The Spitfire is the most famous British aircraft of all time. Although less numerous than the Hawker Hurricane, it is remembered as the sleek, thoroughbred fighting machine that turned the tide during the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire was among the fastest and most maneuverable prop-driven fighters of World War II, serving in virtually every combat theater.

Supermarine designer Reginald Mitchell created this small, graceful, elliptical-wing fighter with eight guns in the wings that were able to fire without being hindered by the propeller. The immortal Spitfire thus became not merely one of the best-performing fighters of all time, but also one of the best-looking. Although never employed as a long-range escort, the Spitfire was a champion in an air-to-air duel. Spitfires routinely dived at the speed of sound, faster than any of the German jets.

A carrier-based version, called the Seafire, was a winner in its own right, serving valiantly on convoy routes during World War II. The Seafire 47 was even used in the early stages of the Korean War, before it was replaced by more modern jet aircraft.

Pictured here is a 1:48 scale replica of an Israeli Air Force Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXe fighter that was piloted by Ezer Weisman who was attached to 105 Squadron ("Negev Air Squadron"), then deployed to Ramat David AB, Israel, during June 1955. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8-1/2-inches
Length: 7-1/2-inches

Release Date: October 2016

Historical Account: "The Haganah" - After the establishment of the State of Israel, Ezer Weizman was a pilot for the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was the commander of the Negev Air Squadron near Nir-Am. In May 1948, he learned to fly the Avia S-199 at the Ceske Budejovice air base in Czechoslovakia (Operation Balak) and participated in Israel's first fighter mission, a ground attack on an Egyptian column advancing toward Ad Halom near the Arab town of Isdud south of Tel Aviv. In a battle between Israeli and British RAF aircraft on January 7th, 1949, he flew one of four Israeli Spitfire fighters that attacked 19 British fighters, which were on a rescue mission in Egypt searching for four aircraft that had been destroyed in an earlier IAF attack. An RAF Hawker Tempest was shot down by the IAF, resulting in the death of the pilot. Due to a failure by ground crewmen, most of the RAF aircraft were not armed.

Weizman joined the Israel Defense Forces and served as the Chief of Operations on the General Staff. In 1951 he attended the RAF Staff College, Andover in England. Upon his return he became commander of Ramat David.

He served as the commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1958 to 1966, and later served as deputy Chief of the General Staff. He directed the early morning surprise air attacks against the Egyptian air bases, which resulted in giving the Israelis total air superiority over the Sinai battlefields by totally destroying the Egyptian Air Force in three hours. A total of 400 enemy planes were destroyed by the Israeli Air Force on the first day of the Six Day War. Although he became the IDF's Deputy Chief of Staff in 1966, he retired from military service in 1969.