Frogman
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Phoenix Over the Nile: History of Egyptian Air Power, 1932-94 (Smithsonian History of Aviation & Spaceflight) Hardcover – 1 Nov 1997


The book featured claims that the Egyptian Air Force has converted multiple (possibly three) commercial Boeing 707 aircraft into tankers for aerial refueling. The Egyptian Air Force does in fact operate the Boeing 707 as part of the presidential fleet, is it a stretch to believe that it may have procured other aircraft to be converted to tankers?
Egypt Air also operated the Boeing 707, by 1985 six Boeing 707-320C aircraft, all of which
were retired. Is it a stretch to believe the Egyptian Air Force may have acquired these aircraft
for conversion?
The rest of the information on the page featured are confirmed to be true. But the question
may still be asked, are these authors and this book reliable sources?
The authors are Lon Nordeen: A former Boeing Defense, Space & Security employee and has penned various books on military aviation including the famous Fighters over Israel and David Nicolle who as far as I'm aware has only penned books on Middle Eastern history during the Medieval Era. The publisher also seems to be incredibly credible.
A review of the book is linked below, I will try to get my hands on it:
Book Review: Phoenix Over the Nile: A History of Egyptian Air Power, 1932-1994 (Lon Nordeen and David Nicolle)
So what do you guys think?
If this is true then these aircraft may be aging (first f-16 delivery in 1982, must have been introduced years later) but a recent article has stated Egypt is a potential market for the A330 MRTT, would the A330 be a replacement for the 707 instead?
All very interesting.
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