Ezer Weizman dies at age 81 on April 24, in his Caesarea home. Served as a truck driver in the Western Desert campaigns (Egypt and Libya). In 1943 he joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and attended aviation school in Rhodesia, and went on to serve with the RAF in India in early 1944. Later on he went on to train and fly with the Israeli Air Force during the War of Independence, using Czech-built Messerchmitt 109s against Egyptian Spitfires. Later on he flew Spitfires as well, one of which is preserved at the IAF Museum was his personal possession until his death. Later career included being head of the IAF, minster of defence, and president. A great military mind who directed the devastating strikes against Egypt in the Sinai during 1967, and a great supporter of the peace process as well. RIP.
Ezer Weizman was buried on April 26. The funeral was overflown by his old "Black Spifire", brought out from retirement in the Israeli Air Force Museum. This Spitfire Mk.IX originally served with No.312 (Czech) Squadron in the RAF during WWII. The aircraft was restored in 1956 by Weizman, with a new Merlin 66 engine and LW wings instead of CW.
I am not trying to put you down in any way Crapgame but I am putting down the dumb bells who wrote the article. If you want to know the truth see the topic "History Channel vs History Television" in the WWII Films & TV section dated May 18th. It's a shame the media can't do better research in todays computer age.
Thanks for pointing out the previous discussion and the correct details regarding Sgt. Holmes in the History Channel vs History Television thread, TA152. It is curious that Sgt Holmes's selfless act of courage - ramming a German plane he thought was targeting Buckingham Palace - has been mythologized by the History Channel and the AP. It would be interesting to see Sgt. Holmes's own 2004 discussion of the incident.
Female fliers of World War II take a belated bow BY BRYAN WOOLLEY The Dallas Morning News SWEETWATER, Texas - (KRT) - One day in 1944, Mary Helen Foster and another pilot took off in a DC-3 that had been damaged in the war. They had a list of things the mechanics had done to repair it. They were testing the plane to see whether the repaired parts were functioning, whether the plane was safe enough to fly into war again. As Foster (she was Mary Helen Crane of San Antonio in those days) tells it: "The tower called and said, `There's a fire in your left engine.' I was flying co-pilot, so I couldn't see it. I told the pilot to look out his window. "He went hysterical. He said: `I knew I would die in a fire! I've always known I was going to burn!' "He had been shot down over Yugoslavia and had gone down in a fire. He was deathly afraid of fire." continued http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/12104960.htm
60 Years After General Paul Tibbets and Enola Gay navigator Dutch Van Kirk look back on one of the most famous moments in history http://www.pilotjournal.com/content/2005/julyaug/60_years.html Willy Titsworth was our gunner. His major claim to shame was that he peed on a general who later became the U.S. president. We were flying down from Europe to North Africa in the B-17. Eisenhower and his staff was on our airplane. Paul Tibbets was flying. Willy had to use the relief tube, but it wasn’t working properly. Eisenhower was just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Good story Crapgame ! The 35 loss a day really hits home at how many WWII vets are leaving each day. I think someone on the forum said last year it was about 1000 a day worldwide.