20th century military history book – “Saving Israel” (Stackpole Books, 2020) – Boaz Dvir interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

Boaz Dvir is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He spent ten years researching the creation of the Israeli Air Force in 1948. He produced a documentary on the subject titled “A Wing and a Prayer” which was shown on PBS. He then wrote a book on the subject. We spoke about the Israeli Air Force of 1948, the secret methods needed to create it, the writing of the book, and what it took to research it.

(THE AUDIO PLAYER IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST.)

0:51 – Boaz talks about why he wrote this book.

3:41 – Boaz talks about how the Israelis were armed with Nazi weapons in 1948.

4:25 – Boaz summarizes what led up to the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

7:35 – Boaz talks about what he focuses on in the book.

12:32 – Boaz talks about how the Arab were threatening to annihilate the Israelis.

14:41 – Boaz talks about the US Army flight engineer who started the operation to arm Israel.

19:59 – Boaz talks about how the Jewish-American underground set up an airline to fly people into Israel.

23:05 – Boaz talks about how Adolf became an international arms smuggler.

26:54 – Boaz talks about military resistance to the smuggling of weapons.

31:41 – Boaz talks about what the Israeli Air Force consisted of before the 1948 war and what had been created by the end of the war.

32:58 – Boaz talks in detail about the planes they brought into Israel.

35:35 – Boaz talks about the initial operations on both sides during the 1948 war.

39:22 – Boaz talks about the air war during the 1948 war and the initial Arab advantage.

41:54 – Boaz talks about how Israel used Nazi weapons in the 1948 war.

45:14 – Boaz talks about the research he did for the book.

49:10 – Boaz talks about coming across one of the old C-47s used in the 1948 war.

51:19 – Boaz talks about how amazing it was to talk to the US WWII veterans.

54:26 – Boaz talks about the emotional responses to this subject matter.

54:53 – Boaz talked about his surprise at US antagonism towards Israel in 1948.

59:10 – Boaz talks about how the USSR indirectly armed Israel.

1:04:01 – Boaz talks about influence of Jewish Russians on Israel.

1:05:22 – Boaz talks about the British pilots who flew against Israel and the shoot-down of a British reconnaissance plane.

1:08:21 – Boaz talks about the two types of Egyptian pilots that the Israeli pilots faced in 1948.

1:09:52 – Boaz talks about the victims of the war.

1:17:14 – Boaz talks about how the people in his book were innovative.

1:22:30 – Boaz can be found on facebook at Boaz Dvir and on twitter @BoazDvir.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780811737265/Saving-Israel-The-Unknown-Story-of-Smuggling-Weapons-and-Winning-a-Nation%E2%80%99s-Independence

https://twitter.com/boazdvir?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

 

Guests: Boaz Dvir

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, non-fiction book, tags: Israel, Holocaust, Arab-Israeli war, Nazi, Palestine, Jewish, United Nations, US Army Air Force, aviation, neutrality act, WWII, world war two, Britain, Trans-Jordan, ATC, concentration camp, RAF, Royal Navy, arms smuggling, arms embargo, Egypt, Iraq, Hawaii, US Navy, FBI, Czechoslovakia, California, New Jersey, 1948 war, dogfighting, pilots, Negev, B-17, El Al, Tel Aviv, Messerschmitts, Nazi, Spitfires, Syria, flight logs, Israeli Air Force museum, greatest generation, Soviet Union, Stalin, Ben Gurion, Cairo, P-51, Panama, Wing and a Prayer, PBS

 

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2ZnM73r

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

WWII Royal Navy military history graphic novel – “The Stringbags” – (Dead Reckoning, 2020) – Garth Ennis interview

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2XdDsj2

Garth Ennis is a successful and prolific writer whose best known works are with such comic books as the Preacher and The Boys. However he’s also written many war comics. His latest work is The Stringbags which focuses on a WWII aviation arm of the British Royal Navy. The crews flew in archaic machines to do the jobs that needed to get done. We spoke about this Fairey Swordfish unit, his graphic novel, and a bit about war comic book history.

(The audio player is at the bottom of the post.)

0:44 – Garth talks about writing war comics and reading them when he was a kid in Northern Ireland.

3:34 – Garth talks about his interest in WWII and other conflicts.

4:33 – Garth talks about the development of his writing.

5:47 – Garth explains why he wrote about the Stringbags.

14:00 – Garth talks about how he created the characters that conducted the historical operations.

15:56 – Garth talks about the operation against the Bismark.

17:34 – Garth discusses the thematic focus of his graphic novel.

20:15 – Garth talks about the types of pilots who flew the Swordfish.

22:58 – Garth talks about where the Swordfish flew from and technical details about the plane.

25:46 – Garth talks about how much the Stringbags are celebrated in the UK.

27:20 – Garth talks about Swordfish loses in WWII.

29:56 – Garth talks about the manufacture of the Swordfish and the Albacore.

31:52 – Garth talks about the armament and the radar of the Swordfish.

34:55 – Garth how he did his research for the graphic novel.

37:02 – Garth talks about the additional research he’s done for the novel.

40:50 – Garth talks about the first air museum he saw Ireland.

45:19 – Garth talks about his revival of the war comic Johnny Red and how he helps the reader differentiate between fact and fiction.

48:58 – Garth talks about his surprise that men flew in the Swordfish against much more modern weaponry.

50:51 – Garth talks about the German praise for the Swordfish crews.

53:46 – Garth talks about the promotion of war comics in comic book stores.

56:29 – Garth talks about pitching the revival of the comic book Enemy Ace.

58:55 – Garth talks about the historical accuracy of his war comics and The Stringbags.

1:01:16 – Garth talks about the support the Naval Institute Press gave to the novel.

1:01:55 – Garth talks about the war projects he’d like to write about going forward.

1:05:18 – Garth can be found by looking for him on Amazon, Marvel, DC, Dynamite, Avatar, and Aftershock.

 

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/2XdDsj2

https://www.deadreckoning.org/book/the-stringbags/

https://www.amazon.com/Garth-Ennis/e/B000APF7BM/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Garth Ennis

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: military, history, military history, conflict, war, interview, graphic novel, war comic, Stringbags, Ireland, war comics, Vietnam, Alan Muir, Swordfish, torpedo bomber, Royal Navy, British, Taranto, Bismark, Channel Dash, Tuskeegee Airmen, Tirpitz, aviator, strike arm, torpedo, Charles lamb, Fairy Swordfish, WWII, world war two, world war 2, deflection shooting, Grumman Avenger, Albacore, radar, Taranto, Lancaster Bomber, Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Hastings, Charnhorst, DC comics, Enemy Ace, Preacher, Dynamite Entertainment, Aftershock, Avatar, TKO, Night Watches, Axis

Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/2XdDsj2

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How did the Dambuster’s Raid wreak unexpected havoc with Sir Max Hastings

Check the book out here: https://amzn.to/3aQGcbV

Sir Max Hastings has written extensively on military history, especially on World War II. He has a storied career as a newspaper writer and editor and now applies his skills to the writing of history. We spoke about his latest book, Operation Chastise (HarperCollins, 2020)

1:08 – Sir Max talks about what prompted his interest in writing about Operation Chastise.

3:13 – Sir Max talks about what public opinion was about the civilian casualties resulting from the operation.

12:06 – Sir Max talks about the idea of military theater with this operation.

14:31 – Sir Max talks about the American in the RAF, Joe McCarthy, who was part of the operation.

18:44 – Sir Max talks about Churchill’s involvement (or non-involvement) with the operation.

21:41 – Sir Max talks about the technical side of the operation and the bombs.

25:22 – Sir Max talks the pilots’ feelings about the operation.

31:19 – Sir Max talks about the losses sustained because of the operation.

33:17 – Sir Max talks about the torpedo netting the Germans used to protect the dams.

36:45 – Sir Max talks about British technology during WWII.

38:16 – Sir Max talks about the research for the book.

41:01 – Sir Max talks about the letters and diaries he used for his research.

44:56 – Sir Max talks about the speed with which the operation was put together but how young the bomber pilots were.

49:02 – Sir Max talks the life of the squadron after the operation.

52:00 – Sir Max talks about what he hopes the book will do for readers.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3aQGcbV

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062953636/operation-chastise/

https://www.maxhastings.com/

For more “Military History Inside Out” please follow me at www.warscholar.org, on Facebook at warscholar, on twitter at Warscholar, on youtube at warscholar1945 and on Instagram @crisalvarezswarscholar. Or subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify

Guests: Sir Max Hastings

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, HarperCollins, WWII, Germany, Britain, podcast,

Check the book out here: https://amzn.to/3aQGcbV

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.