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Tel Nof Airbase

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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 Manat 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.[1]

Tel Nof Israeli Air Force Base
Air Force Base 8
בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר תֵּל נוֹף
Rehovot, Central District in Israel
Tel Nof Airbase is located in Central Israel
Tel Nof Airbase
Tel Nof Airbase
Shown within Israel
Tel Nof Airbase is located in Israel
Tel Nof Airbase
Tel Nof Airbase
Tel Nof Airbase (Israel)
Coordinates31°50′22.10″N 34°49′18.64″E / 31.8394722°N 34.8218444°E / 31.8394722; 34.8218444
TypeAirbase
Site information
OwnerIsrael Defense Forces
OperatorIsraeli Air Force
Site history
Built1939 RAF / 1948 IAF
In use1939 - present
Airfield information
IdentifiersICAO: LLEK
Elevation59 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
Israeli Air Force Memorial on "Pilots' Mountain", IAF's main memorial for its fallen pilots and airmen, created in the 1950s, 25 kilometers east of Tel Nof (31°46′28″N 35°05′24″E / 31.774559°N 35.090043°E / 31.774559; 35.090043 (Israeli Air Force Memorial on "Pilots' Mountain"))

History

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British Mandate

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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

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Names of the base

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After the British withdrawal from RAF Aqir in 1948, the base was renamed Ekron Airbase after the Israeli village Kiryat Ekron north of it 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 Israeli fighter aircraft

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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 in 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, Ekron Airbase (later Tel Nof Airbase) was officially and ceremoniously opened. Hatzor Airbase and Ramat David Airbase taken over from the British soon followed. The IAF Flight Academy was installed at Tel Nof in 1955 until it was moved to the newly built Hatzerim Airbase in 1966.[6]

Paratroopers Brigade

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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 at 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.

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    Soldiers of the Israel Paratroopers Brigade at Tel Nof Airbase in 1955
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    Paratroopers climb aboard en route to Jerusalem on 7 June 1967
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    Israeli paratroopers reach the Western Wall on 7 June 1967
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    Israeli paratroopers are jumping from a Nord Noratlas in 1972

One and a half kilometers west of Tel Nof lies the main Paratroopers Memorial near National Road  , which commemorates those who fell in these units (31°50′34″N 34°47′18″E / 31.842728°N 34.788440°E / 31.842728; 34.788440 (Israeli Paratroopers Main Memorial)).

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    Inauguration of the Paratroopers Memorial on Yom HaZikaron 1960
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    Moshe Dayan lays a wreath at the Paratroopers Memorial in 1969
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    The Paratroopers Memorial in 2020 west of Tel Nof at National Road 40
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    Training jump of paratroopers shortly before sunset in May 2010

Six-Day War

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As late as the Six-Day War in June 1967, French fighter jets manufactured by Dassault Aviation played a leading role in the IAF, such as the Mystère IV, the Super Mystère and the Mirage III. Some of these were also stationed at Tel Nof at that time. In the mid-1960s, Israel had commissioned Dassault to build an improved version of the Mirage III that was specifically tailored to the needs of the IAF, as they needed a ground attack aircraft in a desert environment. The first examples of this version, called the Mirage 5, were supposed to be delivered in 1967, but this never happened.

The French-built fighter jets – except the Mirage 5 – now on display at the IAF Museum near Hatzerim Airbase:

In response to the Six-Day War, the delivery of 50 already produced and largely paid for Dassault Mirage 5 to Israel was stopped by French President Charles de Gaulle, as he no longer wanted to supply new offensive weapons to the former ally. After Israeli commando units blew up 14 Lebanese airliners at Beirut Airport on the evening of 28 December 1968 in Operation Gift, using French transport helicopters Super Frelon from Tel Nof and naval boats supplied by France, de Gaulle then imposed a total arms embargo on Israel.[7][8]

Yom Kippur War

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

Despite the embargo 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.

The seven squadrons at Tel Nof during the Yom Kippur War:

US-made airplanes, most of them now at the IAF Museum near Hatzerim Airbase:

The total of twelve (or sixteen) Super Frelon Tzirʿa transport helicopters that Israel had received from France before the embargo were stationed in the 114 Squadron "Night Leaders" at Tel Nof from 1966 to 1991 and were retrofitted with more powerful US engines until they were finally all decommissioned. The more than twenty French but German-built Nord Noratlas transport aircraft of the 103 Squadron "Elephants" at Tel Nof were in service there from 1956 to 1978. Most of them were former machines of the German Air Force (Deutsche Luftwaffe) or were built under license in Germany and handed over or delivered to Israel from the early 1960s.

F-15 Fighter Jets

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Arrival of the F-15

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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.[9]

Nuclear weapons

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It is assumed (e.g. by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) that Israel is in possession of nuclear weapons since the late 1960s and that they are stored at some point at 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 at 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.[10][11][12][13] 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 wars with its neighbors, even though the country has not yet admitted that it has nuclear weapons.

Operation Wooden Leg

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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).[14]

Variants at Tel Nof

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Today

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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 Flight Test Center Manat 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"). Several special units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are also located there, including Unit 669 heliborne Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) and the training center for the Israeli Paratroopers Brigade.

  • Since January 2019, the so-called "Red Baron" Squadron has been operating at 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.[16]
  • In November 2020, a brand-new F-35I Adir from the USA landed directly at Tel Nov. This specially equipped machine will serve as a test platform at the local Flight Test Center Manat for further improvement of this stealth jet (see gallery under "Units").[17]
  • 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 at 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").[18][19][20][21]
  • The aging F-15A/B/C/D Eagle Baz fighter jets at 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 one squadron have been ordered with the option for 25 more, which will be delivered from 2029. 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.[22][23] At the same time, at the Hatzerim Airbase 70 kilometers to the south, the 25 F-15I Ra'am jets there are being brought up to the latest F-15I+ standard through fundamental updates.[15][24][25]
  • 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.[26] According to unofficial sources, these drones are also capable of attacking targets on the ground using guided weapons.

Units

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

Accidents

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  • On 19 April 1974, two CH-53 helicopters from Tel Nof collided over the Rosh Pina Airport in northern Israel. One of the two helicopters was able to land safely, while the other crashed and burst into flames. All eight IDF soldiers on board died. The IAF determined that the cause was human error on the part of one of the pilots, although several helicopters were landing at the same time and the air traffic controller was obviously overwhelmed.[41]
  • On 10 May 1977, a CH-53 helicopter from Tel Nof crashed during a night training exercise in the Jordan Valley, killing all 54 people on board (including the 10-man crew), making it the worst single-aircraft crash in Israel. The crash site was in the West Bank, about 5 kilometers north of Jericho in a wadi. The cause was determined to be flying at too low an altitude during the dark, which caused the helicopter to strike a hill, crash and explode (CFIT, Controlled flight into terrain).[42][43]
 
The F-15D Eagle Baz #957 before the Israeli attack on Iran during the night of 25-26 October 2024
  • See also: 1983 Negev mid-air collision
    In May 1983, an F-15D Eagle Baz #957 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.[44][45] More than 41 years later it took part in the October 2024 Israeli strikes on Iran (see photo on the right).[46]
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    Remains of one of the two crashed CH-53 helicopters at She'ar Yashuv
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    Debris of the second crashed CH-53 helicopter near Dafna
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    Rescue and transport of victims of the two helicopter crashes
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    Funeral of one of the victims with great sympathy
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    Portrait photos of all 73 victims of the accident
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    Memorial in Migdal HaEmek
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    Memorial in She'ar Yashuv, one of the two crash sites
 
The crash site in Romania
  • 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.[48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tel Nof / RAF Aqir". IAF-Website. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  2. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 25.
  3. ^ IWM CM 5756
  4. ^ "76 Otu - 21-9-1944".
  5. ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 205.
  6. ^ "Tel Nof". Global Security. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  7. ^ "Naher Osten / de Gaulle: Nichts schreiben". Der Spiegel (in German). 12 January 1969. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Frankreich: Stern übermalt". Der Spiegel (in German). 21 November 1971. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Once it was F-15s on Shabbat; now, hametz: The religious issues that end governments". The Times Of Israel. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Tel Nof Airbase – Facilities – NTI". Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Tel Nof / Tel Nov - Israel Airfields". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  12. ^ "The Phantom of Dimona". Spiegel-Online (in German). 25 January 2004. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Israeli nuclear weapons, 2021". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  14. ^ "The Long Leg". WayBack-Machine: IAF-Website. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Israel Officially Cleared To Buy 50 New F-15IAs, Upgrade 25 F-15Is". The War Zone. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  16. ^ a b "The IAF Squadron that trains German Crews". IAF-Website. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Flight Testing Center Receives First Experimental "Adir"". IAF-Website. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  18. ^ "The IAF's Future Helicopter". IAF-Website. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Israel wählt CH-53K". Flugrevue (in German). 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Israel unterschreibt für CH-53K und KC-46A". Flugrevue (in German). 1 January 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  21. ^ a b c "End of period - 114th Squadron merged with 118th Squadron". IAF-Website. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ "F-15 Sale To Israel Reportedly Ready To Close, Will Gaza Change That?". The War Zone. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Israel Executes Long Awaited Buy Of F-15IA Advanced Eagle Fighters". The War Zone. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Contract signed to purchase 25 modern F-15IA aircraft from Boeing". Israel Defense (in Hebrew). 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  26. ^ "The Israeli Air Force's Heron UAV Squadron: the IDF's Largest Target Provider". Israel Defense. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Iranian Missiles Overwhelmed Israeli Defenses at Some Sites, Analysts Say". The Wall Street Journal. 4 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Iran cites international law as justification for attack on Israel as regional tensions flare". www.jurist.org. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Iran Exposed to Israeli Counterattack After Blows Against Its Allies". The Wall Street Journal. 3 October 2024.
  30. ^ "The Edge Of The Spear Squadron". IAF-Website. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  31. ^ "Knights Of The Twin Tail Squadron". IAF-Website. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  32. ^ ""White Eagle" Squadron Looking Ahead". IAF-Website. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  33. ^ "The 210th Squadron Turns 10". IAF-Website. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  34. ^ "IAF Flight Test Center Photo Gallery". xnir on pbase.com. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  35. ^ "And they struck them with blindness". The Jerusalem Post. 29 September 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  36. ^ "Unit 669". IDF-Website. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  37. ^ "A Rare Peek into SAR Unit 669". IAF-Website. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  38. ^ "Officially Cats: End of 669 Course". IAF-Website. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  39. ^ "Such a unit has not existed in the IDF - until today". IDF website (in Hebrew). 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  40. ^ description for Noratlas 4X-FAD/044 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2023-09-26.
  41. ^ "Two Yas'ur helicopters collide while landing in Mahanayim". IAF Website (in Hebrew). 19 April 1974. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  42. ^ "Judge Blames Pilot for Helicopter Crash in Which 54 Israelis Died". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 11 July 1977. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  43. ^ "Air Crash - Copter Falls Killing 54 Israeli Soldiers". The Evening Independent. 11 May 1977. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  44. ^ "How an Israeli F-15 Eagle managed to land with one wing". theaviationist.com. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  45. ^ "CREW'S STORIES: NO WING F15". uss-bennington.org. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  46. ^ "This is what happened during the night of the attack in Iran". IDF-Website (in Hebrew). 26 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  47. ^ "Helicopter accident 25 years ago - "Like a blanket over the country"". Israelnetz (in German). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  48. ^ "IDF soldiers killed in Romania helicopter crash". ynetnews.com. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2023.

Bibliography

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  • 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.
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