Air Power and the Arab World, 1909-1955: Volume 10: The First Arab-Israeli War Begins, 15-31 May 1948 (Nicolle David)(Paperback)

This entry in the MiddleEast@War series is illustrated with abundant photographs from previously unused, or very rarely used, private and official sources.Air Power and the Arab World, 1909–1955 Volume 10 continues the story of the men and machines of the first half-century of military aviation in the Arab world. It tells the story of the first two weeks of the first of the Arab-Israeli Wars – also known as the Palestine War – in May 1948. Whilst part of an ongoing series, this volume stands alone as a history of the period covered.By that time, in Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, newly-independent Syria, Lebanon, and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia, significant efforts had already been made to strengthen these countries’ armed forces. Where Egypt, Iraq and Syria were concerned, these efforts included a determination to improve or, in the case of Syria, to establish their air forces. All three air forces were thrown into the First Phase of the Palestine War and, in the view of most subsequent commentators or historians, they had failed to perform as well as their government and populations had expected. However, closer investigation and the removal of layers of propaganda which have obscured the realities of this first Arab-Israeli War show that the Arab air forces performed better than is generally realized. Arguably, they had their limitations and weaknesses, and these had also become apparent as the fighting intensified and losses began to mount. All this was al
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