/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000c7eac8 rename

Sherut Avir (SA) (in English: Air Service) was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of...

Sherut Avir (SA) (in English: Air Service) was the air force of the Haganah and the forerunner of the Israeli Air Force. Sherut Avir was founded in November, 1947, just two weeks prior to the passing of the 1947 UN Partition Plan which divided Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. It was at this time Haganah leaders brought the Palmach's air branch, Palavir out of hiding, recognizing the need for an air service if a Jewish State was established. However, Sherut Avir would have to be built from scratch. Because of this, its initial strength in comparison with some neighboring air forces, especially Egypt, was quite insignificant. By the time of Israel's declaration of statehood in May 1948, Sherut Avir had only 25 aircraft. Most of them had come from Aviron, the first Jewish airline in Palestine established in 1936. While Aviron itself was not part of the Haganah, they had worked closely together in liaison, reconnaissance, and medical missions. Between late-1947 and mid-1948, as tensions mounted before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Aviron transferred all of its aircraft to the fledgling air force. The second problem Sherut Avir faced was a lack of trained airmen and ground crew.