The following book review is written by a guest reviewer.
by Sean YJ Chua. ( beaglechua@yahoo.com)
Very little is known about the IRIAF since the fall of Shah, the shroud of secrecy on its its order of battle, operational status of its aircraft and photographs are hard to come by. This book is certainly a welcomed gift for those who are into obscure subjects such as the IRIAF
The book begins with a short intro of the history of the IRIAF followed by the chapters on each of the IRIAF bases and concluded with the order of battle.
– TFB.1: Mehrabad
– TFB.2: Tabriz
– TFB.3: Nojeh
– TFB.4: Vahdati
– TFB.5: Ardestani
– TFB.6: Yassini
– TFB.7: Dowran
– TFB.8: Baba’i
– TFB.9: Bandar Abbas
– TFB.10: Konarak
– TFB.14: Imam Reza
– Other IRIAF Bases
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In each chapter of TFB, there is an introduction of the base history, mostly followed by a table of squadrons, their aircraft type, numbers and remarks. There is also a short write up of each of the squadron’s history and aircraft operated right up to 2010 when this book was published. Now the main attraction of this book aret he numerous high resolution photographs of the aircraft of each of the squadrons. These photos are professionally taken and not the fuzzy type taken by concealed cameras. The high resolution photos of the IRIAF are hard to come by and this must be one of the most exclusive and comprehensive photobook till date. Almost all major IRIAF aircraft type – fighters, transports, trainers and helicopters fill the pages that would delight modelers.
Finally the book ended with colour squadrons patches accompanied by the order of battle, information such as this is rare and not that I have seen before.
This book is certainly worth a space in your reading list if you are into obscure airforces such as IRIAF and its variety of aircraft types operated for both enthusiasts and modelers alike.