The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as a signature combat aircraft of the Cold War.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames include: "balalaika", because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name; "Ołówek", Polish for "pencil", due to the shape of its fuselage, and "Én Bạc", meaning "silver swallow", in Vietnamese.
The Israeli Air Force operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. As of April 2022, Aluf Tomer Bar has been serving as the Air Force commander.
The War of Attrition involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970.
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) (Arabic: القوات الجوية المصرية, romanized: El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy and the Egyptian Air Defense Forces. The latter was created as a separate command in the 1970s and it coordinates with the Air Force to integrate air and ground-based air defense operations. The EAF is headed by an air marshal (lieutenant general equivalent). Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Mahmoud Fouad Abdel-Gawad. The force's motto is 'Higher and higher for the sake of glory' (Arabic: إلى العلا في سبيل المجد, I‘la’ al-'olà fī sabīl al-magd). It was known as the Royal Egyptian Air Force until 18 June 1953 following the declaration of the Republic of Egypt by Muhammad Naguib.
Helwan is a suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt. The area of Helwan witnessed prehistoric, ancient Egyptian, Roman and Muslim era activity. More recently it was designated as a city until as late as the 1960s, before it became contiguous with the city of Cairo and was incorporated as a district. For a brief period between April 2008 and April 2011 it was redesignated as a city, and served as the capital of the now defunct Helwan Governorate that was split from Cairo and Giza governorates, before being re-incorporated back into them. The kism of Helwan had a population of 521,239 in the 2017 census.
The 69 "Hammers" Squadron is an Israeli Air Force squadron operating the F-15I Thunder out of Hatzerim. It was formed in July 1948 to operate three B-17 Flying Fortresses which the fledgling Israeli Air Force had acquired in the United States. The squadron flew the Flying Fortress, an aircraft credited with propelling the IAF into the realm of modern aerial warfare, during both the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and 1956 Suez Crisis. Disbanded in early 1957, 69 Squadron reformed in 1969 to fly the F-4 Phantom II.
Squadron 107, also known as the "Knights of the Orange Tail Squadron", is a fighter aircraft squadron in the Israeli Air Force. The squadron operates F-16I ("Sufa") aircraft from the Hatzerim Airbase in the Negev.
Operation Boxer was an aerial offensive undertaken by the Israeli Air Force along the Suez Canal in July 1969. The first major IAF operation since the 1967 Six-Day War, the operation signaled a new phase in the War of Attrition.
The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
F-4 Phantom II non-U.S. operators are the non-U.S. nations with air forces that operate or used to operate the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. The Phantom II entered service with the U.S. military in 1960 and served until 1996. During this time it was the primary interceptor, air superiority fighter and fighter bomber with the U.S. Navy, Marines and Air Force.
The Bahr el-Baqar primary school in the Egyptian village of Bahr el-Baqar was bombed by the Israeli Air Force on 8 April 1970. Of the 130 children who attended the school, 46 were killed and over 50 wounded. The school itself was completely demolished. The attack was carried out by Israeli Air Force F4 Phantom II fighter bombers, at 9:20 am on Wednesday 8 April. Five bombs and two air-to-ground missiles struck the single-floor school, which consisted of three classrooms. The attack was conducted as part of a series of deep penetration strikes named Operation Priha. There has been significant dispute between both parties and their allies over the motive of the attack and, consequently, its appropriate designation.
The air battle of Mansoura was an air battle that took place in 1972 during the Yom Kippur War between the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) near the town of El Mansoura, in the Nile Delta.
Bir Gifgafa is an airfield in the Sinai, 90 km east of the Suez Canal. During the 1960s and 1970s it played a significant role in Arab–Israeli wars, at different times serving both Egypt and Israel.
Rimon 20 was the code name of an aerial battle in 1970 which pitted the Israeli Air Force directly against Soviet fighter pilots stationed in Egypt during the War of Attrition. Israel planned the dogfight in order to send a message that it would no longer tolerate direct Soviet military involvement in its conflict with Egypt.
Giora Romm was an Israeli military officer who served as deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel's military attaché in the United States and as director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel. Romm was the IAF's first jet ace, scoring five kills during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1969, during the War of Attrition, Romm was shot down and spent several months in Egyptian captivity. He commanded the IAF's 115 Squadron through the intensive fighting of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and participated in Operation Wooden Leg, the 1985 raid against PLO headquarters in Tunisia.
The 1973 Syrian General Staff Headquarters Raid was an aerial strike carried out by the Israeli Air Force on October 9, 1973, the fourth day of the Yom Kippur War. Following a strike by Syrian surface-to-surface missiles against settlements and installations in northern Israel, seven F-4 Phantom IIs from 119 Squadron attacked the Syrian General Staff Headquarters (GHQ) and adjacent buildings in downtown Damascus.
Operation Rhodes was an Israeli heliborne raid against the Egyptian island of Shadwan on 22 January 1970, during the War of Attrition. It was carried out by Israeli paratroopers and Shayetet 13 naval commandos, who took control of the island for over a day before leaving with 62 captured Egyptian soldiers and radar equipment.
The History of the Israel Air Force begins in May 1948, shortly after the formation of the State of Israel. Following Israel's declaration of independence on May 14, its pre-state national institutions transformed into the agencies of a state, and on May 26, 1948, the Israeli Air Force was formed. Beginning with a small collection of light aircraft, the force soon transformed into a comprehensive fighting force. It has since participated in several wars and numerous engagements, becoming what has been described as "The mightiest air force in the Middle East".
The H-3 airstrike was a surprise air attack by the Iranian Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War on 4 April 1981 against the airbases of the Iraqi Air Force at the H-3 Air Base in western Iraq. The Iranians destroyed at least 48 Iraqi aircraft on the ground with no losses of their own. Based on the results achieved, it is considered one of the most successful raids in the history of aerial warfare.
