Two weeks into the Arab invasion and the Egyptian column had reached the vicinity of Ashdod, just 20 miles south of Tel Aviv. Shortly before their arrival, the Israelis had blown the bridge over Wadi Lakhish, thereby forcing the Egyptians to pause. Meanwhile, the Israelis had assembled the first flight of the new Czech Avia S199s, a crude derivative of the ME109G, and were desperate to get them into the action. The attack was led by an American volunteer, Lou Lenart. As the Israeli planes assembled over the sea for their passes, they could see the column lined up on the road and in the town of Ashdod. Just as the bombing runs commenced, the Egyptians threw up a considerable amount of light AA fire at the Israelis.
