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Loading... Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel| 40 | 1 | 622,404 | 
(5) | None | "The gripping story of how an all-volunteer air force helped defeat five Arab nations and protect the fledgling Jewish state. In 1948, only three years after the Holocaust, the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition of Arab states. The invaders vowed to annihilate the tiny country and its 600,000 settlers. A second Holocaust was in the making. Outnumbered sixty to one, the Israelis had no allies, no regular army, no air force, no superpower to intercede on their behalf. The United States, Great Britain, and most of Europe enforced a strict embargo on the shipment of arms to the embattled country. In the first few days, the Arab armies overran Israel. The Egyptian air force owned the sky, making continuous air attacks on Israeli cities and army positions. Israel's extinction seemed certain. And then came help. From the United States, Canada, Britain, France, South Africa arrived a band of volunteer airmen. Most were World War II veterans--young, idealistic, swaggering, noble, eccentric, courageous beyond measure. Many were Jews, a third were not. Most of them knowingly violated their nations' embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel. They smuggled in Messerschmitt fighters from Czechoslovakia, painting over swastikas with Israeli stars. Defying their own countries' strict laws, the airmen risked everything--their lives, careers, citizenship--to fight for Israel. They were a small group, fewer than 150. In the crucible of war they became brothers in a righteous cause. They flew, fought, died, and, against all odds, helped save a new nation. The saga of the volunteer airmen in Israel's war of independence stands as one of the most stirring--and untold--war stories of the past century"--… (more) |
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To Mitchell Flint, Commander, United States Navy Reserve, Major (Rav Seren), Israeli Air Force, who lived this story. With thanks and profound admiration.  | |
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Prologue - One after the other the Messerschmitt fighters rumbled down the runway. The deep bellow of each V-12 engine echoed like thunder between the tin-roofed hangars. | |
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▾References References to this work on external resources.  Wikipedia in English
None ▾Book descriptions "The gripping story of how an all-volunteer air force helped defeat five Arab nations and protect the fledgling Jewish state. In 1948, only three years after the Holocaust, the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition of Arab states. The invaders vowed to annihilate the tiny country and its 600,000 settlers. A second Holocaust was in the making. Outnumbered sixty to one, the Israelis had no allies, no regular army, no air force, no superpower to intercede on their behalf. The United States, Great Britain, and most of Europe enforced a strict embargo on the shipment of arms to the embattled country. In the first few days, the Arab armies overran Israel. The Egyptian air force owned the sky, making continuous air attacks on Israeli cities and army positions. Israel's extinction seemed certain. And then came help. From the United States, Canada, Britain, France, South Africa arrived a band of volunteer airmen. Most were World War II veterans--young, idealistic, swaggering, noble, eccentric, courageous beyond measure. Many were Jews, a third were not. Most of them knowingly violated their nations' embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel. They smuggled in Messerschmitt fighters from Czechoslovakia, painting over swastikas with Israeli stars. Defying their own countries' strict laws, the airmen risked everything--their lives, careers, citizenship--to fight for Israel. They were a small group, fewer than 150. In the crucible of war they became brothers in a righteous cause. They flew, fought, died, and, against all odds, helped save a new nation. The saga of the volunteer airmen in Israel's war of independence stands as one of the most stirring--and untold--war stories of the past century"-- ▾Library descriptions No library descriptions found. ▾LibraryThing members' description |
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In 1947 and 1948, Israel had to fight for credibility to become a State of Israel. It was not enough that the United Nations partitioned Palestine creating both Jewish and Arab States, which were to exist side by side. No, it was a time when even with this mandate, Israel had to physically fight with its surrounding neighbors in a death struggle both on the ground and in the air. This book is about the air battles, how they fought, how pilots flew, and most of all where the planes came from. Angels also is a memorial to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in pursuit of freedom for the Israeli people.
Though many of the pilots who died were Israeli, many came from other countries. Britain, Canada, United States, and South Africa were the countries of origin for members of fellowship of conscientious air force fighters tagged with the title of “Bagel Lancers.”
Robert Gandt describes with exacting detail the airfields, which housed the many different planes flown by this specialized squadron. He visited each of them and spent considerable time doing his research chronicled in the extensive bibliography, which lists not only his sources, but also describes life after the war of many of those who he wrote about in the pages of this epic tale.
What you will like best about this book is the manner in which history is interspersed with descriptive passages about air battles and bombing raids. How the ingenuity of some men in acquisition of planes from Czechoslovakia led to the founding air force. Planes obtained from the United States government had their own unique acquisition.
No story about the foundation of the Jewish State would be complete without mentioning the various transporting of guns, ammunition, and crews that performed the day-to-day laborious tasks involved. These people are front and center, but one element not left out is that many of those who were a part of Angels in the Sky were not Jewish! They were patriots who felt the need to insure freedom to the people of Israel!
This is a FIVE Star book you cannot put down; highly recommended. (