Military aviation museum in Israel
The Israeli Air Force Museum is located at Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev desert in Israel.
The museum was established in 1977 and has been open to the public since 1991. The museum displays a variety of Israeli Air Force and foreign aircraft, as well as anti aircraft arms. Soldiers from the Israeli Air Force serve as the museum staff.
Boeing Stearman of the Israeli Air Force Museum, March 2007. It was destroyed in a ground fire in 2015
Exhibits
The museum houses hundreds of models of fighter aircraft that served in the Israeli Air Force as well as actual fighter jets that have been retired from service or captured by Israel. Some of these aircraft, such as the Supermarine Spitfire "Black Spit" of Ezer Weizman and the yellow Harvard aircraft, are maintained in flying condition and even participate in various air shows. The museum includes historic aircraft such as the Mirage 3 Shahak 159 with 13 kills, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 that was smuggled from Iraq in Operation Diamond , the Lavi built by Israel Aerospace Industries , an F-15 Baz with 4 kills, and an F-16 Netz 107 with 6.5 kills. There is also an exhibit of fighter jet parts explaining their uses, an anti-aircraft weapons display, a photography exhibition, and an exhibition titled "Pull to Life" about the 669 Tactical Airborne Rescue and Evacuation Unit .[citation needed ]
During Passover and Independence Day , the Air Force displays active aircraft at the museum, such as the F-15I Ra'am, F-16I Sufa , and Boeing AH-64 Apache , and presents special flyovers and activities for children.[citation needed ]
History
The Black Spitfire
The cornerstone for the museum was laid on July 16 , 1985 , mainly due to the efforts of Brigadier General (Res.) Yaakov Turner . The museum was opened to the public on June 20 , 1991 .[citation needed ]
In February 2015, the silver Boeing-Stearman aircraft was completely destroyed due to poor maintenance. The aircraft had been in flying condition and participated in air shows for years, often flown by Yaakov Turner.[citation needed ]
On November 6, 2016, the Ministry of Defense's Engineering and Construction Department and the Air Force announced an architecture competition to design the new Air Force Museum in Hatzerim, which, according to the Ministry of Defense, "will serve as a heritage center for the Air Force and a showcase for the Israeli aviation world."[ 1] [ 2] The competition was won by the Haifa-based architecture firm "Schwartz Besnosoff."[citation needed ]
In February 2022, it was decided to scrap 20 aircraft that were on display at the museum, including the Boeing 707 that served as a flying command post during Operation Entebbe .[ 3]
Aircraft on display
Israeli air force aircraft
Aérospatiale Alouette II
Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon
Aerospatiale Super Frelon
Agusta / Bell UH-1 - #002
Agusta / Bell UH-1 - #026
Avia S-199
Beechcraft Queen Air
Bell AH-1G Cobra
Bell AH-1 Cobra
Bell 206
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter - #039 Masada
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter
Boeing 707 - Operation Thunderbolt flying command post
Boeing 707 - radar testbed
Boeing-Stearman Kaydet - maintained in airworthy condition
Britten-Norman Islander
Cessna 172
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Dassault Mirage III - #158
Dassault Mirage III - #159, Re-acquired from Argentina
Dassault Mystère IV
Dassault Mystère IV - #60
Dassault Ouragan - #49
Dassault Ouragan - #80
Dassault Super Mystère
de Havilland Dragon Rapide
de Havilland Tiger Moth
Dornier Do 27
Dornier Do 28
Douglas DC-3 - #038
Fokker S-11
Fouga Magister
Fouga Magister - IAI Tzukit variant
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon - #107 with 6.5 kill markings
Gloster Meteor - #06
Gloster Meteor - Gate guard
Gloster Meteor - NF-13 Variant
Gloster Meteor - NF-13 Variant
Gloster Meteor - #15
Gloster Meteor - #18
Grumman E-2C - #944
Hughes 500
IAI Arava - #203
IAI Kfir - #712
IAI Kfir TC - #988, modified Mirage IIIB
IAI Kfir - #529, gate guard
IAI Kfir - #451 Prism reconnaissance variant
IAI Kfir - #310, TC-2 variant
IAI Lavi
IAI Nesher
IAI Westwind - modified testbed aircraft
McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - #323
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - transparent panels display aircraft interior
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - #498, F-4E(S) reconnaissance aircraft
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - Kurnass 2000 #614
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - #229 Super Phantom
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - #297, Manat test aircraft
McDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantom II - #485
North American Harvard - #14
North American Harvard - #001, maintained in airworthy condition
North American P-51D Mustang
North American P-51D Mustang
Nord Noratlas - #045, 4X-FAE
Pilatus PC-6
Piper PA-18 Super Cub
Republic RC-3 Seabee
Sikorsky CH-53 - #471
Sikorsky S-55 - #03
Sikorsky S-58 - #07
SOCATA Trinidad
Sud-Ouest Vautour - #09 Hamashhit (Defiler )
Sud-Ouest Vautour - #33 Big Brother
Sud-Ouest Vautour - #70 Phantomas
Supermarine Spitfire - LF Mk.IXe TE554, The Black Spitfire , former Israeli Air Force 20–57, maintained in airworthy condition
Supermarine Spitfire - LF Mk.IXe SL653, former Israeli Air Force 20-28
Supermarine Spitfire - F Mk.IXe EN145, former Israeli Air Force 20-78
Taylorcraft Auster
Foreign Types
Former Syrian MiG-23 at the IAF Museum
Partial remains
Tail of Egyptian Su-7 shot down October 6, 1973
Anti Aircraft Weapons
Anti Aircraft Artillery
Missiles and AA systems
Other Vehicles
References
Bibliography
Warnes, Alan (March–April 1999). "Hatzerim Album: Spitfires and Meteors at the Israeli Defence Force Museum". Air Enthusiast (80): 76–77. ISSN 0143-5450 .
External links
31°14′18″N 34°41′46″E / 31.238343°N 34.696026°E / 31.238343; 34.696026