Israeli Super Sabres

**Spinners** · January 19

North American F-100D 'Shavit' - 117 Squadron, Israeli Air Force, 1967

Despite a very smooth test and development phase North American Aviation's superb F-107 unexpectedly lost out to Republic Aviation's F-105 Thunderchief in the competition for a new supersonic fighter-bomber for TAC. By early 1959 the end of the F-100D production line was now in sight and with the F-108 and B-70 programmes now on the far horizon North American Aviation needed to stretch the F-100 Super Sabre programme out to plug the gap and urgently proposed a variety of F-100 variants to several friendly nations, including Israel, Japan and the United Kingdom.

In April 1959 the Israeli government signed for 50 F-100D's and the first of these entered Heyl Ha'Avir service in February 1960 replacing the obsolete Gloster Meteors of 117 Squadron. The 'Shavit' was a popular machine in Heyl Ha'Avir service and served with distinction during the 1967 'Six-Day' war but losses were heavy during the early days of the 1973 'Yom Kippur' war and two small batches of ex-USAF F-100D's were accquired as attrition replacements allowing No.253 squadron to re-equip with the F-100D before finally retiring the type in November 1977.