Al Schwimmer, who guided the vast operation to build Israel’s air force, with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. (Courtesy of Boaz Dvir)
A Wing and a Prayer is a 2015 PBS documentary by Boaz Dvir. The film predominantly covers the story of American pilot Al Schwimmer and his covert operation to deliver weapons to the Israeli Army prior to and during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was first released on PBS to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In 1948, months before what was considered an imminent Jewish State and an imminent invasion by neighboring countries such as Jordan and Egypt, the United States publicly announced their refusal to send military aid to Israel out of concern for antagonizing Middle Eastern countries during the Cold War.
Al Schwimmer had been a flight engineer of World War II, and he maintained many contacts after the war had ended. He used his World War II experience and contacts to illegally smuggle surplus rifles, machine guns, bullets and fighter planes to Israel. These supplies mainly came from Czechoslovakia, where many of the arms had been used by the Nazis. They arrived in Israel just as British rule ended, and Schwimmer returned to the United States to buy and smuggle out B-17 bombers. His men participated in the ensuing war. They took control of the skies and formed the Israeli Air Force.
In 1950, after turning themselves in, Schwimmer and nine of his men were convicted for violating the US Neutrality Acts for smuggling arms into Israel. Although they avoided prison sentences, they were stripped of their civil rights and fined $10,000 each.
Schwimmer refused to ask for a pardon, believing that smuggling weapons to help create a Jewish State was the moral decision to make. In 2001 President Bill Clinton pardoned Schwimmer.
The film ends listing the fates of many of the pilots who had flown on the mission, the last of which is Schwimmer himself, who died in 2011.
Source and for further information see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wing_and_a_Prayer_(film)
For more information films relating to the War of Independence – see https://www.jta.org/2015/05/12/united-states/israels-air-force-particularly-its-scrappy-beginnings-inspires-3-films#.VVJbqihISrw.facebook