115 Squadron (Israel)

115 Squadron
Red Squadron patch
Active	1954–1958, 1969–1994, 2005–
Country	Israel
Branch	Israeli Air Force
Role	Aggressor
Garrison/HQ	Ovda
Nickname(s)	Flying Dragon / Red Squadron
Engagements	Suez Crisis War of Attrition Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Giora Romm
Aircraft flown
Fighter	F-16 Fighting Falcon
Attack helicopter	AH-1 Cobra

115 Squadron, also known as the Flying Dragon or Red Squadron, is the Israeli Air Force's aggressor squadron. Based at Ovda, it is the sole IAF squadron to operate fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and also ground-based assets.

The squadron was established on July 8, 1954, as a semi-autonomous unit of 109 Squadron, specializing in photo-reconnaissance flights. Commanded by Captain Azriel Ronen, the squadron initially operated 4 de Havilland Mosquito PR.16s out of Hatzor Airbase. These were soon augmented by three Mosquito NF.30s converted to reconnaissance configuration, and in June 1956, 115 became a fully independent squadron. Commanded by Major Eli Eron, the new unit was based at Tel Nof. It was soon bolstered by three additional PR.16s and three Gloster Meteor T.7s.

As Middle East tensions rose in the mid-1950s, 115 squadron operations were stepped up. It carried out reconnaissance missions throughout the region, flying as far as Iraq and Libya. Intelligence gathered during these missions proved valuable not only during the 1956 Suez Crisis, but in subsequent wars as well. In the run-up to Suez Crisis itself, the squadron gathered information on Egyptian forces and their dispositions in the Sinai, while during the war it provided much-needed intelligence on enemy activity.

The squadron was disbanded in November 1958 with the withdrawal of the Mosquito from service. Its Meteors were allocated to other squadrons.

115 Squadron was reformed in January 1969 at Tel Nof, as the IAF's third A-4 Skyhawk squadron. Its first three jets arrived at the port of Ashdod on March 20, and on March 28 the squadron flew its first flight. It soon achieved operational capability and on April 22 saw its first combat sortie in the ongoing War of Attrition, against a radar station in Jordan. In July it participated in operation Boxer, during which one of its aircraft was hit but managed to make a forced landing at Rephidim. The squadron also participated in the Priha operations, while during operation Rhodes, the January 1970 assault on the island of Shadwan, a squadron A-4 sunk an Egyptian torpedo boat. Altogether 115 Squadron flew about 1,000 sorties throughout the war.