Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel

by Robert Gandt

Angels in the Sky is the exhilarating account of a ragtag band of volunteer airmen from around the world who fought for Israel during the war of independence. They arrived from America, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa. Almost all were World War II combat veterans. Many, but not all, were Jewish, and many knowingly violated their nations’ embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel. They smuggled in Messerschmitt fighters from Czechoslovakia, painting over swastikas with Israeli stars. They flew British-built Spitfires and American Mustangs, risking their lives for a righteous cause. Surrounded by Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Syrian, and Lebanese forces, Israel would have been crushed without the air support provided by the “angels in the sky.” Briskly written and based on first-person interviews and extensive archival research, here is a modern-day David-and-Goliath tale and popular history at its best.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Israel, Aviation, Military Fiction, Middle East, Historical

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2017

Reviews

[Jonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of how a disparate bunch of foreign volunteers created an air force for the embattled and embargoed embryonic state of Israel should have been an epic page turner.
Sadly I thought this book squandered virtually every chance it was handed, with even the desperate efforts of the volunteers to spirit aircraft out from under the noses of the British and American governments and their assorted law enforcement agencies robbed of any tension. Even the aerial combat sequences are robbed of any excitement, reduced to constant reference to pilots watching "parts and debris streaming from the Spitfire/Macchi/Dakota". Even the eventual and tragic losses are robbed of any real emotion.
Possibly some first person input would have helped, along with more and better detailed maps, but what's really lacking is any feeling of context. We're constantly told that Israel is battling fire its existence but apart from bit parts as targets the Arab armies don't feature - it's often hard to even figure out where they are.
On the whole I can't help feeling a little short changed. I'd mark it down for two and a half stars, but it has a marvellous print on the interior title page (I'm a sucker for aviation art) so I'll grit my teeth and up it to a three. Get yourself some idea of the '48/'49 war before you start, it might help.

[Devyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads.

Angels in the Sky is a brilliant book about the desperate battle for the independence of Israel and the brave men who flew dangerous, hodgepodge, outdated WW2 surplus airplanes against multiple enemies with superior forces. It sheds light on the amazing history of a struggling country that I was nearly completely ignorant of. It is a defiant eyeopener against the prevalent modern misconceptions of Israel and its history.
This book is intelligent, informative, entertaining, intense, and full of heart. It's a unbeatable story of war and peace, laughter and tears, young men and old, and the irresistible appeal of flight and war.
It holds no punches, makes no apologies, and is a damn good read.
I loved this book. It made my heart hurt, yes, but I still loved it. There is simply nothing more exhilarating, awe-inspiring, and funner than reading about intense airborne dog fights in the legendary WW2 aircraft. This book featured both my top favorite aircraft from that era, the B-17 Super Fortress (Sky Tanks), and the P-51 Mustangs(Whistling Death). Plus a bunch of World War 2 Aces.
Angels in the Sky really let me get to know the volunteers (and everyone else) that braved the damaged, ill-equipped airplanes and fought for Israel and its people. I got so attached that when someone died, from old age or tragically otherwise, I had to take a moment to morn before I could continue reading. It took me over a week to pick the book up again after Modi Alon's death.
Robert Gandt has a real talent of making the reader miss people they have never met in addition to telling a truly grand piece of history.

[cloudyskye · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, so great. A tiny force of airmen, Jews and non-Jews, whom we get to know quite well, risking (and losing) their lives, with a patchwork of planes that kept breaking down or malfunctioning or getting lost, but in the end they won the war.
It's all a miracle. Am Yisrael chai.

[Jim Cabaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I want to say "Thank you to Good Reads" for advance copy of Angels in the Sky!
2nd, I want to say "Wow", Robert Gandt, has collected so many first person stories of the airmen who composed the Israel Air Force. Each chapter has something intriguing that always keeps you at the edge of your seat till the end of the book.

Robert Gandt knows how to capture these real men. He exposes how they became airmen and why they want to fight for Israel. Each of these airmen get into the cockpit and face death even before the plane starts up.

I enjoyed all the espionage that was involved to create the Israel Air Force. How they recruited former WWII pilots around the world. You meet the agents behind the scenes trying to buy surplus planes.

One of my favorite books is "The Right Stuff" by Tom Wolfe, Angels in the Sky is just like that capturing the brotherhood that surrounds these pilots. Both books had me at the edge of my seat wanting more and I would get more. In both books you felt pain and loss. You felt fear being faced dead on.

Angels in the Sky is at the top of my list of Best New Books of the year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Lois R. Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel. This is the story of how the small band of mostly Jewish people came to become a nation with the help of a motley crew of former World War II flying aces who needed a last hurrah and found it in the greatly outnumbered people who needed a refuge from the anti-Semitic Jews. drawing volunteers from the US, Canada, Britain, and South Africa among others, these pilots participated in an illegal (in the US) operation of smuggling both arms and airplanes to the surrounded country in the midst of Arab enemies. Ironically, most of the planes the pilots flew were former Nazi planes manufactured and sold on the black market by the Czechs. Even more ironically, almost all of those planes blew up in combat, frequently taking the pilots with them. Yes, some of the pilots had a commitment to building a safe state for Jewish refugees having liberated the concentration camps of Europe. However, mostly these were hotshots who really needed the adrenaline rush of a good fight. In Israel, they got it. People with familiarity of Israeli history will note that many of the military leaders of the 1948 war went on the glorious careers as leaders of the newborn nation. This is an important history lesson and a tribute to honor among men and the derring do of both patriots and mercenaries with one great cause.

[Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it fascinating. First of all, the story was completely new to me. We take too many things for granted. How the air force is actually created when the country is just born and there are no planes and there is international embargo against Israel, though Egypt is getting their fighter planes from UK and Italy, and US is maintaining "neutrality" because they need access to oil. To get past all the obstacles, it takes people who drive it, who push it, who fight for it, imaginative people and brave people. First and foremost the pilots themselves. Most of them were English speaking volunteers who fought in World War II. This book demystified this profession to me and filled me with awe on what they were able to handle under most harrowing circumstances. But I also learned more about famous people like Ezer Weizman and Itzhak Rabin, who in 1948 were still young people fighting for the Jewish homeland.

[Eric Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. The true story of how the Israeli Air Force got its start from a rag tag bunch of volunteer crew members flying airplanes they had to beg, borrow and steal. Well written, a fascinating story.

[Margaret Heller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for Library Journal. Not for me, but some people will definitely enjoy this one, which is reflected in my review.

[Randall Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a mostly-anectdotal telling of the history of the creation of the Israeli Air Force at independence. Gandt spins an interesting tale of the flyers, mostly WWII vets, who relished the thrill and excitement of war but couldn't find it in peacetime. Most of the flyers were Jewish who had religious, familial or cultural ties to Palestine, and independent Israel. Gandt provides some detail as to the various motivations of the airmen and what led them to the IAF. However, the focus isn't as much on the motivations as on the personalities of the men. Regardless of their motivations, they all migrated to Israel in 1947-1948 and volunteered to assist in the struggle for independence, the creation and survival of the Jewish state.

Some of the flyers were non-Jews, adventure seekers like the rest without the ties of religion, culture and kinship. Regardless, the group bonded over their missions and helped save the new nation during the war immediately after independence.

I enjoyed the epilogue which gave brief descriptions of what became of the main characters after the war.

I recommend this book as an easy-to-read, well-told story of an key element in the birth and survival of the Israeli state. Overall, this was an informative, interesting and well-written story of the airmen and mechanics that created the new nation's air force from scratch and served it loyally and proudly during the early years of the new Israeli state.

[piet van genderen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het verhaal over de vrijwilligers die de grondslag legden van de luchtmacht van de jonge staat Israel. De verwerving van gebruikte vliegtuigen en de luchtacties. Zonder hun inbreng zou de geschiedenis anders zijn verlopen.

[Brenda Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing true story that reads like a thriller. Really enjoyed this book. I won this book through Goodreads.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from the first reads giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
I liked the book a lot. It gives an honest recounting of the vital part foreign aviators played in the Israeli victory in 1949. Most of them weren't there for moral reasons they were there because they were adrenaline junkies and that was the available war. I deducted half a star because there were parts that were a little bit narrative.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating story, I never really knew anything about the Israeli War of Independence let alone the foundation of the Israeli Air Force.

I can't imagine the guts it must've taken to abandon everything back home to go fight in a war that could very well be lost. I suppose I can wrap my head around the Jews who came to fight for a homeland and I get the mercenaries but the people who came because it was just the right thing to do? Can't even imagine.

Reading about the aerial battles was definitely interesting and how they smuggled aircraft from Britain and the US to Israel was suspenseful.

Though, now I'm really interested in a more high level view of the war, this book focuses on the air war and the Egyptian front but now I'm really wondering about the war on the ground and the fronts against the other 4 Arab states.

[Juliewheatcox.Net · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a true & well researched account of how a rag-tag air force saved Israel.

It was a little dry for me, but I enjoyed it anyway. I'm sure that guys would give it five stars.

This is a story you won't ever forget.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Documentary Movie: Above and Beyond brings this book to life, with interviews of people in the book.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and greatly narrated book (except pronouncement of Hebrew words :)). New the history of Israel but now got the other perspective. In my view - time well spent reading this book.

[BOOKLOVER EB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Gandt's "Angels in the Sky" is the amazing true story of a group of daredevils who, for various reasons, set out to help an embattled Israel to fend off its foes. In May 1948, David Ben-Gurion announced the establishment of the state of Israel. Shortly thereafter, "on every border, the new state of Israel was under siege" from the armies of Transjordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Syria. "With a sixty-to-one numerical advantage, the Arab armies would invade with tanks, armored gun carriers, field artillery, antitank and antiaircraft guns." How could a fledgling nation with few resources survive such an onslaught?

Amazingly, volunteer airmen agreed to fly cobbled-together planes that lacked well-maintained and powerful engines, radios, oxygen masks, effective triggering mechanisms, and accurate steering. What were their motives for participating in this perilous undertaking? Some of the pilots had flown combat missions during World War II and missed the excitement and adventure. Others were idealists from Canada, the United States, South Africa, and Britain, who wanted to lend a hand to a beleaguered country. Many were Jewish, but non-Jews were on board, as well.

Gandt's describes the ingenious and often illegal methods used by Israel's supporters to obtain aircraft, spare parts, mechanical expertise, and training. Much of this work of non-fiction seems like a made-up thriller. It is almost incomprehensible that anyone would be willing to pilot planes that, in many cases, were so dilapidated that they should never have left the hangar. In addition, the author humanizes his characters with brief biographical sketches, accounts of how they performed under pressure, and in an epilogue, what they accomplished when the war was over. Another notable feature is the "you are there" depictions of duels to the death between the pro-Israel fighter pilots and their adversaries.

The writing in the well-researched "Angels in the Sky" is serviceable, but this overly long book is repetitious and bombards us with so much information that it is difficult to keep track of the numerous people, places, and events. At least readers can refer to the excellent timeline, index, endnotes, and list of pilots found at the back. This compelling narrative will appeal to anyone who is interested in the military and political history of Israel's War of Independence. While many will admire the bravado of the aviators, they will also be saddened by the loss of thirty-three members of the newly formed Israel Air Force who were killed or went missing while trying to pull off a miracle in the Middle East.

[Peter Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Angels in the Sky: how a band of volunteer airmen saved the new state of Israel,” by Robert Gandt (Norton, 2017). The postwar world of the late 1940s was full of lost boys---in this case, fliers who missed the challenge and thrill of aerial combat. The nascent state of Israel needed all the help it could get, and especially from the air. Israeli agents scoured the western world for airplanes---fighters, transports, bombers, anything they could put in the sky to keep the Arabs from destroying their cities, and in turn to strafe, bomb and demoralize the invading armies. Meanwhile, most of the world was against them. Although the US had voted for the creation of the state of Israel, it wasn’t going to do anything to help the Jews survive. Neither were the Brits, the Greeks, the Soviets. So Israeli agents bought, bribed, stole, conned, finagled to find anything flyable. No problem finding pilots: there were plenty of Jewish veterans with experience in Spitfires, P-51s, B-17s, the gamut---not to mention the volunteers who either for righteousness or a job signed up. Slowly, an Israeli air arm was created: Czech versions of the ME 109, lousy, cramped, unreliable; C-46s for heavy transport; a Constellation, eventually a few Spitfires, a couple of P-51s, even a trio of B-17s---all of which had to be smuggled out of wherever they were. Pilots and agents were arrested time and again, were bought out of prison. When the fighting started: in the very first battle there were just four Messerschmitts, and two of them were lost almost immediately. But the strafing and bombing they were able to do stopped a heavy Egyptian invasion force just a few miles south of Tel Aviv. Pilots crashed, or disappeared; they were never shot down, but the planes were in such bad shape it was a miracle they worked at all. The pilots were rowdy, hard drinkers, insubordinate, but determined. They overcame all the flaws of their airplanes and drubbed whoever went against them. In the largest battle of all, a group of Israeli and volunteer fliers shot down a lot of RAF Spitfires which shouldn’t have been flying in Israeli airspace to begin with.. Gandt is very good about the actual flying, the maneuvers, the problems of the planes: the MEs were using huge propellors meant for other airplanes, and they kept shooting themselves down by shooting the props to bits. A very quick, bright read.

http://www.gandt.com/

[Robin Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in a single day. About 300 pages, so it's certainly engaging.

The story begins when is Israel is first created, and ends less than 1 year later. Throughout this time, no respectable nation will sell Israel arms. The neighbors threatened to wipe them out and war was imminent, so the US, Britain, and France sold to Israel's adversaries only. That was Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The US and Britain arrested any military age man going to Israel and confiscated anything military. But some entrepreneurial Jews found that Czechoslovakia was willing to sell old planes, left-over, ersatz Mesershmits. Some other planes were purchased in the US, but mostly confiscated by the FBI. A band of talented volunteers, half of them non-Jews, agreed to fly these left-over wrecks. Exciting stories follow where these garbage planes fall apart on the runway, or in the air, and the volunteer pilots try to fight the Arabs and avoid Israel's so-called friends. The pilots are also called on to kill other Israelis, and (as it happened) to fight British fighters and their Spitfires.

The net result is that Israel defeats the combined forces and comes out of it as a bigger country -- one that can take the jews that no one else would take, but that still can't buy weapons. At that point, most of the volunteers go home, to be tried. One goes to jail in the US, but some stay in Israel becoming citizens and forming Israel's airline, ElAl, and Israel's defense Industry.

[Anne Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely NOT my normal kind of reading, but it was recommended to me by someone in my American Short Story class after I mentioned a recent read covering the Holocaust and a child survivor's return to life in Israel...

The airman whose amazing and dedicated exploits carried Israel through the opening days of its statehood were pilots and business men (and sometimes both) of all stripes who had made their names and reputations in World War II. American, British, Canadian, Israeli--they were fighting for the establishment of a homeland, even though some of them didn't remain in Israel, and some of them were not even Jewish. Just "doing the right thing."

The telling is actually a day-by-day, battle (literal and political) by battle account, fortunately with maps in the book and a nice one that someone left in the book. The many pilots are brought to life, and their activities so carefully drawn that this non-military exploits reader was kept at it as the all-volunteer air force grew and as men were lost.

The tactics and the politics of war, truce, and peace actually absorbed me, and I spent fro 11:30 to midnight reading the afterword which contained individual "here's how his life turned out" on each of the daring and devoted pilots. The depiction of their lives during these tense days was vivid and heart-wrenching.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of the people who helped to create the initial Israeli Air Force for the 1948 war for independence. Gandt focuses on two areas - the volunteer pilots (from the US, Canada, UK, Israel, and South Africa) who flew the planes, and the efforts to acquire and import aircraft (fighters, bombers, and transport aircraft.) Gandt works hard to drive an interesting, thrilling narrative of the struggles, exploits, and humor of the process. It's an engrossing read, but you do feel like there are parts missing. Gandt provides some good analysis in some areas such as the challenges of the Czech version of the Me109 and the discrimination Jewish pilots faced in trying to fly for US commercial airliners, but there are several other areas where some analysis or discussion would add so much - how the IAF chose its rotation plan when it had more pilots than planes; the development of tactics; he also hints at the quality issues in the Egyptian Air Force, but provides no analysis. It's also frustrating that the map that clarifies the battles in the last 100 pages appears right before the epilogue instead of where it could have been of particular use.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great and relevant history, and a critical lesson for today! I had never realized (but should have) that England- and by extension much of the post WWII west- would not have supported Israel over their Imperial holdings (Egypt, etc.) Reading the cloak-and-dagger story of getting an Israeli Air Force off the ground and into existence was fascinating, considering how the current middle east is aligned.
As for the lesson: the author only passingly points out that the initial Israeli Air Force comprised of aerial warriors who lived to fly fighter aircraft and be the best at their craft, contrasted with the Arab Air Forces which were primarily the scions of the wealthy or nobility. Given the vast advantages in numbers and technology the latter possessed, it is a miracle the Israelis were able to even fight in the air, much less dominate as they did. Militaries that want to win wars MUST promote the successful and skilled warrior over everyone else– to do otherwise invites catastrophe on the battlefield.
Obviously, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, and particularly airpower.

[Ksorb · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a US Air Force Brat, a repeat Gentile visitor to Israel, a student of the Holocaust and World War II, and the widow of a military pilot, this book made me stand on tiptoe, hold my breath, laugh out loud, cry, cringe, and cheer. The hilarious and unlikely heroes were almost slapstick at times, though inadvertently, as they did and said whatever was necessary to get beat-up ww2 planes to Israel "under the radar," and to get to fly combat missions supporting the newborn nation of Israel in their desperate attempt just to exist while being attacked on all sides by five nations. Five!

[My only caveat is that, though it is such a fabulous book, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it due to the foul language which is prolific. Too bad: my grandson hopes to go to the US Air Force Academy; at age 14, he already has many hours in the cockpit, and hundreds in a simulator. I would love to be able to give him a copy, but that cant come from his Grammy....]

But me? In the epilogue I still cried and cheered for the men and the nation along with the crowds, punctuated with laughter and "awww"s.

[Ksorb · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a US Air Force Brat, a repeat visitor to Israel, a student of - and daughter of - World War II, and the widow of a military pilot, this book made me stand on tiptoe, hold my breath, laugh out loud, cry, cringe, and cheer. The hilarious and unlikely heroes were almost slapstick at times, inadvertently, as they did and said whatever was necessary to get beat-up WW2 planes to Israel "under the radar," and to get to fly combat missions supporting the newborn nation in their desperate attempt just to exist while being attacked on all sides by five nations.

My only caveat is that, though it is such a fabulous book, I cannot wholeheartedly recommend it due to the foul language - which is prolific. Too bad: my grandson hopes to go to the US Air Force Academy; at age 14, he already has many hours in the cockpit and hundreds in a simulator. I would love to be able to give him a copy, but that can't come from his Grammy...

But me? In the epilogue I still cried and cheered for the men and the nation along with the crowds, punctuated with laughter and "awww"s.

[Aaron Kendal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent gripping and engrossing read about the birth of the Israeli Air Force.

Telling the true tale of how volunteer pilots, both Jewish and non-Jewish came to fight for the survival of the new nation in the War of Independence it tells of adventures and antics that must be read to be believed, including their miraculous first mission that stopped the Egyptian Army cold and saved the nation from being destroyed before it could even be born. The book recounts how all the necessary materials for an air force - fighters, bombers, transports, and parts from around the world secretly were brought to Israel to defeat the one-sided arms embargo.

The stories of air-to-air combat and bombing missions are very well told and the stories from the pilots who were there are expertly woven into the narrative. It is a can't-put-down riveting tale very well told indeed and well worth reading for any aviation or history enthusiast.

[Hasadda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This inspirational book documents the volunteers and renegade paid pilots who helped form the Israeli Air Force between 1048 and 1949. Most were Jewish and some were not, but they all believed in the cause, saving Israel from the grips of the Arabs. Not too many soldiers in this day and age would make the same sacrifices that they did, from stealing airplane parts to negotiating for old-style airplanes with falsified passports to flying for the thrills of destroying the enemies' weapons, they went the gamut to build the Jewish nation's first air defenses.

It was them against the world who felt the tiny Jewish homeland did not deserve to exist. Many willingly lost their lives and Gandt humanizes their dedication with humor and camaraderie. If you like reading about the history of Israel and buying and building warplaines airplanes from another generation.

[Carlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I never really wondered about how Israel, a new country, had the resources (manpower, planes, strategy) to not only battle a coalition of Arab nations but to win. This book tells the extraordinary (hi)story of how former WW2 pilots from the US, Canada, UK, and other countries, volunteered to fight in Israel's "war of independence". We hear about what motivated the volunteers, some who were Jewish, others who were not. We learn how by a twist of fate, Czechoslovakia unintentionally became one of Israel's greatest allies - not only did they sell to Israel Nazi-engineered, Czech-made Messerschmitt planes and provide a training field and a base to launch attacks from, but also ended up selling them British Spitfire planes as well.

I also didn't know that the US remained neutral during the war, and that Britain was helping Egypt. Very interesting stuff.

[Rorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read another book by this author, but didn't realize it was the same author of this book until after I started reading it. The author does a wonderful job of presenting the information in such a way as to keep the reader interested.
I know very little about the creation of the state of Israel, and had no idea that they were on the brink of destruction practically from the start. I can't even fathom the hatred of one group of people enough to want to completely destroy them, or, in the case with so many other countries, to turn a blind eye to helping them. History can be pretty horrific. But, as in the case of the heroes of this book, history also has many good, uplifting parts to it. I am so glad there were and still are people willing to stand up for what is right, even if that means going against the status quo.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story

Maybe I study way too much history but it is rare that I read a book conserning a big event like this, especially in the 19th or 20th century, that I knew almost nothing about. Yes I knew that the UN divided Palestine in 1948 and the state of Israel was created. I knew about Jewish people being smuggled into Palestine during WWII to escape axis power held countries. But I didn’t know how the Israeli Air Force was created. I never knew of all of the volunteers from around the world that made their independents possible.

If you enjoy a good story, like to learn about historical events, or want to understand another chapter of the past that explains world politics of today this book is for you.

[R. Leib · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a detailed history of how a small, disparate group of aviators gave everything they had to save from annihilation a country that for most was not even their own. It is told in engrossing vignettes that weave the incredible story of the birth of a nation and one of the most feared and respected air forces in the world. Easily readable, Mr. Gandt accomplishes a very rare feat, a cohesive history with a lot of moving parts that does not leave the reader lost in the minutia. Stupidity, brilliance, triumph, and tragedy all receive the same clinically precise treatment. In the end, "Angels of the Sky" engenders the feeling for the reader of personally witnessing it all.