Customer Reviews

Combat Aircraft 37: Iranian F-4 Phantom II Units in Combat

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Don't let the Osprey format deceive you: this short volume fits the 96 pages allotted each installment in the series, but it's absolutely jammed with an exceptional amount and variety of information. Many of us thought that the full story of the Phantom could never be told because the Middle East users were so secretive. But the fact that the authors have developed so many contacts inside Iran is a source of wonder in itself. While Jim Laurier's aircraft profiles are uniformly excellent, modelers will lament the Iranians' absence of unit markings. The main criticism is lack of a theater map, as the geography is never explained. But whether you're a Phantom Pflyer or Phanom Pfan, you'll devour this book.

A great reading. You'll learn tactical issues faced by Iranian pilots whose U.S. training had a huge effect on the air war. The advantages that Iran initially had in the air and eventually lost to Iraq over the years as the war dragged on and the rest of the world opened up to Saddam Hussein. Lots of pictures to supplement the pilot's stories and accounts. Nicely done.

Agree with the review that says maps would have been the final piece of the puzzle. The level of research involved in this book is impressive (the pictures in particular), though necessarily one-sided.

Even with expected inflation of claims from Iranian pilots, the performance of their Air force under pressure from both the Iraqis and their own incompetent government was something they can be very proud of. Most of these guys were freed from jail and torture, and still fought for their country with skill, intelligence, and courage. I'm glad someone went out and told their stories.

Like many aviation enthusiasts I have read sooo many books about the F-4 Phantom over the years that I suffer from Phantom fatigue. Its a great plane but I have just read so much about it. So at first I was reluctant to buy another Phantom book, but of course I did. The book is interesting no only because it covers the Phantom, but the Phantom in the context of the political situation at the time. Iraq made the huge mistake of invading Iran in 1980 in Iran's post revolutionary period. It was up to the U.S. trained Iranian pilots to try to turn the tide with their Phantoms (and some Tomcats, covered in the book). Iran had to deal with an arms embargo so they had to do their best to keep what Phantoms they had flying. And eventhough a political history was not my reason for buying the book, the author does describe the bizarre situation of the U.S. government secretly sending arms (Phantom spare parts, J79 engines) to Iran while denying do this (hello Iran/Contra Affair), while at the same time providing Iraq with military intelligence. In the midst of this mess the dedicated Iranian Phantom pilots had to go up against Iraqi Mirages and Migs. The book desribes the tactics the Iranian air force used and what the goals were in terms of targeting Iraqi A.F. bases and oil installations. As always with Osprey, lots of good photos of Phantoms most of which I have never seen before BECAUSE of the unique context of this book - Iranian Phantoms. If your looking for an interesting read that addresses air force strategy (Iranian and Iraqi) and world politics while seated in the front seat of an Iranian Phantom then I would recommend this book.

This book is extremely useful for anyone who wants to shape a picture of the Iranian military capabilities, since the status of a nation's air force is the mirror of its overall military efficiency. The crews of the iranian Phantoms were trained by the Americans during the Shah period and fought extremely well against Iraq despite many disadvantages that were caused by the turmoil in the country due to the Revolution of 1979. The weak point of the book is that most of the first hand accounts come from the same source, namely a flier called "Daryush Z", albeit they cover many personalities and legends of all the Phantom squadrons. The Iranians were very imaginative and capable in planning their air strikes, making the best use of terrain masking and routes, surprising the Iraqis and causing heavy casualties to their war machine. It is a mystery whether the IRIAF retains these skills today, when it faces the most challenging prospect of US or Israeli strikes to its homeland.