ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 94896
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| Date: | Saturday 22 May 1948 |
| Time: | 09:30 LT |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire LF. IX |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF) |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Ramat David, 4 km south of Ramat Yishay, Palestine -
 Israel
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Cairo West, Egypt |
Spitfire LF. IX, Royal Egyptian Air Force: On the morning of May 22, 1948, Egyptian Spitfire LF Mark IXs attacked Ramat David airfield near the British enclave at Haifa. Two RAF Spitfires were destroyed on the ground and eight others damaged. During a second raid, a Douglas Dakota transport was destroyed while landing, killing two crewmen and two airmen.
Flying Officer Tim McElhaw flying an RAF Spitfire FR18 shot down a Royal Egyptian Air Force Spitfire LF9 while it was attacking RAF Ramat David in Palestine.
The last officially recorded "Air to Air fighter pilot kill" (bullets only, without guidance systems) occurred on 22 May 1948. At 09:30 two Egyptian Spitfire LF.9s staged a third attack on Ramat David. This time Flying Officer Tim McElhaw and Flying Officer Hully of 208 Squadron had taken over the standing patrol. Flying Officer McElhaw, flying Spitfire FR.18 TZ228, intercepted and shot down both REAF Spitfire LF.9s
According to the following excerpt from the 208 Squadron Association 2018 newsletter:
"The British withdrawal from Palestine had started in the latter part of 1947 and on 4 April 1948, the Squadron had moved to the airfield at Ramat David in an enclave around Haifa in the north from which the final evacuation would take place in mid-1948. The date for the final evacuation from Haifa to Cyprus was fixed to be 22 May when the Squadron was to fly a final reconnaissance of the southern sector before departing. However, at 06:00 hours the early morning peace was shattered. A Spitfire appeared overhead and dropped a bomb amongst the two rows of eight Spitfires on the hard-standing. The pilots rushed to their aircraft as a second Spitfire appeared on a strafing run damaging more of the RAF Spitfires sending the pilots for cover.
Three of the Squadron’s pilots immediately took off in three of the undamaged Spitfires to investigate activity over the airfields in the south of Palestine. As they returned, Flying Officers G. Cooper and R. Bowie took off to mount a standing patrol. At 07:30 hours, just as three Dakotas were landing, the ‘rogue’ Spitfires returned and the Squadron Commander came on the R/T and told his two pilots to engage them. Bowie immediately attacked one, recognising the markings of the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF), and shot it down as the second dropped a bomb destroying one of the Dakotas. It escaped at ground level and Cooper closed in and shot it down.
Shortly after 09:00 hours there was a third attack. Flying Officers T. McElhaw and L. Hully were patrolling over Haifa when two Spitfires attacked the airfield. McElhaw immediately engaged one at very low level as it attempted to escape. He fired three short bursts and the Egyptian Spitfire immediately flew into the ground. As he turned, he saw another Spitfire, checked its markings and he and Hully engaged it. McElhaw fired a long burst and it dived into the ground. Following this frantic morning, six more Spitfires arrived from Cyprus as reinforcements. The Egyptians immediately made a public apology claiming that their aircraft had intended to attack the Israeli-held airfield at Megiddo but had misidentified Ramat David losing five Spitfires during the ill-fated attack.
The ground crew worked frantically to patch up the Squadron’s Spitfires and the following day nine left for Cyprus immediately followed by the ground crews aboard Dakotas. So ended a very unhappy period of occupation as the British withdrew from Palestine and the Jewish state of Israel was proclaimed heralding many more years of turmoil in the region".
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._208_Squadron_RAF#After_World_War_II
2. https://www.historynet.com/spitfire-vs-spitfire-aerial-combat-israels-war-independence/
3. https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/606505-tim-mcelhaw.html
4. http://www.naval8-208-association.com/NewsArticlesRamatDavid1948-01.html
5. 208 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 30-12-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2464: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2505102
6. 208 Squadron RAF 2018 Annual Newsletter: http://www.naval8-208-association.com/NL%202018%20-%20Final%20Redacted%20for%20Website.pdf
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramat_David_Airbase#RAF_Ramat_David
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Air_Force#1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jun-2023 21:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated |
| 23-Aug-2023 19:48 | Dr. John Smith | Updated |
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