The story of the hardest-fought air war of the jet era, where highly trained Israeli air forces almost met their match against Egypt and Syria's high-tech MiGs and missiles.

The Yom Kippur War, or October War of 1973 was perhaps the most intensive and savage air war in history. It pitted more than 300 Israeli combat aircraft - including modern US-built Phantoms and Skyhawks - against nearly 1,000 advanced Soviet-built jets from Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. During a war lasting just 19 days, each side flew an average of more than 1,000 sorties per day, and both sides lost around one-third of their aircraft.

Veteran Middle East aviation historian Shlomo Aloni explains how, in contrast to the striking success of the Six-Day War, Israel's prewar plans failed in 1973. Since the Six-Day War, Israel had modernized its air force and planned in detail for this air war. But the IDF underestimated the effectiveness of the latest Soviet air defense technology and doctrine, particularly the new SA-6 missile system.

With archive photos, spectacular combat artwork, 3D diagrams, and maps, this book unravels the complexities of one of the fiercest air wars of modern times, and explains how Israel's eventual victory was achieved against the odds and at a grave cost.

By participating in 1956 Suez Crisis Israel exploited an opportunity to join forces with France and the United Kingdom in an attack against Egypt in order to accomplish diplomatic, military and political objectives: to open the Red Sea international shipping lane to ships sailing from and to Eilat; to strengthen its alliance with France; to end - or at least to scale down - Egyptian hosted Palestinian terror attacks against Israel; to launch a preventive war in order to crush Egyptian military power before its completion of the transition to Soviet weapons could tempt Egypt to attack Israel and in order to accomplish a profound victory to deter Egypt from pursuing a another round of war policy.

Operation KADESH was the Israeli part in the Anglo-French attack and this title chronicles Israeli Air Force operations along the timeline of Operation KADESH - from day 1 on 29 October 1956 until day 11 on 8 November 1956 - in thus far unmatched depth and detail; all known Israel Air Force missions and sorties are listed and described and all air combats between Israeli Mysteres and Egyptian MiGs and Vampires are presented and analyzed. The large variety of aircraft flown - Dassault Mysteres, Dassault Ouragans and Gloster Meteors; B-17 Flying Fortresses, P-51 Mustangs and De Havilland Mosquitoes; T-6 Texans (Harvards) and T-17 Kaydets (Stearmans); Nord 2501 Noratlases, C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas), Pipers and Consuls and even a pair of Sikorsky S-55 helicopters - are all covered in this title, which presents Israeli Air Force operations during the Suez War in a depth and detail unseen in previous publications. The text is supported by numerous photographs and color profiles.

Middle East@War - following on from our highly successful Africa@War series, Middle East@War replicates the same format - concise, incisive text, rare images and high quality color artwork providing fresh accounts of both well-known and more esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the world since 1945.

Operation HOREV - the Israeli winter offensive from December 1948 until January 1949 - practically ended Israel's War for Independence (also known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War), with an Israeli victory that forced Egypt to seek ceasefire and to negotiate a settlement with the fledgling nation. From HOREV Day 1 on 23 December 1948 until HOREV Day 16 on 7 January 1949, this title presents Israeli Air Force missions during Operation HOREV in heretofore unseen depth and detail.

This title chronicles Israeli Air Force sorties during Operation HOREV; from Austers and Pipers to C-46s and C-47s; from Messerschmitts, Spitfires and P-51s to Beaufighters and B-17s; Israel Air Force operations are detailed spanning the timeline of the conflict down to every unearthed sortie in depth, and shown in a way that Israeli Air Force operations during Operation HOREV had never been presented before. This level of detail has been made possible by extensive use of contemporary documentation. The detailed text is supported by numerous photographs and color profiles.

Middle East@War - following on from our highly successful Africa@War series, Middle East@War replicates the same format - concise, incisive text, rare images and high quality color artwork providing fresh accounts of both well-known and more esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the world since 1945.

Diplomacy, politics and national trauma has dominated the frontline career of the Israeli F-15 to date. In the wake of the losses suffered in the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli government opted for technology in an effort to reassure a traumatised population that they would never suffer a surprise attack from the air again. Despite Israel Defense Force Air Force (IDF/AF) interceptors having performed extremely successfully during the Yom Kippur War, they did not achieve the kind of results that allowed Israel to achieve future deterrence. The nation was not only looking for weapons that would win a war, but that would also prevent it in the first place.

Post-Yom Kippur diplomacy enabled Israel to purchase the F-15 Eagle, which was then the world's best air-to-air fighter. For the first time in its history the IDF/AF could operate a fighter that was a full generation ahead of all opposing interceptors in the region. The first 'Kill' F-15 Baz (Buzzard) arrived in Israel in December 1976, and three years later it got the chance to prove its worth in combat. Israeli Baz pilots were credited with 12.5 kills between 1979 and 1981, with 33 victories following during the June 1982 Lebanon War. A further 4.5 kills followed in post-Lebanon War skirmishes. Despite all of this combat, no Israeli F-15 has ever been lost to enemy action.

Once the jet secured air superiority and deterrence had been achieved along the Israeli borders, the IDF/AF went on to explore the Baz's long-range attributes and as air-to-ground capability. As an example of the former, Israeli F-15s escorted F-16 strike aircraft all the way to Iraq's nuclear reactor in June 1981, and in its bomber role, the type flew the IDF/AF's longest ever attack mission in October 1985 when it bombed the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Diplomacy prevailed again in the 1990s when the US government agreed to supply the IDF/AF with the F-15I Ra'am (Thunder) to fulfill the long-range surface-to-surface missile (SSM) mission post-Desert Storm. These aircraft also acted as a counter-balance to the sale of the F-15S to Saudi Arabia. A follow-on to the F-15I purchase was the development of the Improved Baz Avionics Upgrade Program, which saw the integration of many of the F-15I features into the older F-15A/B/C/D. From A to I, the extremely capable, and combat-tested, Israeli F-15 force will continue to deter potential enemies well into the foreseeable future.

Israeli delta fighters pilots have been credited with almost 300 kills between 1966 and 1974, and dozens of them became aces. The Israeli aerial kill exchange rate and overall air-to-air performance was phenomenal. Although the Israeli pilots were flying Mach 2 fighters, they lacked any modern radar equipment and their MiG-21 flying opponents should have had a performance edge over them. This book details their most signifcant engagements, many of which were essentially World War 2 style dogfights fought with jet aircraft. Because neither side had the combat edge to disengage at will most engagements were a life and death struggle and the introduction of air-to-air missiles and the Israeli Nesher was to prove decisive in this theatre.

From the B-17 Flying Fortress and PBY Catalina, via the F-4 Phantom to the F-15I Thunder, Israeli Air Force 69 Squadron, the Hammers, have always been the long-range, heavy bombing element of Israeli air power. 69 Sqdn. fought in six wars and flew thousands of missions. The first Hammers mission was the bombardment of Cairo in July 1948. The final B-17 missions were flown during the 1956 Suez War, the last of the Flying Fortresses to bomb operationally anywhere. From 1969, the Hammers flew the legendary F-4 through participation in the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War and the Lebanon War. Flying the F-15I since 1998, the Hammers story of operations, aircraft and persons is the essence of this book that unveils, for the first time ever, the full story of Israeli B-17 operations, the complete story of how the Israeli Phantoms defeated the Syrian SAM network in Lebanon, the thundering introduction of the F-15I into Israeli service, and much more.

In the years that preceded the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel invested heavily in the creation of a heavy attack force of four F-4 Phantom/Kurnass squadrons. They would fly 3,000+ sorties, claim 80+ kills, and suffer 30+ losses during the nineteen days of one of the most intensive, savage wars in modern military history. This book delves into the details of individual Israeli F-4 Phantom/Kurnass crew missions and their day-to-day operations during the war. This is a must for anyone with interest in F-4 Phantom operations, Israeli Air Force heritage, and modern military history.

The French Vautour was designed to serve as an attack aircraft, bomber and nightfighter. Israel purchased all three versions and was the only nation to operate all three types. Sqdn.110 recon Vautours collected imagery crucial for IAF Operation Focus, the pre-emptive strike that opened the June 1967 Six Day War. It was during this war that Sqdn. 110 attack Vautours spearheaded the IAF air superiority offensive.

Israel acquired sixty-one Dassault Mystere IVA combat aircraft from France that were delivered to the Israeli Air Force from April to September 1956 and were issued to two units: Squadron 101 at Hatzor, in the south, and Squadron 109 at Ramat David, in the north. From 1956 until 1959, and to a lesser extent from 1959 until 1962, the Mystere was the ILAF's cutting-edge interceptor. From 1959, the Mystere's main mission shifted from air-to-air to air-to-ground, as more modern interceptors--Super Mystere from 1959 and Mirage from 1962--entered Israeli Air Force service. At the same time, the Israeli Air Force initiated an effort to introduce an attack aircraft to succeed the Mystere. The Squadron 109 Mystere era therefore covered mostly air-to-air from 1956 until 1962 and mostly air-to-ground from 1962 until 1968.

The story of how the Israeli Force achieved one of the most audacious and important air power victories in history, wiping out enemy air forces more than twice its own size in a single morning.

This new illustrated study examines the planning, execution and aftermath of Operation Focus showing how it not only effectively won the Six Day War for Israel, but also impacted military thinking--in the Middle East and all over the globe--so profoundly that military leaders' perceptions of air superiority were practically transformed in its wake, signalling a turning point in the Cold War.

The Israeli Air Force's Operation Focus was not only a watershed in the history of the modern Middle East but was one of the greatest and most effective air superiority campaigns ever waged. On a single morning, almost the entire IAF was committed to a surprise, preemptive airstrike against the air forces of the encircling Arab states. The attack was extraordinarily successful. Hundreds of Arab aircraft were destroyed, their airfields crippled, and the IAF gained almost complete air supremacy for the rest of the war.

When the UN called for the end of the British mandate and the partition of Palestine into two independent states, the RAF found itself under attack from both sides. Tracing the development of hostilities in the Middle East, this book covers the period from the establishment of the first proper Israeli Air Force in 1948 to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel's War of Independence against its Arab neighbours, the inevitable 'round two', the Suez Crisis of 1956, the Six Day War of 1967, the Yom Kippur wars of 1973 and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 are all detailed in this fascinating chronicle of war in the Middle East.

Although the opposing forces of the Six Day War were both flying comparable third-generation Mach 2 jet fighters, the pilots were trained to different standards, and were expected to utilize different tactics. Using the latest research, first-hand accounts, and specially commissioned artwork, Shlomo Aloni tells the dramatic story of the dogfights in the skies over the Middle East.

The American manufactured F-4 Phantom II was used by the Israelis in air-to-ground missions, as an attack aircraft, and air-to-air missions as a fighter. Despite performing both roles with equal success the Israeli reliance on the Mirage III and Nesher delta fighters meant that the F-4 was used most regularly in its air-to-ground role. The kill total of the Israeli F-4 community was, consequently, a modest 116.5; significantly lower than that of other Israeli aircraft types in service between 1969 and 1982. A handful of aces were, nevertheless, created and, using first hand accounts, this unique book tells their stories.
Many F-4 pilots had previously flown the Mirage III but most of the navigators were either inexperienced flying school graduates or had been transferred from transport aircraft. The decision to create such teams may have appeared an odd one and it certainly led to a number of interesting experiences but proved, ultimately, to be so successful that by 2010 the Israeli air force will have more two-seat combat aircraft than single-seat fighters. The F-4 experience was, therefore, crucial to moulding the future of the Israeli air force.

The light and agile A-4 Skyhawk was the first modern American jet to be offered to the Israeli Air Force, marking the point where the US took over from France as Israel's chief military supplier. Deliveries began too late for the A-4 to fight in the Six-Day War (1967), but it soon formed the backbone of the IAF's ground-attack force. From 1969 to 1970 it flew endless sorties against Egyptian forces in the War of Attrition (1967-1970). Then, during the Yom Kippur War (1973), five squadrons of A-4s saw combat and 50 planes were lost as they battled against the Arab armored onslaught. Using previously unpublished first-hand accounts and rare photography from the IAF archives and pilots' private collections, Shlomo Aloni tells the definitive history of the IAF's A-4 squadrons, including the story of Ezra BABAN Dotan who became an ace with an unique double-kill of MiG17s.