Also Macchi and Reggiane, if I’m not wrong
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Also Macchi and Reggiane, if I’m not wrong
Most of the rifles came out of Czechoslovakia, they actually bought an entire production line. They made some small parts but never made entire rifles. I think Israel bought Me109's and the Arabs flew Spitfires.
I did a count the other day. It appears that I have four Israeli 7.62's. One of them I have shot a few times this past year. I will dig the others out of the pile and crank some rounds out of them. I love old milsurps. The history drips off them. :)
Edit: one of them is an FN, made for the IDF.
Sort of............
Not actually Messerschmitt 109, they obtained 23 examples of the Avia S-199 from the Czechoslovak government in 1948. The S-199 was post war Czech built Me109, but using the Jumo V12 engine instead of the Daimler-Benz as the only Czech supply of DB engines left over from wartime German stores had all been destroyed in a post war warehouse explosion. The use of the inappropriate slower revving Jumo created nasty handling beast of an aircraft, and although used by the first Israeli AF fighter squadron in action mid way through 1948, its life in the IAF was very brief, with less than a handful being still serviceable by the end of 1948.