This is the first book in this series of predominantly photo books that covers aircraft and units of the Israeli Air Force. This is being released at the same time as a super set of decals for the modeler so will make an excellent reference for the project.

By the time of the late 1970s, the First Jet Squadron was still flying the now obsolescent Mirage III CJ and really needed to upgrade to a more capable aircraft in order to fulfill its air combat role. The F-16 A/B was the aircraft chosen and as fate would have it, the US had a number of planes ready to go, thanks to the Islamic revolution in Iran. Instead of going to Iran, these planes headed for Israel where they were named the Netz (Hawk) and quickly put into use after crews got training in the US. First planes were delivered in very late 1979 and first IOC on the planes was achieved a year later. These same planes were used in the raid on the Iraqi nuclear facility in 1981 without loss.

The book covers the full seven year period of operation by the First Jet Squadron using this aircraft before they moved on to the F-16C/D in 1986. The 210mm x 220mm book has 120 pages just crammed with photographs of the unit's aircraft and people during different times of operation. The image sequences cover the time-line of operations and so we see how the airframes and markings changed during these times.

The initial pages of the book are where the background history is provided, followed by photos in both color and greyscale. The end of the book has several pages of superbly drawn color profiles. In all, this is a real boon to both the casual reader, aviation history buff and modeler alike. Highly recommended.

August 2010

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