Book Review of
Air Power & the Arab World 1909-1955
Vol. 5: The Road to War, 1936-1939
Authors: Dr. David Nicolle & Air Vice Marshal
Gabr Ali Gabr
Helion Books Middle East @ War Series No. 42
ISBN: 978-1-914377-23-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $29.95
ISBN: 978-1-914377-23-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $29.95
HISTORY:
The years immediately prior to the Second World War saw the earliest and the more recently established Arab Air Forces attempting to play a role on the regional stage, if not yet on that of the world, for the first time.
It was a period when those Arab states which had real or merely theoretical independence were more or less allied with European countries that were gearing-up to face the growing Fascist and Nazi threats. Unfortunately, these anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi countries were themselves the imperial powers, France and the United Kingdom, which were still seeking to maintain their domination of the greater part of the Arab World.
To say this complicated the situation, and strained the loyalties of the men of the newly emergent Arab air forces, would be an understatement.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Books is located in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover in 74 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format. Two page are blank.
There are 2 maps of the Middle East (one in color and one in black and white), 111 black and white photos (including the cover) and 23 color profile illustrations.
Middle East @ War has concise and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining conflict throughout the Middle East in the 20th century and beyond.
Vol. 5 of The Air Power & the Arab World series, therefore seeks to shed light on the difficult and widely misunderstood time. It draws upon decades of research, including previously unpublished interviews with men now dead, archive sources that have never been translated into European language, and material which, through available obscure Arab publications, has been almost entirely neglected by aviation historians.
Dr. David Nicolle especially wishes to acknowledge the contribution of his late colleague, Air Vice Marshal Dr. Gabr Ali Gabr, without whose scholarly research and publications, this series would never have got off the ground, let alone been published.
This volume is richly illustrated with specially commissioned color artworks illustrating the aircraft flown by the air forces in the Arab world during this dynamic period of time.
The cover art of the book shows a black and white photo of a flight of 3 Egyptian Air Force’s Avro 26’s (this picture is repeated in the book showing 4 aircrafts), below the photo is a color side-view illustration of an Iraqi De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth.
The black and white photos are mainly of aircraft and pilots of the different countries involved.
The color profiles are of:
A De Havilland DH-83 Fox Moth with Egyptian Air Force, an Avro Tutor with the RAF, a Meindl/van Ness A.VII Cadet Ethiopian Air Force monoplane, a Spanish Nationalist Air Force Junkers 52/3M, an Iraqi De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth, an Avro 641 Commodore that was with the Circuit of Oases Air Rally, a Waco UIC used by Egypt, a Westland Wessex with the Egyptian Air Force, a Douglas DC-2B of the Polish Airlines, an Iraqi De Havilland DH-89A Dragon Rapide, a De Havilland DH-60 Gipsy Moth with Transjordan, a Helmy Aerogypt Mk. 1 with Egypt, a Miles M-14 Magister with Iraqi Air Force, a Fokker F.XVIII with Palestine, a Savoia Marchetti SM-81 with Italian Air Force, a Vickers-Wellesley Type 292 with the RAF, a French Potez 29-TD Sanitaire, a De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth with Iranian Air Force, a Savoia Marchetti SM-79B with the Iraqi Air Force, a Caproni Ca.101 bis with the Saudi Arabian Air Force, an Amiot 143 French Air force bomber,
This book will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
Casemate is the North American distributor of Helion & Co. Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The years immediately prior to the Second World War saw the earliest and the more recently established Arab Air Forces attempting to play a role on the regional stage, if not yet on that of the world, for the first time.
It was a period when those Arab states which had real or merely theoretical independence were more or less allied with European countries that were gearing-up to face the growing Fascist and Nazi threats. Unfortunately, these anti-Fascist and anti-Nazi countries were themselves the imperial powers, France and the United Kingdom, which were still seeking to maintain their domination of the greater part of the Arab World.
To say this complicated the situation, and strained the loyalties of the men of the newly emergent Arab air forces, would be an understatement.
THE BOOK:
Helion & Co. Books is located in the UK.
This book is of soft-cover in 74 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format. Two page are blank.
There are 2 maps of the Middle East (one in color and one in black and white), 111 black and white photos (including the cover) and 23 color profile illustrations.
Middle East @ War has concise and insightful text, original photography and unique color artworks, examining conflict throughout the Middle East in the 20th century and beyond.
Vol. 5 of The Air Power & the Arab World series, therefore seeks to shed light on the difficult and widely misunderstood time. It draws upon decades of research, including previously unpublished interviews with men now dead, archive sources that have never been translated into European language, and material which, through available obscure Arab publications, has been almost entirely neglected by aviation historians.
Dr. David Nicolle especially wishes to acknowledge the contribution of his late colleague, Air Vice Marshal Dr. Gabr Ali Gabr, without whose scholarly research and publications, this series would never have got off the ground, let alone been published.
This volume is richly illustrated with specially commissioned color artworks illustrating the aircraft flown by the air forces in the Arab world during this dynamic period of time.
The cover art of the book shows a black and white photo of a flight of 3 Egyptian Air Force’s Avro 26’s (this picture is repeated in the book showing 4 aircrafts), below the photo is a color side-view illustration of an Iraqi De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth.
The black and white photos are mainly of aircraft and pilots of the different countries involved.
The color profiles are of:
A De Havilland DH-83 Fox Moth with Egyptian Air Force, an Avro Tutor with the RAF, a Meindl/van Ness A.VII Cadet Ethiopian Air Force monoplane, a Spanish Nationalist Air Force Junkers 52/3M, an Iraqi De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth, an Avro 641 Commodore that was with the Circuit of Oases Air Rally, a Waco UIC used by Egypt, a Westland Wessex with the Egyptian Air Force, a Douglas DC-2B of the Polish Airlines, an Iraqi De Havilland DH-89A Dragon Rapide, a De Havilland DH-60 Gipsy Moth with Transjordan, a Helmy Aerogypt Mk. 1 with Egypt, a Miles M-14 Magister with Iraqi Air Force, a Fokker F.XVIII with Palestine, a Savoia Marchetti SM-81 with Italian Air Force, a Vickers-Wellesley Type 292 with the RAF, a French Potez 29-TD Sanitaire, a De Havilland DH-82A Tiger Moth with Iranian Air Force, a Savoia Marchetti SM-79B with the Iraqi Air Force, a Caproni Ca.101 bis with the Saudi Arabian Air Force, an Amiot 143 French Air force bomber,
This book will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
Casemate is the North American distributor of Helion & Co. Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.