Operation Velvetta

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Operation Velvetta (Hebrew: ולווטה; also known as Operation Alabama) was a 1948 Israeli Air Force operation to ferry Supermarine Spitfires purchased in Czechoslovakia to Israel. The fighter planes were purchased from Czechoslovakia at $23,000 per plane. Arrangements were also made with the Yugoslavian leader Josip Broz Tito to use the Kapino Polje Airport in the city of Nikšić (an abandoned Luftwaffe airbase) as a waystation for 60 purchased Spitfires (codenamed "Yoram"). The commander of the Israelis at Nikšić airfield was Gideon (Geda) Shochat, son of Manya and Israel Shochat, and a former RAF officer. The first of the two legs of the journey was from Kunovice, Czechoslovakia to Nikšić (codenamed "Alabama"). The second leg was more difficult, crossing 2,250 km of open water from Nikšić to Israel.