| Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base Air Wing 4  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר | |||||||||||
| Hatzor,Southern District in Israel | |||||||||||
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| Site information | |||||||||||
| Type | Airbase | ||||||||||
| Owner | Israel Defense Forces | ||||||||||
| Operator | Israeli Air Force | ||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
  Hatzor Airbase Shown within Israel Show map of Ashkelon region of Israel Hatzor Airbase Hatzor Airbase (Israel) Show map of Israel | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 31°45′45.00″N34°43′38.00″E / 31.7625000°N 34.7272222°E /31.7625000; 34.7272222 | ||||||||||
| 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 titledKanaf 4 (lit. Wing 4) is anIsraeli Air Force (IAF) base, located in centralIsrael (but in theSouthern District) nearkibbutzHatzor Ashdod after which it is named. However, there have been no fighter jets stationed there since 2021, only patrol aircraft,UAVs and defense missiles. ACombined Operations Center for the US military and Israel has also been built there in 2021.[2]
The airbase was opened in 1942 asRAF Qastina by theRoyal Air Force of theUnited Kingdom in the thenBritish Protectorate of Palestine. It was named after the Palestinian villageQastina southeast of it, that perished in the1948 Palestine War and the nearby British military baseCamp Qastina. Two British squadrons, operatingDakota andHalifax aircraft, were initially stationed at the base.[3]
Some RAF Units stationed atRAF Qastina:
On the night of 25 February 1946,Irgun militants attacked the airfield and destroyed several parked RAFHandley Page Halifax bombers used as transport aircraft (see photo above). Two additional RAF airfields,RAF Lydda (nowadaysBen Gurion International Airport) andRAF 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 relocated many aircraft to bases inEgypt.[8]
On 15 March 1948, as theBritish Mandate for Palestine drew to a close, the RAF evacuated the airfield and it was taken over byHaganah forces and renamedHatzor Airbase after the nearbykibbutzHatzor Ashdod (see map).
The101 Squadron "First Fighter" was founded in May 1948 atEkron Airbase (now Tel Nof) as the first military aircraft squadron in Israel and relocated to Hatzor in November – at that time still withAvia S-199 fighter aircraft, made from leftover parts of theMesserschmitt Bf 109. A total of 25 of these[9] were imported fromCzechoslovakia, where German aircraft had been manufactured in theAvia factories duringWorld War II. It was followed by theSupermarine Spitfire together with theNorth American P-51 Mustang. During this time the squadron was stationed atRamat David Airbase.
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In April 1956 the101 Squadron was back at Hatzor Airbase and got its first jets with theDassault Mystère IV A (see:Operation Shacharit) and then in 1962 with theDassault Mirage IIICJShahak (see picture on the right), which were used very successfully during theSix-Day War, theWar of Attrition and theYom Kippur War. From 1971 and 1976 respectively, theIAINesher (griffon vulture) and the improvedIAIKfir (young lion) – built in Israel and based on theDassault Mirage 5 – were handed over to the squadron as additional jets. From 1987 onwards it flew theF-16C/DBarak and had been involved in numerous missions since its inception.[10][11]
In August 1950 atRamat David Airbase, a group was established within the101 Squadron to train pilots to attack ground targets. This group was nicknamed "Scorpion" and soon became the105 Squadron. It initially flew the EnglishSpitfire, later the USP-51 Mustang and the FrenchMystère IV A. In 1958, it moved to Chazor and was the only squadron in Israel to fly the newSuper Mystère B2 (SMB2)Sambad. These jets were eventually upgraded byIAI under the nameSaar and flew until the end of the 1970s – most recently in other squadrons. From 1975, theF-4E Phantom IIKurnas was introduced, then also theIAIKfir and from 1991 finally theF-16C/DBarak. It was also involved in numerous missions.[12]
The109 Squadron "The Valley" was founded in 1951 under a different name atTel Nof Airbase and was relocated to Hatzor from 1952 to 1956, where it flew thede Havilland Mosquito purchased from the British as a fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. In 1956 it took part in the fighting during theSuez Crisis. After that, its Mosquitos were decommissioned and the squadron transferred toRamat David Airbase.
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The113 Squadron "Hornet" was established in 1955 at Hatzor as the second jet squadron of theIAF – after the117 Squadron "First Jet" founded in 1953 atRamat David. Initially it flew theDassault Ouragan (Hurricane), from 1973 theIAINesher (griffon vulture) and from 1976 the improvedIAIKfir (young lion). In 1986 the 113 Squadron at Hatzor was closed and re-established in 1989/90 atRamon Airbase withAH-64 Apache attack helicopters.[13]
The201 Squadron "The One" was established at Hatzor in September 1969 as the first of what would later be fiveF-4E Phantom IIKurnass squadrons. It then took part in theWar of Attrition with Egypt and theYom Kippur War, suffering heavy losses in the latter. In June 1988, the squadron and its Phantoms were relocated toTel Nof Airbase, where they remained in service until 2004.
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In the early days of theIAF – from 1948 onwards – propeller planes were purchased from various countries. From 1955 until theSix-Day War in 1967 only fighter jets from the French manufacturersSud andDassault were imported. When French presidentCharles de Gaulle then imposed a total arms embargo on Israel, the IAF turned to the United States and also built its own jets, such as theIAINesher and theIAIKfir. This development can also be seen in the photo galleries above.[14][15]
In the first 18 years of the newly founded State of Israel, there were only the airbases ofTel Nof,Ramat David and Hatzor, which had been taken over by the British, with the latter usually being used to station the newest and most powerful fighter jets. However, this changed over time, until finally in 2021 the last remaining squadrons there101 Squadron and105 Squadron withF-16C/D jets moved to Ramat David in northern Israel, meaning that from then on no manned jets were stationed at Hatzor (seeUnits).[16]
In April 1956, OperationShacharit (Morning Prayer inJudaism) began with the delivery ofDassault Mystère IV A jets from France to Israel. 12 aircraft arrived in the first wave at Hatzor (see photos below), 12 more in August, and in October – shortly before theSuez Crisis – another 36 aircraft in two waves took off from France. On their way to Israel, the planes landed inBrindisi, 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.[17]
Since Hatzor Airbase is located in a valley between two streams – which, apart from a few rainy weeks, 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.[19][20] This is also a reason why the last two squadrons of manned fighter aircraft at Hatzor were relocated toRamat David Airbase in northern Israel in 2021.[16] Further expansion of the airbase will also take place mainly in the northern area, which is not affected by flooding (see map).
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Since 2010 Hatzor has a network of eight fighter aircraft simulator pods which use satellite footage of countries includingLebanon andSyria to train pilots for deep strike missions.[21] 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 – theDavid's Sling – went operational on the airbase.[22] A battery of the smallerIron 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.[23]
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Note: IAF aircraft can usually be assigned to their squadron by the symbols on the tail
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| Prominent operations | ||
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| Air bases (N to S) | ||
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