The
IAF entered Helicopters into active service at a very early stage;
only 3 years after it’s own coming into existence in 1948; and
like everywhere else in the world, additional capabilities were
developed and successfully used by the choppers.
The initiative
to endow the IAF with choppers came from the late Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion who, during the war of independence (1948-1949)
wrote in his private diary: “Helicopters are needed. They can land
almost everywhere, can fly at high speeds, reach heights
(altitudes-AD) of 4.5 Km. and have ranges of 500Kms or more. I
have authorized Alon (code name for Yehuda Arazi who was
responsible for acquisitions of a/c -AD) to buy.
We will have to
train pilots, as methods are different. Pilots are being trained
in America for 6 weeks and the price double of a regular a/c”.
Later in the
diary Ben-Gurion indicated that Yehoshua Eshel, another top
purchasing officer, was offered 3 Helicopters in Czechoslovakia
and that the matter was of top priority. But it was only 3 years
later when the dream became reality. It was rather strange that
the purchasing efforts were not in response to IAF pressure but
the result of MOD pushing the idea.
In mid. 1950 the
Israeli MOD submitted to the US state dept. a request to purchase
4 Hiller 360 helicopters.
The request was
approved in Dec. 1950 but due to budget limitations only two
helicopters were eventually ordered.
The contract,
which covered training for both aircrew and ground staff, was
signed with Hiller’s agent in California, “Western Helicopter
Operations”.
In May 1951, two
dismantled Hillers, the parts of each packed in a separate crate,
arrived at the seaport of Haifa, accompanied by pilot Robert
Newkom and technical instructor George Pour.
The assembly
work of the helicopters started without delay in Squadron N° 216
at Ekron (Tel-Nof) AFB. Squadron N° 216 was in fact the sum-total
of the IAF higher maintenance echelon workshops under Maj.
Bar-Sela as CO. In charge with the Hiller crates was Corporal
Tibor Hitter - “Tibi” - (Ron Avital) under the supervision of
George Pour. The Hillers got IAF tail numbers 3301 and 3302; they
were in fact prototypes but Tibi made them work!!!
On May 15, Capt.
Carol Zavdi began his ground training with Robert Newkom and a
week later they started flying. After 9 hours and 5 minutes, in 12
separate flights, as recorded in Carol’s logbook and read to me on
the phone by himself, Carol got his checkout on Hiller 360.
In early June,
another light-reconnaissance and liaison pilot, Sgt. Eduard (Eddy)
Drucker was transferred to 216 squadron and Carol gave him his
checkout in only 8 flying hours.
One interesting
thing about Hiller 360: one, two or three people can sit in the
cockpit. According to the number of the people, the electric
accumulator has three positions. So, the mechanic who prepares the
Hiller for flight, knowing the crew formation, positions the
accumulator accordingly. As far as I know the Hiller 360 is the
only helicopter with such a feature.
On July 17,
1955: "Papa" Koss with Tibi tried an "auto rotational" with 3301.
It did not succeed and the Hiller hit the ground in a bad way.
Thank God "Papa" and Tibi went out o.k. But 3301 became a
"Christmas tree" for the other Hiller.
On Nov. 10,
1956: Following Maj. Yehuda Arbel's (Popko) nomination as CO. of
the "Transportation squadron" (The Flying Camel) in Tel-Nof AFB,
and due to the fact that he graduated together with Uri Yarom in
the US as helicopter pilots, as well as for the fact of the
acquisition of two S-55 by the IAF, it was decided that all
helicopters in IAF will be a Flight unit with Uri Yarom as CO,
within the Flying Camel squadron; so, at the date mentioned above,
the 3302 made it's flight to Tel-Nof AFB.
On Dec. 8, 1956:
Uri Yarom, CO of helicopters flight 124 asks his former instructor
Ytzhack Susman to take him out for a refreshment flight on Hiller
3302. The take-off and the circuit were o.k. But the landing was a
disaster: Susman lost control of the Hiller and it hit the ground
with its ruins spread as smeared on the asphalt. The mechanics did
it again: 3302 became airworthy but much use of it was not made
until Nov. 1959 when it was phased out. Its last flight to IAI was
not much luckier than before. It had a heavy landing at Lod
airport (Ben-Gurion airport today), repaired again and was sold to
a private pilot in USA.
After the
Six-day war (June '67), one helicopter Hiller UH-12E4 was found on
the oil fields of Abu-Rhodez. It was equipped with floats as
landing gear. It was owned by an Italian oil company but marked
with the Egyptian code letters SU-AOP and it was painted white.
Its job was to
shuttle workers and materials land to the offshore oil wells in
the Suez-canal and back. It was received by the IAF and, probably
by mistake the tail number 3302.
Being unique in
the squadron, its spares logistics became a burden so it was
transferred to an Israeli oil company to do the same job as it did
before it was borrowed from the Egyptians. Borrowed seems to be a
good word because in January 1976, when part of Sinai was returned
to Egypt, the Hiller was returned to it's pre-war owners.
