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This seemingly idyllic and glamourous pre-war age of air travel
within the British Empire would be rudely overturned by the
outbreak of the Second World War. Even before this, however,
Germany's Nazi government made considerable efforts to convince the
Arab peoples and their governments - where such government existed
beyond direct French and British control - that Germany had no
territorial ambitions in the Middle East and North Africa. After
hostilities began the Nazis continued to proclaim that they and
Italy would ensure Arab independence once they won the war, an
unconvincing claim given Italy's recent behaviour in Libya and in
the Arab world's southern neighbour Ethiopia, then known as
Abyssinia. Amongst the primary targets of Nazi and to a lesser
extent Fascist propaganda was King Faruq of Egypt and those members
of Egypt's armed forces who still believed that their King could
bring true independence and dignity to Egypt. How far such
propaganda succeeded remains a matter of intense debate. From the
outbreak of the Second World War until the close of 1940 the only
Arab air forces which existed in anything more than name, those of
Egypt and Iraq, contributed towards the Allied war effort. Once
Italy entered the war in June 1940 the conflict entered Egyptian
territory and, although the Egyptian government remained nominally
neutral, the Royal Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Army became
directly involved, though largely "behind the lines". The Royal
Iraqi Air Force was also placed on alert but, being far from the
zones of active operations, was not drawn into conflict. The Fall
of France resulted in the French mandated territories of Syria and
Lebanon passing into the control of the Vichy French government
which, though officially neutral in the wider war, became
increasingly collaborationist in its international affairs.
Elsewhere the once all-powerful British Empire seemed to be reeling
from defeat to defeat. Thus, by the end of 1940, the majority of
people in the Arab World - including in British-dominated Egypt and
Iraq - believed that Germany and Italy would win the war. This
growing opinion was also present in the Arab militaries, including
the REAF and RIrqAF. It would result in tensions, disaffection and
even defections in Egypt during 1941. In Iraq it resulted in the
First Anglo-Iraq War of May 1941, also known to the British as the
Rashid Ali Rebellion. These events will form the core of Volume Six
of Air Power and the Arab World.
At a time when multiple wars are raging across much of the Middle
East, it is almost forgotten that it was Abu al-Qasim Abbas ibn
Firnas ibn Wirdas at-Takurni - an Andalusian inventor, physician
and engineer - who was the first person to undertake experiments in
flying with any degree of success. That was back in the 9th Century
A.D. Nigh on a thousand years later the Arab World's critical
strategic location made it almost inevitable that these regions
would be drawn into the imperial rivalries of the leading European
powers, while the Ottoman Empire struggled to maintain its existing
position in the area. This in turn meant that the first bombs to be
dropped by military aircraft fell on Arab soil. Not surprisingly,
as the Arab countries slowly achieved their independence, they too
wanted to have air forces. In 1948 the first such Arab air forces
were thrown into battle in an ill-fated attempt to keep Palestine
as a primarily Arab country. Based on decades of consistent
research, but also newly available sources in both Arabic and
various European languages, and richly illustrated with a wide
range of authentic photography, Volume 1 of the Air Power and the
Arab World, 1909-1955 mini-series is telling the story of the men
and machines of the first half century of military aviation in the
Arab World.
Volume 4 of Air Power and the Arab World continues the story of the
men and machines of the first half century of military aviation in
the Arab world. The earliest of the Arab air forces to be
established trace their histories back to the 1920s and 1930s when
the overwhelming majority of Arab countries, and an even larger
majority of the Arabic-speaking people, were ruled or dominated by
four European powers. This volume continues with the story of the
period from 1936-1941. The role, organisational structure and
activities of the first Arab air forces are described based on
decades of consistent research, newly available sources in Arabic
and various European languages, and is richly illustrated with a
wide range of authentic photography. These air forces ranged from
dreams which never got off the ground, to small forces which
existed for a limited time then virtually disappeared, to forces
which started very small then grew into something more significant.
Even so, the successful air forces of Iraq and Egypt would only
have a localised impact within the frontiers of their own states.
It was not until the next stage of the story of Air Power and the
Arab World that Arab warplanes and Arab airmen would attempt to
play a role on the world stage.Volume 4 of Air Power and the Arab
World includes over 100 photos, 5 maps, and 12 colour profiles.
Sixty years since the tripartite aggression of France, Great
Britain and Israel against Egypt, this is the first account about
Egyptian military operations during the Suez War of 1956 (or `Suez
Crisis', as it is known in the West). Based on research with the
help of official Egyptian documentation and recollections of
crucial participants, this book provides an unique and exclusive
insight into the `other side' of a war that many consider has
marked `the end of the British Empire'. From the Western point of
view, the situation is usually explained in quite simple terms: in
retaliation for President Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalisation of
the Universal Suez Canal Company - and thus the strategically
important waterway of the Suez Canal - France and Great Britan
(operating in concert with Israel) launched the operation codenamed
'Musketeer'. Divided into three phases, each shaded into the other;
this aimed at obliterating the Egyptian Air Force, occupying the
whole of the Suez Canal and toppling Nasser's government. From the
Egyptian point of view, backgrounds were much more complex than
this. Striving to modernize the country, a new and inexperienced
government in Cairo launched a number of major projects, including
one for the construction of a gigantic Asswan Dam on the Nile. The
only Western power ready to help finance this project, the USA
conditioned its support with basing rights for its military. With
the last British soldiers still about to leave the country - and
thus end Egypt's occupation by foreign powers for the first time in
2,000 years - Nasser found this unacceptable. Around the same time,
Egypt found itself under pressure from Israeli raids against border
posts on the Sinai. Left without a solution, Cairo decided to
nationalize the Suez Canal in order to finance the Aswan Dam
project, but also to start purchasing arms from the Soviet Union.
In an attempt to bolster Egyptian defenses without antagonizing
Western powers, Nasser concluded the so-called `Czech Arms deal'
with Moscow - resulting in the acquisition of Soviet arms via
Czechoslovakia. Little known in Cairo at the time, such moves
tripped several `red lines' in Israel and in the West - in turn
prompting aggression that culminated in a war. Wings over Sinai is,
first and foremost, an account of the battle for survival of the
Egyptian Air Force (EAF). Caught in the middle of conversion to
Soviet-types, this proved more than a match for Israel, but were
hopelessly ill-prepared to face the military might of Great Britain
and France too. Sustained, days-long air strikes on Egyptian air
bases caused heavy damage, but were nowhere near as crippling as
the losses usually claimed and assessed by the British, French and
Israelis. The EAF not only survived that conflict in quite a good
order, but also quickly recovered. This story is told against the
backdrop of the fighting on the ground and the air and naval
invasion by British and French forces. Richly illustrated with
plenty of new and previously unpublished photographs, maps (and 15
color profiles), this action-packed volume is illustrates all
aspects of camouflage, markings and various equipment of British
and Soviet origin in Egyptian military service as of 1956.
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