SOURCE MATERIAL
Online Sources
The best online source of information about the founding of the Israel Air Force is 101squadron.com. The site is a labor of love, and the webmaster has collected in one place photographs and information from dozens of books and much personal research. The site has a list of links about the 101 squadron. He is in the process of publishing a book about the cobbled-together, Nazi-surplus Messerschmitts the pilots were forced to fly: Avia S-199 in Israeli Air Force Service, to be published in Spring 2007. Check the 101squadron site for updated information.Jason Fenton, who fought on the ground in Israel in 1948, has compiled a book of his personal experiences in the war, plus interviews, articles, and hundreds of photographs. Part of it is available online here. He also makes a printed, 500-page book available.
Books
Israeli Fighter Aces (Hardcover) by Peter Mersky
"This is the first account of the individual experiences and backgrounds of what many people consider to be the most successful group of combat aviators of the post-World War II era. More than just a general history of the Israel Air Force, this book presents, in chronological order, specific personal recollections of these highly trained, highly motivated pilots: the cream of their small nation's society."
Israeli Fighter Aces (amazon link) recounts names, individual engagements, and individual claims with material never before seen in the West and only previously known to a small circle within the IAF. Never has such a wide window been opened on this unique and fascinating subject. Peter Mersky is known for his books and magazines on the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation.
No Trophy No Sword: An American Volunteer in the Israeli Air Force During the 1948 War of Independence (Hardcover) (amazon link).
by Harold Livingston.
From Publishers Weekly: They called themselves the Bagel Lancers, a handful of American Jews who volunteered to fly military supplies through the British blockade to Palestine. The Air Transport Command, as they were officially designated, hauled machine guns and disassembled fighter planes to the people who would soon be defending themselves against five Arab armies. An Army Air Corps veteran of WW II, Livingston ( Star Trek: The Movie ) here presents a lively but helter-skelter account of his experiences as one of the 1948 volunteers. He recalls the tense flights in overloaded planes, the attempt of an Egyptian agent to recruit him for the Arab side and the squabbling between the Irgun and Haganah ("It was so typical: show me two Jews and I'll show you five political parties"). The final section of this lighthearted memoir is the most focused. Livingston relates that the Israeli Army required the American volunteers to renounce their U.S. citizenship. Objecting vociferously at being presented with such a dilemma, the author decided to remain an American.
Volunteers in the War of Independence
by Jason Fenton
On Eagles' Wings: The Personal Story of The Leading Commander of the Israeli Air Force
by Ezer Weizman. This is Ezer's "official" bio and it leaves out a lot of the wild goings-on that fighter pilots are famous for. Just the facts. The respectable facts.
No Margin For Error: The Making of the Israel Air Force
by Ehud Yonay. Ehud has a great sense of humor and love of life, and it shows in this book, which is somewhat scandalous because he tells the truth. Ehud wrote an article for California Magazine entitled "Top Guns," which inspired the movie with Tom Cruise, TOP GUN. Ehud GETS fighter pilots.
According to Wikipedia, "The primary inspiration for the film was discovered by producer Jerry Bruckheimer when he found an article in the May 1983 issue of California magazine which would form the basis of the film. The article, Top Guns, was about the TOPGUN fighter pilots at the Miramar Naval Air Station, located in San Diego, nicknamed "Fightertown USA"
I Am My Brother's Keeper (Hardcover)
by Jeffrey Weiss (Author), Craig Weiss (Author). This is a wonderful book, based on an incredible amount of research and interviews with pilots and volunteers in Israel's War of Independence. The authors are brothers.
From Booklist: "Upon the partition of Palestine in 1948, the Jewish side semiclandestinely raised funds, bought planes, and recruited pilots for its yet-to-be-created air force. About 1,000 Americans and Canadians with combat experience volunteered, and they flew an eclectic collection of aircraft left over from World War II, including, ironically, the German-designed ME-109. The Weisses have interviewed about 200 of those volunteers, eliciting their motives for enlisting in the Israeli cause and explaining their critical contribution in fending off the Arab forces. Operational detail on the level of individual sorties is the central interest, enhanced by an extensive illustration program (at least 100 photographs are planned). When the war ended in 1949, the volunteers filtered back home to resume their lives, and one was jailed for illegally exporting B-17s. Specialized military memories for serious students of the birth of Israel."
The Desert Hawks
by Leo Nomis and Brian Cull
The Glory by Herman Wouk
The 101 Squadron site has more books.