This table provides a summery of Israeli and Arab aircraft losses during 50 years of aerial combat since the creation of Israel in 1948. It also attemps to estimate total aircraft losses for both sides over the last 50 years. The table is divided into rows according to various Arab - Israeli conflicts:
1948 - 1949 : Israeli War of Independence.
1956 : Suez Crisis (Operation "Kadesh").
1967 : Six Days War.
1967 - 1970 : War of Attrition.
1973 : Yom Kippur War.
1982 : Invasion of Lebanon (Operation "Peace for Galilee", included in the 1982 - 1998 period).
| Arab Losses | Israeli Losses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Air To Air | On Ground | AAA/SAM | Other | Total | Air To Air | Other | Total |
| 1948-1949 | 19 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 56 | 2 | 23 | 25 |
| 1949-1956 | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 0 |
| 1956 | 7 | - | - | 2 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
| 1956-1967 | 12 | - | - | 1 | 13 | 2 | - | 2 |
| 1967 | 60 | 373 | 3 | 16 | 452 | 12 | 34 | 46 |
| 1967-1970 | 113 | - | 25 | 12 | 150 | 4 | 26 | 30 |
| 1970-1973 | 34 | - | 4 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| 1973 | 277 | 22 | 43 | 100 | 442 | 15 | 99 | 114 |
| 1973-1982 | 26 | - | - | 3 | 29 | - | 2 | 2 |
| 1982-1998 | 88 | - | 8 | 4 | 100 | - | 10 | 10 |
Total 1948-1998 Losses - Estimated
| Arab Losses | Israeli Losses | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air To Air | On Ground | AAA/SAM | Other | Total | Air To Air | Other | Total |
| 639 | 425 | 87 | 392 | 1543 | 39 | 363 | 402 |
Egyptian Air-to-Air Losses During 1956 Operation "Kadesh"
| Aircraft Type | Date | Encounter | Kill Status | Shot Down by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiG-15 | 30/10/56 | 4 MiG-15s Vs 3 Mysteres | Confirmed | Lt. Yosef Tzuk |
| dH Vampire | 31/10/56 | 4 Vampires Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Lt. Shai Egozi |
| dH Vampire | 31/10/56 | 4 Vampires Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Lt. Shai Egozi |
| dH Vampire | 31/10/56 | 4 Vampires Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Lt. Aaron Shavit |
| dH Vampire | 31/10/56 | 4 Vampires Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Lt. Aaron Shavit |
| MiG-15 | 31/10/56 | 3 MiG-15s Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Cptn. Ya'akov Nevo |
| MiG-15/17 (?) | 31/10/56 | MiG-15 Vs 2 Ouragans | Unconfirmed | Cptn. Ya'akov Agasi |
| MiG-15 | 31/10/56 | 2 MiG-15s Vs 2 Mysteres | Confirmed | Cptn. Ya'akov Nevo |
Israeli Attrition Report For 1956 Operation "Kadesh"
| Aircraft Type | Damage Severity | Crash Landed outside battle zone* |
Returned to service |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slight | Medium | Destroyed | Total | |||
| Dassault Mystere | 3 | - | 1 | 4 | - | 3 |
| Dassault Ouragan | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Gloster Meteor | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| N.A. Mustang | - | 6 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 4 |
| dH Musquito | 1 | - | 2 | 3 | - | 1 |
| N.A. Harvard | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Piper Super Cub | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | - | 7 |
| Total | 5 | 12 | 15 | 32 | 7 | 18 |
Arab Losses During 1967 Six Days War
in parenthasis, aircraft destroyed in the air
| Aircraft Type | Egypt | Syria | Jordan | Iraq | Lebanon | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiG-21 | 100 (29) | 33 (8) | - | 15 | - | 148 (37) |
| MiG-19 | 29 (16) | - | - | - | - | 29 (16) |
| MiG-17/15 | 89 (9) | 23 (3) | - | - | - | 112 (12) |
| Sukhois | 14 (4) | - | - | - | - | 14 (4) |
| Hawker Hunter | - | - | 21 (2) | 5 (3) | 1 (1) | 27 (6) |
| Fighters Total | 232 (58) | 56 (11) | 21 (2) | 20 (3) | 1 (1) | 330 (75) |
| Tupolev Tu-16 | 30 | - | - | 1 (1) | - | 31 (1) |
| Ilyushin Il-28 | 29 (2) | 2 | - | - | - | 31 (2) |
| Bombers Total | 59 (2) | 2 | - | 1 (1) | - | 62 (3) |
| Mil Mi-4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| Mil Mi-6 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Helicopters Total | 11 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 16 |
| Ilyushin Il-14 / C-47 Dakota | 24 | - | 6 | 2 | - | 32 |
| Antonov An-12 | 8 (1) | - | - | - | - | 8 (1) |
| other | 4 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Transports Total | 36 (1) | - | 6 | 2 | - | 44 (1) |
| Total | 338 (61) | 61 (11) | 29 (2) | 23 (4) | 1 (1) | 452 (79) |
| Percentage of Air Force Lost | 60% | 40% | 70% | 10% | - | 45% |
Arab Losses during War of Attrition (11.06.67 - 01.08.70)
| Type | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | |||||
| MiG-21 | 4 | - | 31 | 33 | 68 |
| MiG-17 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 20 |
| Sukhoi Su-7 | 4 | - | 10 | 9 | 23 |
| Ilyushin Il-28 | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 12 | 1 | 47 | 53 | 113 |
| Syria | |||||
| MiG-21 | - | - | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| MiG-17 | - | 2¹ | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Total | - | 2 | 10 | 14 | 26 |
¹ - Navigational error caused two pilots to land their aircraft in Betzet, northern Israel.
source: "Phantom over the Nile", Ze'ev Schief, 1970.
Confirmed Egyptian Air-To-Air Losses During 1973 Yom-Kippur War
| Date | AS-5 | Hunter | L-29 | Mi-8 | MiG-17 | MiG-21 | Mirage | Su-7 | Su-20 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/10/73 | 2 | - | - | 15 | - | 5 | - | 29 | ||
| 07/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 6 |
| 08/10/73 | - | 3 | - | - | 4 | 6 | - | 4 | - | 17 |
| 09/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| 10/10/73 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| 11/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 12/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| 13/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| 14/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | 8 |
| 15/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| 16/10/73 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 3 | - | 1 | - | 12 |
| 17/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | 5 |
| 18/10/73 | - | - | - | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | - | 14 |
| 19/10/73 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 8 | - | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| 20/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | 2 | - | 7 |
| 21/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| 22/10/73 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | 3 |
| 23/10/73 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | 7 |
| 24/10/73 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | 14 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 17 | 4 | 157 | ||
source: Air Forces Monthly October 1999, "Suez Combat" by Shlomo Aloni.
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