As fighting intensified throughout the region in early 1948, however, the SA's sole squadron in Tel Aviv could not meet all operational needs. Soon new detachments were deployed to the Negev and the Galilee, where several aircraft begun operating from the former RAF landing ground at Mahanayim in support of the newly formed Golani Brigade. When the brigade moved its headquarters to Yavne'el, three SA aircraft deployed to an airstrip constructed there. On 4 April 1948, two Auster Autocrats, three pilots and two mechanics, were formed into the SA's Galilee section, headed by Pesach Tolchinky. On 25 April, the unit was officially designated the SA's 3rd Squadron and given the callsign "Lavi" (Lion).