arab air raid on Tel Aviv, the
writer relates, the Israelis count-
ered with an attack on Amman,
capital of Transjordan.
The British there promptly
notified Israel that Amman was
a British military stronghold,
and any further raids by the
Sews would bring prompt re-
taliation by the RAF.

g

reding3 on de new /ear

With the coming of the New Year, may
the lot of Jewry the world over improve.

Cellophane Packaged Nuts and Candies

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May the little Jewish State of Israel stand
out as a shining light in this world of darkness.

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GREETINGS

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•

5709

1948

Le Shono Tovo Tikosevu

THANKING YOU

IN SINCERE APPRECIATION
OF YOUR VALUED
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and
OUR BEST WISHES FOR A
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AND PROSPEROUS

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Davidson

of the

NEW YEAR

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