Jezreel Valley Mysteres

Israel acquired sixty-one Dassault Mystere IVA combat aircraft from France that were delivered to the Israeli Air Force from April to September 1956 and were issued to two units: Squadron 101 at Hatzor, in the south, and Squadron 109 at Ramat David, in the north. From 1956 until 1959, and to a lesser extent from 1959 until 1962, the Mystere was the ILAF’s cutting-edge interceptor. From 1959, the Mystere’s main mission shifted from air-to-air to air-to-ground, as more modern interceptorsSuper Mystere from 1959 and Mirage from 1962entered Israeli Air Force service. At the same time, the Israeli Air Force initiated an effort to introduce an attack aircraft to succeed the Mystere. The Squadron 109 Mystere era therefore covered mostly air-to-air from 1956 until 1962 and mostly air-to-ground from 1962 until 1968.[AuthorName]By (author) Shlomo Aloni[/AuthorName][AuthorBio]Shlomo Aloni has authored dozens of books and hundreds of articles covering Israeli Air Force heritage and Middle East air warfare history.[/AuthorBio][NumIllustration]291 color & b/w photos[/NumIllustration][CoAuthor][/CoAuthor][SubTitle]The Mystere IVA in Israeli Air Force Service, Squadron 109, 1956-1968[/SubTitle][ColorPattern]291 color & b/w photos[/ColorPattern]