I've always been a fan of the Phantom and AirDoc is someone who also joins this passion as a lot of their early work has been with the F-4.

This particular book combines the Phantom II with a unit history; in particular that of 107 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force. To have the squadron number mentioned in a publication is a bit unusual as often they are only known by the squadron name. You can see this in the various Isradecal offerings where no unit number is ever given. I can only assume that the official policy is changing in this regard.

107 Squadron has an on and off history with the IAF having been formed, disbanded and reformed a number of times. Mostly as a reserve and training unit.

They started with Spitfires and then went to Mustangs, Meteors, Ouragans (which they flew in the 6-Day war and were disbanded again shortly thereafter), and finally to the F-4 Phantom II, which they have operated since 1971.

Throughout the book there are lots of 'I was there' stories of the various aircraft types in action. Most of the book is on the Phantom era so there are a quite a few of those tales told. These are all fascinating reading as one just does not often hear of the incidents told by these pilots and crew.

The book is written in both German and English. It is full of superb photos, none of which have been given the heavy hand of the censor that was so common with IAF photos in years past. One thing I should mention is that the publishers have decided to put background images or colors in with the write-up. I personally find these to be difficult to read through and wish that they were not included. I realize that a full page of little but writing isn't visually stimulating, but I'd rather be able to easily read something and find this sort of thing to be very distracting.

Aside from that one comment, I found this to be fascinating reading. The images themselves are great fodder for those wanting to build models. It is a book that all IAF and F-4 enthusiasts will want on their shelves.

June 2006

My thanks to AirDoc for the review book. You can find these at your local hobby shop and if not, ask them to order them for you. You can also order direct by e-mailing them at www.airdoc.eu

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