AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018 - 43

GOOD READS |

'ANGELS IN THE SKY' IS
A GRIPPING COLD WAR
THRILLER
AVIATION HAS LONG BEEN shaped by
colorful characters willing to risk everything for deeply held beliefs-and there
is perhaps no better example of that than
the fliers behind Israel's 1948 war for
independence.
Author and pilot Robert Gandt masterfully tells their story in Angels in the Sky,
a book that reveals the epic sweep of that
conflict and heroism of the young country's mostly volunteer pilots. It also shows
their flaws, fallibility, and the shoestring
nature of their long-odds fight against
numerous and better equipped enemies.
Gandt, leader of Florida'sMavericks
formation aerobatic team, is a former
fighter and airline pilot. His breadth of
aviation knowledge is irreplaceable in
describing the flying characteristics of
airplanes as varied as Bf-109s (S-199s),
Spitfires, Mustangs, Beaufighters, DC-3s,
C-46s, B-17s, and Constellations. All had
roles in the 1948 war.
Gandt introduces readers to endlessly resourceful pilot/smugglers such
as Al Schwimmer and "Shifty" Schindler.
Schwimmer was a former TWA crewman
who risked jail and lost his U.S. citizenship for defying an arms embargo. (He later
founded Israel Aircraft Industries.) Former
U.S. Navy pilots Lou Lenart and Aaron Finkel
put even more on the line flying rickety, hastily assembled fighters in combat along with
Israelis Modi Alon and Ezra Weisman (who
later became president of Israel).
Angels in the Sky reads like a Cold
War thriller. The well-documented
story it tells reaches around the world-
from the former Czechoslovakia, where
Israel bought former Nazi warplanes;
to Panama, where its bogus airline was
based; and to Oklahoma, where worn-out
B-17 bombers were flown to the Middle
East just ahead of federal agents. It also
tells the little-known story of a controversial Spitfire versus Spitfire fight between
Israeli and British pilots at the end of the
war.
-Dave Hirschman

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 43

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018
