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Fighters Over Israel: Story of the Israeli Air Force from the War of Independence to the Bekaa Valley
1990: by Lon Nordeen - A thrilling account of why the Air Force of Israel is the best in the world.
- GenresMilitary Fiction
240 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2020
A fascinating read on the creation and development of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). This is actually my second time reading it --- I first read it nearly 30 years ago during my Navy flight training.
This book covers all the high points of the IAF --- starting with Israel's War for Independence. The air war between Israel and its Arab antagonists happened as is often the case with air forces of developing nations --- a case of each side using whatever aircraft it had on hand at the time --- often using them in ways they were not originally intended for (such as using cargo airplanes as bombers, e.g.) and using older surplus aircraft from WW2 against each other. Sometimes, this had some ironies --- such as Israel, in addition to its Spitfires and B-17s, using a variant of the Luftwaffe's Me-109 fighter. In these desperate hours, Israel's military was extremely resourceful at, from nothing, assembling a force, composed of castoff aircrafts, Jewish WW2 veterans, and ---for lack of a better term --- mercenary pilots, usually former US and European fighter pilots bored with peacetime looking for action. Against the odds, such an unlikely force was able to do surprisingly well against its larger, better resourced Arab adversaries from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.
However, once the ceasefire from the 1948 war was concluded, Israel faced an uncertain future. Indeed, the 1948 War had shown to Israel's leaders the necessity of air power.
When I bought this book decades ago as a young pilot, I was more interested in reading the excitement of the Middle Eastern air battles --- and this book has many first hand accounts of these from the Israeli pilots who fought in them. However, now, having flown many hours, both military and civilian and been in charge of an aviation unit, I realize now that this is really just the end result of a long process involved in creating a successful air arm --- and, having that perspective, I find this as much or more remarkable than the air battles because this is easier said than done. It requires creation of a culture of excellence, safety, and professionalism --- not only in the pilots, but in the mechanics and support personnel as well, from top to bottom.
And, as this book shows, this is really where the IAF gained a level of competitive advantage over its adversaries. A former South African pilot, Maj. Gen. Dan Tolkovsky assumed command of the IAF in 1953, and applied his experience and training to turn the IAF from a relatively rag tag third world force into a highly trained, highly disciplined, professional force from lowest enlisted to the very top that endures to this day. Just becoming an Israeli pilot was to undergo a highly selective, rigorous process that involved considerable training continuing after completion of flight school.
Recognizing that a pilot is no good without aircraft, and that poor maintenance can down an aircraft as surely as enemy bullets and that sloppy logistics can deplete a force as well as an enemy raid on supply lines, Tolkovsky inculcated the same demanding process to IAF ground personnel --- creating a force that could repair and rearm combat aircraft at a high rate.
Surrounded on all sides by numerically superior enemies, this service culture in the IAF would pay off huge dividends in the wars to follow --- with the result that the IAF was able to maintain a higher sortie rate than its foes, repair battle damage quicker, and achieve a significantly higher kill ratio in air to air combat.
It's tempting, at first take, to attribute the IAF's success to superior technology --- yet, in the beginning, at least, in the Suez Crisis; the War of Attrition, and the Six Days War, Israel really didn't have that much an advantage over Egypt, Syria, or Jordan --- being very reliant upon France during that time for most of its aircraft while the Egypt and Syria were supplied with the latest Soviet aircraft. After reading this book and other accounts of the Middle Eastern air wars, I do think that the IAF did have and has now a qualitative edge over its adversaries. It's an interesting thought exercise to ask what the outcome might have been if Israel had had their adversaries' mostly Soviet bloc aircraft and their adversaries Israel's mostly French and American aircraft. My personal opinion: Israel may not have had as high a kill ratio --- but it would still would have prevailed over its foes. After all, a professional in a lower tech aircraft will best a Gomer in a higher tech ride almost every time --- aviation tends to favor the better stick over slobs.
An enjoyable book all in all. I recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about the IAF and for military and aviation buffs.
This book covers all the high points of the IAF --- starting with Israel's War for Independence. The air war between Israel and its Arab antagonists happened as is often the case with air forces of developing nations --- a case of each side using whatever aircraft it had on hand at the time --- often using them in ways they were not originally intended for (such as using cargo airplanes as bombers, e.g.) and using older surplus aircraft from WW2 against each other. Sometimes, this had some ironies --- such as Israel, in addition to its Spitfires and B-17s, using a variant of the Luftwaffe's Me-109 fighter. In these desperate hours, Israel's military was extremely resourceful at, from nothing, assembling a force, composed of castoff aircrafts, Jewish WW2 veterans, and ---for lack of a better term --- mercenary pilots, usually former US and European fighter pilots bored with peacetime looking for action. Against the odds, such an unlikely force was able to do surprisingly well against its larger, better resourced Arab adversaries from Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq.
However, once the ceasefire from the 1948 war was concluded, Israel faced an uncertain future. Indeed, the 1948 War had shown to Israel's leaders the necessity of air power.
When I bought this book decades ago as a young pilot, I was more interested in reading the excitement of the Middle Eastern air battles --- and this book has many first hand accounts of these from the Israeli pilots who fought in them. However, now, having flown many hours, both military and civilian and been in charge of an aviation unit, I realize now that this is really just the end result of a long process involved in creating a successful air arm --- and, having that perspective, I find this as much or more remarkable than the air battles because this is easier said than done. It requires creation of a culture of excellence, safety, and professionalism --- not only in the pilots, but in the mechanics and support personnel as well, from top to bottom.
And, as this book shows, this is really where the IAF gained a level of competitive advantage over its adversaries. A former South African pilot, Maj. Gen. Dan Tolkovsky assumed command of the IAF in 1953, and applied his experience and training to turn the IAF from a relatively rag tag third world force into a highly trained, highly disciplined, professional force from lowest enlisted to the very top that endures to this day. Just becoming an Israeli pilot was to undergo a highly selective, rigorous process that involved considerable training continuing after completion of flight school.
Recognizing that a pilot is no good without aircraft, and that poor maintenance can down an aircraft as surely as enemy bullets and that sloppy logistics can deplete a force as well as an enemy raid on supply lines, Tolkovsky inculcated the same demanding process to IAF ground personnel --- creating a force that could repair and rearm combat aircraft at a high rate.
Surrounded on all sides by numerically superior enemies, this service culture in the IAF would pay off huge dividends in the wars to follow --- with the result that the IAF was able to maintain a higher sortie rate than its foes, repair battle damage quicker, and achieve a significantly higher kill ratio in air to air combat.
It's tempting, at first take, to attribute the IAF's success to superior technology --- yet, in the beginning, at least, in the Suez Crisis; the War of Attrition, and the Six Days War, Israel really didn't have that much an advantage over Egypt, Syria, or Jordan --- being very reliant upon France during that time for most of its aircraft while the Egypt and Syria were supplied with the latest Soviet aircraft. After reading this book and other accounts of the Middle Eastern air wars, I do think that the IAF did have and has now a qualitative edge over its adversaries. It's an interesting thought exercise to ask what the outcome might have been if Israel had had their adversaries' mostly Soviet bloc aircraft and their adversaries Israel's mostly French and American aircraft. My personal opinion: Israel may not have had as high a kill ratio --- but it would still would have prevailed over its foes. After all, a professional in a lower tech aircraft will best a Gomer in a higher tech ride almost every time --- aviation tends to favor the better stick over slobs.
An enjoyable book all in all. I recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about the IAF and for military and aviation buffs.
November 4, 2020
Published in 1990, 'Fighters over Israel' tells the story of the Israeli Air Force from 1948 until the publication date. Not surprisingly, this makes an action-packed read since the IAF has had such an eventful history. Indeed, the haphazard way in which the IAF was formed helps add to the amazing variety of aircraft types operated at one time or another. The only surprise here is just how slim the book is - meaning that the many Arab-Israeli air wars often get less detail than they deserve, which is a pity. It also means that the Arab perspective of these various wars and battles is totally absent, so you do get a potentially biased viewpoint. Nonetheless, a great read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews