UNIT REPORT // 124 ‘ROLLING SWORD’ SQUADRON
Combat Aircraft marks 60 years of 124 ‘Rolling Sword’ Squadron by looking at its current mount — the S-70A Yanshuf.
THE ISRAELI AIR Force’s (IAF’s) 124 ‘Rolling Sword’ Squadron, based at Palmachim, marked its 60th anniversary last year. It’s a milestone that’s particularly significant given its unofficial title of the ‘First Helicopter’ Squadron. Indeed, the unit’s history traces back to an unusual assortment of difierent types that were initially assigned to a small flight within 100 and 103 Transport Squadrons. Pilot Uri Yarom led the unit, which expanded from an initial lone Hiller 360 to an assortment of Bell 47Gs and Alouettes, the Sikorsky S-55 and S-58, and then the Bell 205 and 212.
Rotary aviation proved its worth to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) right from the outset. Israel’s dire economic crisis of the 1950s meant there was little funding for helicopters, with French-built fixed-wing combat jets taking the lion’s share. However, having seen the US Army’s results in the Korean War, Yarom convinced his seniors to purchase a pair of S-55s. The Sinai campaign of October 1956 failed to attract sufficient interest in the new helicopters to call for t…
