Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Formation and Development of the Jordanian Air Force: 1948–1967

2004; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 40; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/0026320042000265701

1743-7881

Ronen Yitzhak,

Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes FO 371/68829: Amman to Foreign Office, 20 March 1948; Haganah Archives 105/147: Intelligence Report, 24 May 1948; Folke Bernadotte, To Jerusalem (Jerusalem: Ahiasaf, 1950), p.114; 'The Royal Jordanian Air Force', Aerospace Historian, Vol.27 (Sept.1980), p.174. Bassam Eid Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya al-Urduniya wa tatawuruha 1946–1967: Dirasa 'Askariya Siyasiyya (Amman: Matba'at al-Quwat al-Musaliha, 1998), pp.109–10; Sakhar 'Abd al-Majid, al-Jaysh al-'Arabi 1921–1951: Dawruhu Fi al-sira' al-'Arabi-al-Siyuni (Amman: Matb'a al-Quwat al-Musaliha, 1991), Vol.1, p.181. The types of plane that the Arab Legion purchased in July 1948 were: four Proctors, two Tiger Moths and one de Haviland Rapide. FO 371/68831: Amman to Foreign Office, 9 Sept. 1948. David Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', Defence Update International, No.67 (Jan. 1986), p.17. It is worth pointing out that Arab historians claim that the establishment of the Jordanian Air Force, which took place against British predilections, brought about Britain's lack of cooperation with the Arab Legion in its early stages of development. See, for instance: Ma'an Abu Nawar, Tarikh al-Jaysh al-'Arabi al-Urduni (Amman: n.p., 1970), Vol.2, p.195; Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.110. In September 1948, the Arab Legion had some 12 planes, and in November around 30; I.D.F.. Archives 74/60013/75: Information from al-Mafraq on 12 Sept. 1948; I.D.F. Archives 76/600137/51: Air Force Intelligence Report, 10 Nov. 1948. In January 1949, Jordan acquired 14 'Tempest' fighter planes. I.D.F. Archives 937/600137/51: Intelligence Report, 13 Jan. 1949; Information on the Planes of the Arab Legion from 12 June 1949. FO 371/68831: Amman to Foreign Office, 28 Oct. 1948; I.D.F. Archives 76/600137/51: Report on the Jordanian Air Force from 12 Dec.1948 It should be pointed out that an additional airfield was located in Aqaba in Transjordan, but this airfield was under the supervision of the R.A.F. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.110. I.D.F. Archives 74/600137/5: Considerations from a Visit to Transjordan, 26 Aug. 1948; I.D.F. Archives 74/600137/51: Information from al-Mafraq, 12 Sept. 1948; 'Abd al-Majid, al-Jaysh al-'Arabi, p.181; FO 371/68831: Amman to Foreign Office, 9 Sept. 1948. Israel State Archives 13/15.130: Intelligence Report, 3 Aug. 1948 The British representative in Amman, Alec Kirkbride, claimed that the air force was only established in 1949. Alec Kirkbride, From the Wing: Amman Memoirs 1947–1951 (London: Frank Cass, 1976), p.79; 'Aref al-'Aref, Nakbat Filastin Wal fardaus al-Mafqud 1947–1955 (Amman: Dar al-Huda, 1956), Vol.4, p.784. Netanel Lorch also claimed that Transjordan did not have any airforce whatsoever at the time of the war. Netanel Lorch, Israel's War of Independence 1947–1948 (Giv'atayim: Masada, 1989), p.337. Similar statements were made by the commander of the Arab Legion, Glubb Pasha. See: John Bagot Glubb, A Soldier with the Arabs (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1957), p.232 The three fighter pilots were: 'Amer Basim al-Ckamash, Munzar 'Inab and Ihsan 'Id Qaqish. The other five pilots, who received training as cargo pilots were: Ibrahim 'Uthman, Ziyad Hamza, 'Ali Shaqem, Muhammad Nur 'Isa and Fuad 'Aref Salim. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.110; I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Air Force Intelligence Summary from 31 July 1950; I.D.F. Archives 9/14/57: A summary of the Intelligence Review, Nov. 1950–Feb. 1951. Syed Ali El-Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army 1908–1979: an Appreciation and Analysis of Military Operations (Amman: Pub. Committee, 1980), p.329. Samir A. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), p.32. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Air Force Intelligence Summary from 1 June 1950. The building of the airfields was supposed to continue for a year and a half. I.D.F. Archives 40/68/55: Weekly Intelligence report, 11 Jan. 1951. The Jordanian government annexed 3,734 dunam from land in Jiftlam in the area around Jericho and attached them to the airfield at Jericho. To the airfield in Amman was attached land from the nearby Ma'arka village, inaugurated at the beginning of 1954. Air Force Journal, No.15 (July-Aug. 1951), p.13; Air Force Journal, No.10 (Jan. 1950), p.89. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Air Force Department of Intelligence from 10 Nov. 1950. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Israeli Air Force Department of Intelligence, Intelligence Summary from 7 Feb. 1951. Ibid. The planes arrived from Britain in Novembr 1950 and their civilian label was TJ-ABG, TJ-ABH. These labels were designated for the T.J. National Air Lines. I.D.F. Archives 262/1559/52: Bi-weekly intelligence report from 1 Nov. 1950. The two Arab Legion battalions in the area of the Triangle were the First Battalion and the Third Battalion. For the purposes of aerial observation, the Arab Legion used the Tiger Moths, Austers and Rapides. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Air Force Department of Intelligence from 4.12.50; I.D.F. Archives 40/68/55: Biweekly intelligence report 11 Jan. 1951. I.D.F. Archives 92/1340/52: Summary of Air Force Intelligence, Air Force Headquarters – Intelligence Branch from Feb. 1952. The intention of the Arab Legion was to order the planes immediately so that they could be received at the beginning of 1952; however, due to financial difficulties it was decided to freeze that plan for the time being. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Israeli Air Force Department of Intelligence Summary from 7 Feb. 1951; Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.111. I.D.F. Archives 92/1340/52: Summary of Air Force Intelligence, Air Force Headquarters – Intelligence Branch from Feb. 1952. I.D.F. Archives 29/895/52: Air Force Department of Intelligence from 9 March 1951. Ibid. Eli Eyal, 'What is the Strength of the Arab Air Forces Today?', Air Force Journal (1968), p.62; Kakish, The Jordanian Military Institution, p.110. Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.19. The Baghdad pact was a defence pact signed by Iraq and Turkey in February 1955. A short while afterwards, Britain, Iran and Pakistan joined the pact. P.J. Vatikiotis, Politics and the Military in Jordan: A Study of Arab Legion 1921–1957 (London: Frank Cass, 1967), pp.121–2. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.111. Bennett replaced, in fact, the R.A.F. officer John Dalgleish, who had been in the position since 1953, when he replaced Fisher. El-Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p.329 . For a draft of the dismissal of the British officers from the Arab Legion see: Hashem Isma'il al-Laqyani, Ta'rib Qiyada al-Jaysh al-'Arabi (Amman: al-Wikala al-'Arabiya, 1993), p.37. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.112; El-Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p.329. Eyal, 'What is the Strength', p.62. Ibid. Air Force Journal, No.43–4 (April–May 1958), p.252. In fact, the attempts to topple Hussein's regime began eaarlier. In 1957, Syrian–Egyptian collusion against king Hussein's regime was uncovered, and the king dismissed the left-wing government and the chief of the staff Ali Abu Nawar. Riots and demonstrations, which broke out in Jordan at the time and in which Egyptian agents took part, were harshly repressed. Syria and Egypt, which had already begun a process of rapprochement, decided in February 1958 to unify within a single political framework and declared the establishment of the U.A.R. (United Arab Republic). Jordan, which was deeply concerned about the unity of those two nations, interpreted the union as a threat and initiated her own federation with Hashemite Iraq (The Arab Union). Some 50 American jets, which took off from the Sixth fleet carrier, provided aerial support to the British paratroopers who came to Jordan. The strength of the British forces that arrived in Jordan at the time was around 4000 men, half of whom arrived by air and the other by way of 'Aqaba. Monthly review (Sept.–Oct. 1966), p.257. The British forces in Jordan remained until Oct.–Nov. 1958. Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.19. Ha'aretz, 11 Nov. 1958. In the autobiography of King Hussein, written by Peter Snow, it was reported that Hussein piloted the plane himself; however, though the king did in fact sit in the cockpit, he was only the co-pilot. Peter John Snow, Hussein: A Biography (Washington: R.B. Luce, 1972), p.133. 'The Air Forces of the Arab Nations', Air Force Journal, No.63 (1963), p.132; Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.20. In 1962 a revolt broke out against royal rule in Yemen. Nasser supported the revolt and wanted to topple the existing regime in Yemen. The dynastic nations: Jordan and Saudi Arabia, opposed the revolt and helped the ruler of Yemen to put down the revolt, which received, as stated, support from Nasser. Ha'aretz, 13 Nov. 1962; Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.20 . On the incident, see: Ha'aretz, 22 Dec. 1964. The Jordanian version holds that the Israeli planes were those which penetrated into Jordanian air space and that the Jordanian planes were able to repel them after an aerial battle. According to the Jordanians, during this battle and in the course of other aerial battles which took place later, three Israeli planes were damaged. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.112. In his memoirs, Ran Pekker recounts that the flying control told him that eight Jordanian planes took part in the battle of Samu'a, though he admitted that he saw only two. Ran Ronen (Pekker), Hawk in the Sky (Tel Aviv: Yediot Aharonot edn, 2002), pp.156–7. Monthly review (Nov. 1966); Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.20. Kakish claimed that the Jordanian Air Force succeeded to down three Israeli planes in the course of the battle of Samu'a, though this claim is without any foundation. Kakish, al-Muassasa al-'Askariya, p.112. In Ran Pekker's book there is no mention of his being injured in the course of the battle, though in an interview he gave after the battle he stated that he had been injured by fire from the Jordanian plane. For the interview with Ran Pekker, see: Air Force Journal, No. 76 (May 1968), p.112. Ran Pekker expressed his amazement at the Jordanian pilots taking up the challenge of battle with Israeli pilots in the statement, 'The enemy surprises, he doesn't hurry to break off contact and flee. Returns battle'. Pekker, Hawk in the Sky, p.157. The package included: mobile artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, anti-tank guns, mortars, rocket launchers, and submachine guns as well as communications equipment. Monthly Review (Dec. 1966); Monthly Review (Jan. 1967) Suleiman Musa and Madi Munib claimed that the deal included only 24 planes. Suleiman Musa and Madi Munib, Tarikh al-Urdun fi al-Qarn al-'Ashrin (Amman: Matb'a al-Muhtasib, 1997), Vol.2, p.240. Monthly Review (Jan.1967). In addition to the Air Force, Iraqi ground forces entered Jordan from the east and Saudi forces from the south. Furthermore, a Palestinian regiment also entered Jordan. Two days before the outbreak of war, Egyptian commandos entered Jordan. Joseph Eschol (ed.), Six days war (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defence, 1967), p.140; Hussein Bin Talal, Harb na ma'a Israel ('Aka, n.d.), p.44; Samir A. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp.101, 109; Kamal Salibi, the Modern History of Jordan (London: I.B. Tauris, 1993), p.220. David Buqa'iy, 'Who is responsible for the outbreak of the war in 1967', Ma'arakhut, No.348 (June 1966), p.41. Musa and Munib, Tarikh al-Urdun, p.240. Ibid.; Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.20. Hussein claimed that the initiative to withdraw the planes came from him and that he requested from the Americans that they withdraw the planes from Jordan with the outbreak of the war. Hussein Bin Talal, Harb na ma'a Israel, p.51. Chaim Herzog, The Arab–Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East (Jerusalem: Yediot Aharonot edn, 1983), p.120. Amongst the aircraft that were destroyed in Egypt that day were: Tupolov and Ilyushin bombers, Sukhoi fighter planes Mig 21, Mig 19 and Mig 17. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p.122; Musa and Munib, Tarikh al-Urdun, p.241 According to Mutawi, the earliest instructions to carry out an attack against Israel were published at 05:00, although the Iraqis and the Syrians requested that the attack be postponed. In the attack by the Jordanian Air Force in Israel, 16 Jordanian planes took part. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, pp.126–7. In al-Mafraq two Hunter squadrons were stationed, while helicopters, cargo planes and training planes were stationed at the airfield in Amman. 'The Air Force at War', Air Force Journal, No.74–5 (Dec.1967), p.9. Eschol, Six Days War, p.30. The 29 Jordanian planes which were destroyed that day were the following: 21 Hunters, 2 M4 Helicopters, and 6 Dakota cargo planes. Yeshe'ayau Bin Purat and Uri Dan, Embargo: Mirage against Mig (Ramat Gan: Masada, 1968), p.95 The radar station in Ajlon was one of two radar stations in Jordan on the eve of the war. The second station was the F-20, which was set up in the Husha region. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, 127. According to Zayd al-Rifa'i head of the Office of King Hussein, the Israeli planes targeted King Hussein as well, on their way back to Israel. The planes flew low over the King's palace, but a barrage of anti-aircraft fire drove them off. For more details see: Hussein, Harbuna ma'a Israil, pp.55–7. Ibid., pp.58–5. Ibid., p.59. Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.20. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p.123. Musa and Munib, Tarikh al-Urdun, pp.240–2. King Hussein claimed that only 16 pilots remained in Jordan. Hussein, Harbuna ma'a Israil, p.50. Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p.138. For the Israeli appraisal of the Jordanian pilots, see: Eyal, 'What is the Strength', p.63. Ran Pekker gives his own generous appraisal of the Jordanian pilots in comparison to the other Arab pilots. Pekker, Hawk in the Sky, pp.156–8. Salih Kurdi was relieved of his command by King Hussein in 1971 and appointed to a position in the Foreign Ministry of Jordan. Davar, 19 Dec. 1971. The radar stations were set up in Amman, Qatarna (south of Amman), in Sulayh (northwest of Amman) and in Rahav (west of al-Mafraq). El-Edroos, The Hashemite Arab Army, p.330; Schefer, 'Jordan's Air Force', p.21; Mutawi, Jordan in the 1967 War, p.168.