Wings Over Suez: The First Authoritative Account of the Anglo-French Involvement in the Sinai and Suez Wars of 1956 [Hardcover]

Brian Cull (Author), David Nicolle (Author), Shlomo Aloni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

This sequel to "Spitfires over Israel" continues the story of the struggle for the skies over the Middle East. It covers the military expansion of Egypt and Israel, the Sinai War, the Anglo-French build-up and the bloody road to Suez, culminating in the air and seaborne invasions of November 1956.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Records the dazzling flying of the Fleet Air Arm pilots and the professionalism of their carrier-based crews who played the lead role in winning a war in 5 days.' The Western Mail 'Fascinating experiences, vividly brought to life.' Western Gazette 'Vivid descriptions fly out of the pages, with a stunning selection of photographs.' Flypast 'Well worth reading as one of the last gasps of Empire in which air power won the day, but politicians lost the war.' Air Pictorial" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grub Street (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898697485
• ISBN-13: 978-1898697480
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,316,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Piece of Reference on the Suez Crisis, April 9, 1998

By 

Chris Banyai-Riepl ([e-mail]) (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wings Over Suez: The First Authoritative Account of the Anglo-French Involvement in the Sinai and Suez Wars of 1956 (Hardcover)

This book is a must read for anyone who is the least bit interested in the history of the world. So much of today's strife can be traced back to this little conflict, but if you ask the majority of people out there, they couldn't even tell you who the participants were. This book tells everything, and leaves no stone unturned. Taking up where the author's previous book Spitfires over Israel left off, this book covers the lead up to the conflict, with viewpoints taken from all the main participants. The British, French, Israeli and Egyptian points of view are all shown, and the power struggle for control of the whole Middle East is brought out in this riveting book. If you are fascinated by any one of these countries, or the Middle East in general, you should add this title to your library immediately.

Chris Banyai-Riepl
Aviation What-Not

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Foreigh View, January 7, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wings Over Suez: The Only Authoritative Account of Air Operations During the Sinai and Suez Wars of 1956 (Paperback)

This book is a airman's view of the buildup of the air forces around the Sinai Desert and Suez Canal from roughtly the end of World War II to the military intervention by Britain and France against the Egyptians in 1956.

That intervention was politically a disaster as the Government back home had no real strategic goal and the objections of America and Russia ruined what little chance there was of military success. From an airman's point of view, however, this was a clean, well faught battle. The equipment being used was largely that in the air forces right at the end of the war as well as the first generation of aircraft from right after the war. This means the latest versions of Spitfires, Mustangs and Corsairs, British Meteors, Russian MIG 15's and 17's, American F-80 and F-84's, and of course some C-47's and PBY Catalinas.

The story is told from mostly first hand accounts and is accompanied by about 200 pictures, mostly never seen before. This is a little known action in an area that has become well known for violence.