Aircraft books - Israel - history, types and construction

Vultures Over Israel - The Vautour in Israeli Service: Squadron 110 1957-1971

This book provides a detailed history of the Sud Aviation Vautour, a French twin-jet military aircraft designed for multiple roles: attack, bombing, night fighting and reconnaissance.
Produced from the early 1950s, it served with the French Air Force and exported to Israel, which was the only country to operate all three major variants: IIA (attack), IIB (bomber/recon), and IIN (night/all-weather fighter).

In Israeli service, Vautours played a key role in important conflicts: Squadron 110 flew reconnaissance Vautour IIBs to collect images for Operation Focus, the pre-emptive strike at the start of the 1967 Six-Day War; attack Vautours carried out ground-strike missions during the same war.

The book is richly illustrated with rare period photographs and technical drawings, exploring how the Vautour was built and modified. It examines its design, operational use in Israel, and surviving examples today, making it a compelling reference for aviation historians and modelers.

Product details

Author:	Shlomo Aloni
Details:	264 pages, 28.5 x 22.5 x 2.6 cm / 11.2 x 8.9 x 1.02 in, hardback
Illustrations:	over 400 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2011)
ISBN:	9780764339608

Israeli Air Force

In 2023, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) marked its 75th anniversary as a highly advanced and powerful defense force. Operating in a volatile region, it has grown into Israel's primary defensive pillar, backed by skilled personnel and modern weaponry.

The IAF currently operates 402 aircraft, including 290 fighter-bombers, 136 helicopters, and 80 unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance, surveillance, and combat. Annually, it conducts hundreds of combat and training missions to maintain readiness and secure national borders.

This book explores the history of the IAF, its aircraft, and the major conflicts that have shaped its evolution into today's formidable air force.

Product details

Author:	Babak Taghvaee
Details:	96 pages, 24.5 x 17 x 0.9 cm / 9.7 x 6.7 x 0.35 in, paperback
Illustrations:	120+ b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Key Publishing Ltd (GB, 2023)
Series:	Air Forces
ISBN:	9781802827217

Jezreel Valley Mysteres : The Mystere Iva in Israeli Air Force Service, Squadron 109, 1956-1968

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.

Product details

Author:	Shlomo Aloni
Details:	224 pages, 28 x 21.5 cm / 11 x 8.5 in, hardback
Illustrations:	291 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2015)
ISBN:	9780764348259

The Israeli Airforce 1947-1960 : An Illustrated History

The writing of this book, the first in-depth and fully detailed research about the early years of the Chel Ha'avir - from the light-plane days to the supersonic fighters received roughly ten years later - is the culmination of a long research period by the author. Research that was made harder by the tight - but understandable and respected - security measures involving Israel's Forces.
An exceptional source of information has been the help provided by many Chel Ha'Avir veterans who fought in the early days during 1948/1949, and those who helped establish a viable air force in 1949-1956 in spite of tight budgets, obsolescent equipment and lack of experience, and also those who fought in Sinai in late 1956, establishing the seeds for its future role as the airborne shield of Israel.

As the reader will discover, the beginnings were extremely hard, and the Chel Ha'Avir had to face unfriendly attitudes from both the United States and the United Kingdom, which took place while many people - civilian and military - were dying in the newborn Hebrew state. But in observing that official policies do not always reflect the citizenship's feelings, most of the colorful band of foreign volunteers that helped the Chel Ha'avir - and the other defense forces - to resist, fight back and win, came from those countries. These foreign volunteers, mostly with combat experience in World War II, provided a core in which many highly talented young Israelis learned fast.

Product details

Author:	Salvador Mafe Huertas
Details:	176 pages, 29 x 22.5 x 1.7 cm / 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.67 in, hardback
Illustrations:	190+ b&w and colour photos
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780764303906