Avia S-199 in Israeli Air Force Service: 1948-1950, by Alex Yofe and Lawrence Nyveen. White Crow Publications: San Jose, Calif., 2007. ISBN 0977462714

NEW! NEW! NEW! SECOND EDITION OUT IN 2019!

My book!

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Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel, by Robert Gandt. W.W. Norton: New York, 2017. ISBN 0393254771

Click here to see Angels in the Sky at Amazon.com.

Robert Gandt is prolific writer of aviation history and when introduced to the story of nascent Israeli air force, he decided he needed to write a book about it. You can read an interview with in Air & Space Smithsonian. I helped Robert Gandt with some of the research for this so you know it's going to be accurate. Who knows - this may even be made into a movie someday.

Israeli Fighter Aces, by Peter Mersky. Specialty Press: Ocean, N.J., 1997. ISBN 1883809150

Click here to see Israeli Fighter Aces at Amazon.com.

Use the link above and you'll discover that you can only find one used copy of this book on sale, for $50. Peter Mersky has contacted me and has agreed to sell new, autographed copies of this book for $24 (USA; $40 overseas), postage included. That's well worth the price - e-mail me if you want to take advantage of this offer. Mersky is known for his award-winning books and articles on US Navy and Marine Corps aviation. He devotes the same skill to this book, in which he focuses on the men who flew and fought for Israel. Despite the cover, this is not a guide for modelers . Through interviews and research, it's a look inside the events and minds of the pilots who have found themselves tangling with the enemy. Aerial tacticians have a saying: "It's the pilot, not the plane." That also describes the intention of this book.

No Margin for Error: The Making of the Israeli Air Force, by Ehud Yonay. Pantheon Books: New York, 1993. ISBN 0679415637

Click here to see No Margin for Error at Amazon.com.

This book is different from the others on this list as it focuses more on the people of the early Chel HaAvir and less on the aircraft and operations. A lot of attention is devoted to the roots of the modern IAF - people like Ezer Weizman and Menachem Bar. The small section on the War of Independence contains a lot of storytelling, which makes it an entertaining read, though the book is somewhat lacking in pictures and operational detail. Dreamworks SKG optioned the movie rights to the first few chapters of this book, but nothing ever came of it.

Spitfires over Israel, by Brian Cull and Shlomo Aloni with David Nicolle. Grub Street: London, 1994. ISBN 0948817747

Click here to see Spitfires over Israel at Amazon.com.

What a read! Brian Cull is a British Spitfire expert. Shlomo Aloni is an Israeli aviation historian. David Nicolle a staunchly pro-Arab journalist and teacher. Together they have written a comprehensive history of the airspace above Israel up until the end of the War of Independence. Don't let the title fool you - this book delves as far back as World War I and moves forward with miniscule detail as it covers all aircraft. Just about every aircraft in the theater is identified by serial number or call letters. Fans of detail must find this book. It was an indispensable source for this Web site. One caveat, though: when I mentioned this book to Red Finkel, 101 vet, he said that the way the book described the Egyptians was "full of shit". The pilots maintain that every S-199 they lost in the air - and they only lost S-199s - they lost due to malfunctions. It's possible, but this book points out enemy claims of aerial victories.

Spitfire: The Canadians, by Robert Bracken. Boston Mills Press: Erin, Ont., 1995. ISBN 1550461486

Click here to see Spitfire: The Canadians at Amazon.com.

A must-have for the Spitfire buff, this book focuses on Spitfires and the Canadians that flew them in anger from the earliest Mk I to the hot rods of late World War II. There's a page of narrative by Denny Wilson, formerly of 411 Sqn RCAF, about his flying with the 101. Don't miss the awesome pictures by Ron Lowry, including a 101 Squadron Spitfire LF9e. Bracken and Lowry collaborated on a sequel, aptly titled "Spitfire 2: The Canadians".

I Am My Brother's Keeper, by Jeffrey Weiss and Craig Weiss. Schiffer Publishing: Atglen, Penn., 1998. ISBN 076430528X

Click here to see I Am My Brother's Keeper at Amazon.com.

This book, by far, takes the best advantage of the best resources of all - the people who fought in the war. The list of interviews is staggering. The authors also opened up previously classified documents to present just a superb resource. Although the book covers North American volunteers involved in all aspects of the war, the information the Weisses provide about the 101 can't be found anywhere else. That's Rudy Augarten on the cover, by the way, in his USAAF P-47 during the war. If you like good stories told by the guys who lived them, this is the book you want. Check out the book's own Web page.

Spitfire Mk.IX in the Israeli Air Force Service, by Alex Yofe. White Crow Publications: San Jose, Calif., 2005. ISBN 09774627-0-6

Alex Yofe is my friendly rival in online information about the air war in the War of Independence. We're so friendly, we've agreed to write books together.

Alex wrote this book without my help. It's a fantastic resource for - well, for info on the Spitfire Mk IX in Israeli Air Force service. Alex is as devoted to historical accuracy as I am and he speaks much better Hebrew than I do.

This volume is not available online or even in stores, except through Alex himself. Let me know if you want a copy and I will put you in touch with him.

Israeli Air Force, 1947-1960: An Illustrated History, by Salvador Mafe Huertas. Schiffer Publishing: Atglen, Penn., 1998. ISBN 0764303902

Click here to see Israeli Air Force, 1947-1960: An Illustrated History at Amazon.com.

Despite the date range in the title, a good half of this book covers the War of Independence. I found pictures in here that I had not found anywhere else. If your interest extends to the early jet age, this book is indispensable. The photos taken at the IAF Museum rank with the best.

Middle East Wars 1947-1982, by Shlomo Aloni. Osprey Publishing: Oxford, England, 2001. ISBN 1841762946

Click here to see Middle East Wars 1947-1982 at Amazon.com.

Aloni co-authored "Spitfires over Israel" with Cull and Nicolle and I consider him the premier researcher of the Israeli side of the air war in the War of Independence. Readers of Air Enthusiast magazine will be familiar with his articles on 101 Squadron history. This book is a must-have for anyone interested in the topic and contains new information and photos not available elsewhere.

Spitfire: The History, by Eric Morgan and Edward Shacklady. Key Publishing: Stamford, England, 2001. ISBN 0946219486

Click here to see Spitfire: The History at Amazon.com.

This is the Bible of Spitfire manufacture, newly revised. Every Spitfire to come of the assembly line is tracked by manufacturing number as closely as possible in this book's voluminous ledger of Spitfires. The authors pay attention to the aircraft's developmental history and pay particular attention to the inclusion or abandonment of innovations good and bad. If you have any inclination toward Spitfires at all, this is the book to own. It has a price/page ratio that matches just about anything out there.

New Heavens, by Boris Senior. Potomac Books: Dulles, Va., 2005. ISBN 1574886797

Click here to see New Heavens at Amazon.com.

I spent an afternoon with Boris Senior at his home in Kfar Shmaryahu. We talked and snacked and drank tea, and he showed me some of his photos. He had written an autobiography, in English, which had ben translated into Hebrew and published. he gave me a copy of his English manuscript on a floppy (remember those?).

Boris died in 2004, but by then he knew that his English manuscript was on its way to publication. Here it is.

The man lived an eventful life, from flying with the SAAF to acquiring and ferrying aircraft from South Africa to Israel. He used his Bonanza to bomb an Egyptian ship. His greatest contributions came outside the battles, as a man crucial to bringing Spitfires to 101 Squadron, but he got his combat with 101 toward the end of the war.

Flying under Two Flags, by Gordon Levett. Intl Spec: 1994. ISBN 0714641022

Click here to see Flying under Two Flags at Amazon.com.

What a superb book, one likely to be of interest to anyone, aircraft buff or not. Levett tells his life story with dry wit and honest openness towards himself and discretion toward others. You gotta love a guy who on page four of his autobiography writes, "When I was about twelve I started masturbating."

Born into a family so poor his mother had to place him temporarily in an orphanage to make sure he got fed, Gordon joined the RAF at age 17 in 1939 and began his career as a sub-standard "erk", or ground crewman. By the end of World War II, he had earned his wings and the rank of Squadron Leader, despite having spent the entire conflict as a trainer of other pilots. He never saw combat.

Drummed out of the post-war RAF for taking an unauthorized vacation, Gordon eventually volunteered to fly for Israel. He spent most of the 1948-49 war flying transports between Europe and Israel and joined 101 Squadron in November 1948.

For a dirt-poor kid, Gordon had his share of excitement. He met Howard Hughes, Elizabeth Taylor, David Ben-Gurion, and been homosexually propositioned by a major Hollywood star who shall remain forever nameless. He was stranded in Iran and in the Arctic. Gordon tells an amazing story of an adventurous life outside of Britain and a mundane existence at home. I wonder if he ever regretted keeping to the principle that prevented him from accepting Israeli citizenship.

Desert Hawks: An American Volunteer Fighter Pilot's Story Of Israel's War Of Independence, 1948, by Leo Nomis and Brian Cull. Grub Street: 1998. ISBN 1898697825

Click here to see Desert Hawks at Amazon.com.

Leo was an observer. While some properly call into question his recollection of facts (many glaring errors found their way into the text), his descriptions make the book a worthwhile read. The accounts of his first visit to Israel, spent in and around Tel Aviv before assignment to the Czechoslovakian flying school, make as interesting reading as his accounts of life in 101 Squadron. His description of the almost civil war that occurred with the appearance of the Altalena off the Israeli shore puts you right in the middle of the action.

If you ignore the mistakes, and approach the book more as atmosphere than factual history, it makes a worthwhile read. That's also one slick illustration on the cover. How did they get that pig to look so nice?

On Eagles' Wings, by Ezer Weizman. Macmillan Press: 1976.

Click here to see On Eagles' Wings at Amazon.com.

The classic.

Lost Black Sheep: The Search for WWII Ace Chris Magee, by Robert T. Reed. Hellgate Press: 2001. ISBN 1555715494

Click here to see Lost Black Sheep at Amazon.com.

I have had a lot of trouble finding this book in Canada. While this is not an autobiography, it is the next best thing. Robert Reed is Chris Magee's son. Without exaggeration, Magee led one of the most rollercoaster lives of the 20th century. Magee was the second-leading ace of the famed Black Sheep Squadron (after squadron leader Pappy Boyington) in World War II. He won the Navy Cross, but felt somewhat adrift outside the cockpit and when the war ended, he pursued a number of shady practices - one of which was to join 101 Squadron.

Eventually, Magee was caught and jailed for bank robbery. He may be the only Navy Cross winner in history to be jailed for robbing a bank. Eventually, Magee settled into a more ordinary lifestyle as an editor and writer, although he rarely touched upon his past in his written work. Some of his poems and stories appear in this book. (It's worth noting that John Gillespie Magee, the author of the famous poem "High Flight" - you know: "Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth / And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings...." - was Chris Magee's first cousin.)

This book only barely touches on Magee's service in Israel, but it does reveal one of the personalities that helped make 101 Squadron what it was.