..... had some spare time
so
In 1943 a Short Sunderland took off nearby Alexandrië. On board were Palestinian inhabitants who wanted to fight against Nazi-Germany. They were send to England for pilot-training. Not knowing they were united with Jewish people, who had escaped from Germany with the same idea. In Scotland they recieved their training learning to fly the Hawker Hurricane and at last the Grumman-Curtiss P-37D. This was a upgraded version of the P-37C with a centaurus engine (The same the Israeli’s did in 1948 with their P-37C’s).
After their training in Scotland they were send back to Egypt to fight the African Corps in North Africa. At this time they encountered their Jewish mates in the same Squadron.
Along the tours at the front they learned to esteem each other and after several combats in Africa, Sicily and South of France they respected each other.
After the war the squadron was replaced at Alexandrië and most of the Jewish and Palestinian pilots went home. When in 1948 Israel declared their independence and it was approved by the United Nations, the Arab world attacked Israel. Several Palestinian pilots, who disapproved this step of the Jews captured in Alexandrië several P-37D’s, escaped to Jordan and formed their own Squadron, they were joined by other Arab young Guys and so they formed the two Squadrons to fight the Israeli, PAF1 and PAF2 (PAF stands for Palestina Airforce).
The Israeli defeated the Arabs and their state was secured. But it were the Squadron-mates from the wartime from both Israel and Palestina who encountered each other in the knowledge that without peace between the Jews and Palestinian people their would be now real solution. So in 1952 the negotiations led to the establishment of the new state Palestine.
Here are two P-37’s from that time. First the one from the PAF2, fighting the Jews and the second one is the upgraded version bij the Dalman-Company, the P-37E from the new state Palestine, who vought against Egypt and Syria who attacked the new state of Palestine in 1952
Regards
Lauhof