Book Review of
Wings of Iraq vol. 2
The Iraqi Air Force, 1970-1980
Authors: Milos Sipos & Tom Cooper
Helion & Co. Ltd. Middle East @ War Series no. 43
ICBN: 978-1-914377-17-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
ICBN: 978-1-914377-17-4
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $29.95
HISTORY:
Officially established on 22 April 1931, around a core of 5 pilots and 32 aircraft mechanics, the Royal Iraqi Air Force was the first military flying service in any Arab country.
Coming into being with the task of supporting the Iraq armed forces and the British against revolts by local tribes, it saw extensive combat and gradually grew into a police force. During the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, it became involved in the first conventional campaign in support of an anti-British coup, but was destroyed as a fighting force. It was still recovering when destroyed in combat again, this time against Israel in the course of the Palestine War of 1948-1949.
During the relatively quiet decade of the 1950s, the air force experienced a rapid growth, further intensified once the monarchy was toppled during the 14 day Tammuz Revolution in 1958, and once again, after two additional coups in 1963. During all these affairs, a dozen additional in the 1960s, and then again during the long and bitter war against Kurdish insurgency in the north, and the next clash with Israel in 1967, the Iraqi Air Force continued playing a dominant role in the fate of the country.
The situation changed only a little following the coup of 1968 that brought the Baath Party to power. What did indicate a major change was the air force’s involvement in October 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and then the showdown with the Iranian-supported Kurdish insurgency in northern Iraq in 1974-1975. These two affairs taught the Iraqis that numbers alone did not make an air force.
Correspondingly, during the second half of the 1970s, Baghdad embarked on a project bae on full technology transfer from France, which was intended to result in preparing the IAF for the 21st century. This process had hardly begun when the new ruler in Baghdad , Saddam Hussein at-Tikrit, led his country into an invasion of neighboring Iran, embroiling it in a ruinous, eight-year-long war.
Although virtually “born in battle”, collecting precious combat experience and playing an important role in so many internal and external conflicts, the Iraqi Air Force remains one of the least known and most misinterpreted military services in the Middle East.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Ltd. is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover in 80 pages (2 are blank) in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a black and white photo of a pilot climbing into an Iraqi Mig-21. The aircraft is in a camouflage of a base of tan with large black blotches. It has 2 victory mark roundels on the side of its nose, over an image of a black eagle and followed by black Arabic lettering.
Richly illustrated with 89 black and white photos, and 4 color ones, “Wings of Iraq” provides a uniquely compact, yet comprehensive guide to its operational history, its crucial officers and aircraft, and its major operations.
The Middle East @ War series is concise and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining the Middle East in the 20th Century and beyond.
There are 41 photos of big-shots, officers and pilots, an announcement of the death of Brigadier General Ahmad Sadh Rushdie al Astrabadi, a plaque about a Soviet-Iraqi agreement, a Tu-16, Mig-21MF, Hunter F. Mk. 59, six aerial photos of airfields, a Su-7BMK, a Mig-17F (and a wrecked one), a wrecked U.S. made M107 self-propelled gun, a Soviet made An-12, a Mi-4 helicopter, a Su-20, a Jet Provost, a Tu-22, a Mig-25MS, a V-750 MV missile launcher, a Mig-21R, a Mirage F-1, a Su-22, a L-29, a Tupolev Tu-22, a II-76MD, a memorial plaque, a Mi-25 helicopter, wreckage of a Mig-21R and wreckage of a R-13M missile.
Color profile illustrations are of:
A Mil-4 helicopter, a Westland Wessex HC Mk.52 helicopter, an Aero L-29 Delfin, a Mig-15bis SB, a Percival Jet Provost T. Mk.52, a Hunter, 4 illustrations of the Mig-21, two illustrations of the Mig-17, a Su-7BMK, a Tu-16, a Tu-22, a Aero L-39 Albatross and two illustrations of a Mig-23 MS.
This is a neat photo album about the Iraqi Air Force through the years. It will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Helion & Co. Ltd. Books, and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Officially established on 22 April 1931, around a core of 5 pilots and 32 aircraft mechanics, the Royal Iraqi Air Force was the first military flying service in any Arab country.
Coming into being with the task of supporting the Iraq armed forces and the British against revolts by local tribes, it saw extensive combat and gradually grew into a police force. During the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941, it became involved in the first conventional campaign in support of an anti-British coup, but was destroyed as a fighting force. It was still recovering when destroyed in combat again, this time against Israel in the course of the Palestine War of 1948-1949.
During the relatively quiet decade of the 1950s, the air force experienced a rapid growth, further intensified once the monarchy was toppled during the 14 day Tammuz Revolution in 1958, and once again, after two additional coups in 1963. During all these affairs, a dozen additional in the 1960s, and then again during the long and bitter war against Kurdish insurgency in the north, and the next clash with Israel in 1967, the Iraqi Air Force continued playing a dominant role in the fate of the country.
The situation changed only a little following the coup of 1968 that brought the Baath Party to power. What did indicate a major change was the air force’s involvement in October 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and then the showdown with the Iranian-supported Kurdish insurgency in northern Iraq in 1974-1975. These two affairs taught the Iraqis that numbers alone did not make an air force.
Correspondingly, during the second half of the 1970s, Baghdad embarked on a project bae on full technology transfer from France, which was intended to result in preparing the IAF for the 21st century. This process had hardly begun when the new ruler in Baghdad , Saddam Hussein at-Tikrit, led his country into an invasion of neighboring Iran, embroiling it in a ruinous, eight-year-long war.
Although virtually “born in battle”, collecting precious combat experience and playing an important role in so many internal and external conflicts, the Iraqi Air Force remains one of the least known and most misinterpreted military services in the Middle East.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Ltd. is based in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover in 80 pages (2 are blank) in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The cover art shows a black and white photo of a pilot climbing into an Iraqi Mig-21. The aircraft is in a camouflage of a base of tan with large black blotches. It has 2 victory mark roundels on the side of its nose, over an image of a black eagle and followed by black Arabic lettering.
Richly illustrated with 89 black and white photos, and 4 color ones, “Wings of Iraq” provides a uniquely compact, yet comprehensive guide to its operational history, its crucial officers and aircraft, and its major operations.
The Middle East @ War series is concise and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining the Middle East in the 20th Century and beyond.
There are 41 photos of big-shots, officers and pilots, an announcement of the death of Brigadier General Ahmad Sadh Rushdie al Astrabadi, a plaque about a Soviet-Iraqi agreement, a Tu-16, Mig-21MF, Hunter F. Mk. 59, six aerial photos of airfields, a Su-7BMK, a Mig-17F (and a wrecked one), a wrecked U.S. made M107 self-propelled gun, a Soviet made An-12, a Mi-4 helicopter, a Su-20, a Jet Provost, a Tu-22, a Mig-25MS, a V-750 MV missile launcher, a Mig-21R, a Mirage F-1, a Su-22, a L-29, a Tupolev Tu-22, a II-76MD, a memorial plaque, a Mi-25 helicopter, wreckage of a Mig-21R and wreckage of a R-13M missile.
Color profile illustrations are of:
A Mil-4 helicopter, a Westland Wessex HC Mk.52 helicopter, an Aero L-29 Delfin, a Mig-15bis SB, a Percival Jet Provost T. Mk.52, a Hunter, 4 illustrations of the Mig-21, two illustrations of the Mig-17, a Su-7BMK, a Tu-16, a Tu-22, a Aero L-39 Albatross and two illustrations of a Mig-23 MS.
This is a neat photo album about the Iraqi Air Force through the years. It will be of interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Helion & Co. Ltd. Books, and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.