Israeli Ace Pilots by Avi Heiligman

By Avi Heiligman

An Israeli Spitfire The Avia S-199

Aerial dog fighting is a battle between two aircraft and was a major component of most 20th century wars. The first aerial clash came in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution and expanded greatly during World War I. In 1915, the word “ace” became known as the term for a pilot who achieved five aerial victories. Less than a month after Israel became a country in 1948 their fledgling air force scored their first victory. By the end of the year, they had their first aerial ace. In the coming decades, dozens of Israeli pilots would receive the prestigious title of ace. Here are some of their stories.

The first Israeli fighter ace was American-born Rudy Augarten. He had been a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot during the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 and took a direct hit. After parachuting into the French countryside, he hid for several weeks before being captured by the Germans. Together with a British paratrooper, he escaped and had another escapade on the run that lasted several weeks. Finally, he and the paratrooper made it back to Allied lines. The army wanted to send Rudy home, but he wanted to continue to fly. By the end of the war, he had shot down two German fighters and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Rudy returned to the U.S. and a few years later heard a lecture from the first Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Abba Eban. Israel was in dire need of experienced pilots, and Rudy was eager to help his Jewish brethren. Many pilots volunteering for Israel in 1948 trained in Czechoslovakia. The plane they used was the Avia S-199, which were patched together from leftover of German Me-109s. In an ironic twist of fate, they were to fight British-built Spitfires and Hurricanes that were given to the Arabs.

On October 15, 1948, the Israelis launched Operation Yoav. Rudy was attached to the 101st Squadron and was ready for anything. After flying south for a while, he spotted two planes in the distance. They were clearly Spitfires and, based on his knowledge of Spitfires in the area (the IAF had a few but most were undergoing repairs), he figured they were enemy planes, probably Egyptian. As he brought his plane into position for a shot, his wingman came over to help but Rudy was determined to add another kill to his record. A short burst was all that was needed to send the Spitfire into a tailspin, and it fell towards the ground.

A few days later, Rudy was flying in a Spitfire and along with his Canadian wingman Jack Doyle, they both tallied one Egyptian Spitfire each with two more damaged. Also during the operation, Rudy and two other pilots bombed an Egyptian runway and used hand signals when their radios failed. Rudy’s total for the Israeli War

of Independence was four planes shot down and with the two he shot down during World War II, he was an ace – Israel’s first.

Many of the Israeli pilots that earned the title of ace took part in the many battles during the Six Day War, War of Attrition, and Yom Kippur War. Kobi Richter took part in all three wars and is credited with 11.5 “kills.” He was born in 1945 in Ramat Yochanon when it was still part of the British Mandate. He graduated flight school in 1966 and was assigned to Squadron 107 while flying Frenchbuilt Dassault Ouragan fighters. During the Six Day War in 1967, Kobi took part in the attack of an Egyptian base in the Sinai Peninsula. After the war, he switched to 117 Squadron flying Mirage III fighters. During the War of Attrition (1967-1970), he scored his first six and a half kills. During an attack on a terrorist training camp near Damascus, Kobi shot down a MiG-17 with cannon fire (the Israeli preferred weapon during aerial dogfights). Later, he shot down an Egyptian MiG-21 with the first-ever kill using a Shafrir 2 missile. On May 15, 1970, he shot down a pair of Egyptian MiG-17s that came to attack Israeli forces. The first of these two kills made him an ace pilot.

In a battle over the Golan Heights, Richter shared a kill with Yehuda Koren as they shot down a Syrian MiG-17. During the first five days of the Yom Kippur War (1973), he shot down three Syrian jet fighters and one helicopter.

The second highest scoring ace pilot in the IAF is Avraham Salmon with 14.5 aerial victories to his credit (Giora Epstein is Israel’s most successful fighter with 17 kills). Salmon was born in Yerushalayim in 1942 and earned his combat pilot’s wings in 1961. In the

Rudy Augarten, Israel’s first ace Giora Even is Israel’s most profilic ace

months prior to the Six Day War, he joined the 119 Squadron that, at that time, were flying Mirage IIIC jets. There was some action before the start of the war, but it wasn’t until the start of the war that he downed his first enemy plane. From February to July 1970, during the War of Attrition, he shot down 5.5 enemy planes including 1.5 during Operation Rimon 20. This mission was not against an Arab country but against Russian pilots that were stationed in Egypt. Twelve MiG-21s entered the battle as the aerial dogfight commenced with the F-4 Phantoms shooting off their missiles. The first to kill a MiG-21 was Salmon who launched an AIM-9D missile at the commander of the Russian formation, Nikolai Yurchenko. Salmon later shared an aerial victory with Iftach Spector. Both Salmon and Spector shot missiles at the plane but failed to bring it down immediately. Salmon poured cannon fire into the plane as it returned to base. Later, they found out it crashed. All of the Israeli pilots returned safely to base.

Many of the IAF’s missions are classified, but as time goes on, more information becomes known. There may be more Israel aces, although by the time their stories are made public, they probably won’t make headline news. The aces of the IAF are forgotten heroes as their stories are history that deserves to be told.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.