1973: "The First Nuclear War"
Cooper and Emran have a new book out. It shows how threats of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles influenced the course of the '73 conflict. For example, fear that SCUD missiles would be sent to Port Said--where they would've been able to strike deep inside Israel--lead to heavy, sustained airstrikes on the port. The Egyptians were puzzled by the duration and intensity of the strikes. They did not know what the enemy goal was. Another example occurred in the last days. Although reports of delivery of nuclear weapons to Egypt on October 25 turned out not to be true, they hastened an end to the conflict.
The book contains exciting accounts of air combat. Some stories have appeared in published works for decades, but others appear new. The authors stress that while Egyptian pilots were very well trained they were hampered by inferior weapons. This point was made previously, many times, but the new work explains it at greater length. There are diagrams showing limited cockpit visibility in the MIG-21 and the small engagement envelope of its R-3S missile compared to Israeli Sidewinders.
Egypt had some Libyan Mirages, based at Tanta, but generally they were not effective. I already knew about the failed mission against El Arish; there was another against Fayid after the Israelis took it. The first mission on the 7th, though, hit Israeli armored vehicles while refuelling. The book should've included the results of the attack, instead of just mentioning Israeli surprise at being struck by Mirages.
One thing I find slightly suspicious is the Israeli claim that on October 14, a Phantom was shot down by one of their own Mirages. According to Spector, the mistake occurred because "it was late afternoon and the light was bad." The Phantoms were "still entangled with MIGs" when Mirages joined the battle and "weren't careful enough..." It's hard to believe a Mirage pilot, one of Israel's elite airmen, couldn't tell the difference between a Phantom and a MIG. Or if visibility was so bad he couldn't distinguish friend from foe, why did he shoot? Was there a Court of Inquiry after the war, in which he had to testify? Not to my knowledge. I suspect the Phantom was really felled by a MIG-21, but the Israelis preferred to blame it on an accident.
Sadat and his generals in the last days of the war. By then the situation was desperate. The Third Army faced entrapment. A report of nuclear weapons arriving in Egypt may have saved it. Although mistaken, the report deterred Israel from destroying the army.
Ref:
1973: The First Nuclear War Crucial Air Battles of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War
by Tom Cooper and Abdallah Emran
The book contains exciting accounts of air combat. Some stories have appeared in published works for decades, but others appear new. The authors stress that while Egyptian pilots were very well trained they were hampered by inferior weapons. This point was made previously, many times, but the new work explains it at greater length. There are diagrams showing limited cockpit visibility in the MIG-21 and the small engagement envelope of its R-3S missile compared to Israeli Sidewinders.
Egypt had some Libyan Mirages, based at Tanta, but generally they were not effective. I already knew about the failed mission against El Arish; there was another against Fayid after the Israelis took it. The first mission on the 7th, though, hit Israeli armored vehicles while refuelling. The book should've included the results of the attack, instead of just mentioning Israeli surprise at being struck by Mirages.
One thing I find slightly suspicious is the Israeli claim that on October 14, a Phantom was shot down by one of their own Mirages. According to Spector, the mistake occurred because "it was late afternoon and the light was bad." The Phantoms were "still entangled with MIGs" when Mirages joined the battle and "weren't careful enough..." It's hard to believe a Mirage pilot, one of Israel's elite airmen, couldn't tell the difference between a Phantom and a MIG. Or if visibility was so bad he couldn't distinguish friend from foe, why did he shoot? Was there a Court of Inquiry after the war, in which he had to testify? Not to my knowledge. I suspect the Phantom was really felled by a MIG-21, but the Israelis preferred to blame it on an accident.
Sadat and his generals in the last days of the war. By then the situation was desperate. The Third Army faced entrapment. A report of nuclear weapons arriving in Egypt may have saved it. Although mistaken, the report deterred Israel from destroying the army.
Ref:
1973: The First Nuclear War Crucial Air Battles of the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War
by Tom Cooper and Abdallah Emran
posted by starman at 6:51 AM
11 Comments:
Does the book have pics of Egyptian planes being downed?
There are three pics of the downing of Wakeel's MIG-21. One shows it being targeted, another in flames after being hit and a third crashing at the base he was defending.
September 5, 2019
Israel did not want a nuclear war, so the rumor of nuclear weapons in Egypt would have had an effect. Due to its size, just a very few nuclear weapons could devastate it. Israel is known to now have nuclear weapons, but has so far not used them.
Hi Neal. Yes Israel would be highly vulnerable to a nuclear strike. But no other regional state would launch an unprovoked nuclear attack, even if they had the Bomb. In view of Israel's nuclear arsenal--perhaps 100 or more bombs--that would be suicidal. Israel is fully able to deter, so its attacks on the nuclear facilities and personnel of others, aimed at maintaining its monopoly, are paranoid, and naked aggression.
September 8, 2019
I agree; those attacks are pointless. I don't think that Iran would throw a nuclear bomb at Israel. The Iranians know what the consequences would be.
Some time ago, on "Sixty Minutes" an ex-MOSSAD official characterized Iran's leaders as "very rational." There's no need to fear an Iranian n-bomb; they are deterrable.
Israel has long engaged in state terrorism. Did the United States kill Soviet and Chinese scientists, or launch attacks on Soviet and Chinese facilities, to stop them from gong nuclear?
September 9, 2019
The U.S. did not do those things. Israel has consistently refused to listen to constructive advice on affairs in the Middle East. If Israel continues with that policy, more wars will occur in the region.
There is a new report of Israeli aggression. An airstrike hit pro-Iranian positions along the Syria-Iraq border, killing 18 people.....Imagine the outcry if any other nation engaged in such constant, unprovoked and deadly attacks. Israel has gotten away with too much for too long. No doubt, part of the reason for that is our politicians, especially Trump, encourage such behavior.
Not all the news is bad. Hezbollah just downed an Israeli drone over Lebanon.
September 9, 2019
You're right; the world has been extremely lenient toward Israel on that. Any other nation would have been automatically condemned. The human rights violations of Israel have been ignored. Israel has mistreated the Palestinians badly. Whenever any other country commits human rights violations against a minority group within its borders, there is an automatic outcry.
Sadly, other nations in the region don't have the means to protect themselves and US politicians are too cowed by pro-Israel groups to restrain Israel. We can only hope for improvement when Netanyahu and Trump leave office. With luck, the former will be gone in a matter of days or weeks.
September 10, 2019
I hope that Netanyahu leaves office very soon. It will also help if Trump is not re-elected. You're right; other Middle Eastern countries can't defend themselves.
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