Osprey's Duel series continues with another aerial match-up. Unlike most of the previous pairings, this one is on two aircraft that were designed about the same time and for the same mission. Their stats are quite similar in terms of performance, with the major difference being the armament they carried.

Take yourself back to the early/mid 1960s. This is a time when it was decided by many of the major aircraft builders, that the missile was king. No need to arm your latest and greatest with guns as those were a thing of the past. Missiles were needed to attack the waves of incoming bombers, so most newly designed jets were armed with this weapon. Unfortunately, the missiles of the time were not very reliable weapons, as the US discovered in Vietnam. More often than not, they would veer off target and detonate in clear sky or smack into the ground or just go sailing past the intended victim.

In this book on the two main protagonists in the Six Day War of 1967, author Shlomo Aloni  looks into the records to see how well each of these types performed against each other. Several things come to light. One is the the Atoll missile carried by the early MiG-21 was superior to the Israeli version. So unreliable was the Shafrir 1 missile that it was seriously contemplated to adapt captured Atolls to the Mirage. Second is that were it not for the guns carried by the Mirage IIICJ, few MiG-21s would have been shot down. Finally, it was as much the superior training of the Israeli pilots as it was the aircraft they flew that determined the aerial outcome of this conflict.

The author discusses the development of both aircraft as well as their technical specifications and  deployments during the Six Day War. Pilot training and tactics are also part of the story and one will find a few 'I was there' stories to add some spice to the book. As part of the appendices, there is a section on stats and analysis as well as a listing of MiG and Mirage engagements during the war. 

In all, a superlative inclusion to this series and one that I know you will find useful and informative.

July 2010

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