Air Power and the Arab World, Volume 4: The First Arab Air Forces, 1918-1936

Air Power and the Arab World, Volume 4: The First Arab Air Forces, 1918-1936


The first authoritative and richly illustrated account about air warfare in the Arab World of the period 1911-1955. Volume 4 cover the period of 1936-1941. 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. 131 b/w photos, 21 colour profiles, 1 b/w map, 1 colour map