Israeli swing-wing mud mover

[ValAstur]

Before the F-15A Baz and the F-16A Netz entered service, the IDF relied on Mirages and the Kurnass in a fighter bomber role. 

To reduce the workload on existing aircraft, the acquisition of the American F-111 was discussed in the Knesset. Based on the experiences of recent wars, an aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons was needed. The F-111 was suitable for this purpose. At the end of the 1960s, the Knesset authorized the procurement of this model. The Israeli Air Force requested a prototype of the latest model from the US Air Force and tested the aircraft in various air-to-ground and air-to-air scenarios.

While the aircraft proved more than inadequate for Israeli air combat needs, it was entirely convincing in ground combat. Moshe Dayan, Israel's Minister of Defense at the end of the 1960s, then ordered 64 F-111Fs on behalf of his country, which were converted in Israel to current IDF-standards. The capability of loading nukes was retained, but not used during it's efective service time.

The plane was renamed Haremesh (Scythe). According to a rumor, the name is based on a statement by test pilot Tomer Ohayon, who is said to have remarked that the F-111 "sweeps across the landscape like a scythe when flying low."

 

General Dynamics/IAI F-111I Haremesh (Scythe), 107 Squadron "Knights of the orange Tail", 1972