119 Squadron - The Bat

The Israeli Air Force formed the 119 squadron in September 1956 with 3 Meteor NF.13 aircraft. Although initially small, one Meteor pilot from the the 119 squadron destroyed an Egyptian AF-II 4 carrying 16 Egyptian army commanders who had just concluded a treaty with Syria. In 1958 the 119 squadron received six Vatour IIN aircraft from France, as well as three additional Meteor aircraft from Great Britain. The aircraft remained in service until 1963 when they were replaced with Mirage IIICJ fighters.

During the Six Day War, the 119 squadron participated in a number of missions, including attacks on airbases in Jorden and Syria. In 1967, the 119 squadron destroyed 19 enemy aircraft In 1970, the 119 became the third squadron to operate the F-4 aircraft, including two reconnaisance equipped variants of the aircraft. In the late 1980s, the IAI began updating the original F-4 and produced the F-4 Kurnass 2000.

As of August 2006, the 119 squadron had upgraded from the F-4 to the F-16I and moved from Tel Nof to Ramon.