trained Syrian pilots at Estabel in 1948 and at Nayrab airfield (south of Aleppo) in 1949.

Organized into three squadrons, one of which was equipped with North American T-6 Harvards, the air force participated in the the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, conducting bombing raids against Israeli forces and settlements. One T-6 was lost to ground fire while attacking Ayelet Hashahar on 16 July, and another