On Eagles' Wings; The Personal Story of the Leading Commander of the Israeli Air Force

Jerusalem: Steimatzky's Agency LTD., 1976. Second Impression [stated]. Hardcover. 23 cm, 302, [2] pages. Illustrations. Index. DJ has some wear, soiling, tears and chips. Signed by the author on the half-title page. Ezer Weizman (15 June 1924 – 24 April 2005) was the seventh President of Israel, first elected in 1993 and re-elected in 1998. Before the presidency, Weizman was commander of the Israeli Air Force and Minister of Defense. In 1967, he directed the early morning surprise air attacks against the Egyptian air bases, which resulted in giving the Israelis total air superiority over the Sinai battlefields by totally destroying the Egyptian Air Force in 3 hours. A total of 400 enemy planes were destroyed by the Israeli Air Force on the first day of the Six-Day War. In 1977, he became Defense Minister under Begin. During his term, Israel developed the IAI Lavi fighter and launched the Litani Operation against the PLO in south Lebanon. Derived from a Kirkus Review: The personal story of the top commander of the Israeli Air Force. After the jubilant victory of the Six Day War, attrition set in; air strategy became shortsighted in dealing with enemy anti-aircraft missile systems, and overconfidence bred lip-service to the "quality of the Israeli soldier" without regard to technological limitations. Weizman, a nephew of the first president of Israel, fought with the RAF in World War II and was among the first five pilots of the Haganah underground air force in 1946; some of his best passages are about the loneliness of fighter pilots in battle. By sheer optimism and by helping his people create a fighter squadron and acquire planes, he rose to squadron commander, then base commander, and at last to commander of the air force. His greatest difficulty came when he was promoted to head the General Staff Division of the Israel Defense Forces and had to sublimate his great love for the air force into the larger defense program. Now retired, he's still a lively if wiser storyteller. Condition: Good / Good.

Keywords: Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Haganah, Six-Day War, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Chaim Bar-Lev, Moshe Dayan, Motty Hod, Yitzhak Rabin, War of Attrition, War of Independence, Zionism, Yom Kippur War

ISBN: 0297770349

[Book #77386]

Price: $150.00

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