Giora Epstein: Difference between revisions

Giora Epstein-Even
Giora Epstein-Even
	Epstein in the late 1990s
Nickname(s)	Enei netz (Hawkeye)
Born	20 May 1938 (age 86); Negba, Mandatory Palestine
Allegiance	Israel
Service / branch	Israeli Air Force
Years of service	1956–1997
Rank	Tat aluf
Other work	El Al pilot (1977–1997)

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Brigadier General Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein (Hebrew: גיורא אפשטיין; born May 20, 1938), today Giora Even (Hebrew: גיורא אבן), is a retired Israeli Air Force (IAF) officer and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets and one against an Egyptian Mi-8 helicopter, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.^[1]^[2] Epstein was an active IAF pilot from 1961 until May 26, 1997, when he retired at age 59. Like many retired IAF flyers, he later worked as a pilot for El Al Airlines.

Early career

Epstein joined the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in 1956 during the Sinai War. He was initially rejected from flight school because of a heart condition and began his military career as a paratrooper. While traveling with the IDF's parachute demonstration team, Epstein changed his last name to Even ("stone" in Hebrew). He left the IDF in 1959 before returning two years later to again apply for flight school.

After gaining medical clearance (mostly through his own stubbornness), Epstein began fighter training. He soon gained the nickname "Hawkeye" due to his extraordinary eyesight. Epstein was allegedly able to spot aircraft at a distance of 24 miles (38,4 km) — nearly three times further than a normal pilot.

Victories: 1967–1973

Epstein's first kill came on June 6, 1967 during the Six-Day War, when he downed an Egyptian Sukhoi-7 at El Arish. During the War of Attrition in 1969–70, Epstein downed a MiG-17, another Sukhoi-7 and two MiG-21s. The rest of his kills came during 1973's Yom Kippur War. Between October 18 and 20, 1973, he downed an Egyptian Mi-8 helicopter and eight jets: two Sukhoi-7s, two Sukhoi-20s and four MiG-21s. Then, on October 24, 1973, Epstein downed three more MiG-21s west of the Great Bitter Lake. Eight of these victories were with the French-built Mirage III, a delta wing fighter designed primarily as a high-altitude interceptor. His other nine victories came in an IAI Nesher, an Israeli-built version of the Mirage 5. Five of his kills were downed using air-to-air missiles, the rest with cannon.^[3]

Later career and retirement

After the Yom Kippur War, Epstein received the Medal of Distinguished Service, one of Israel's highest military honors. He went on to command Mirage and Kfir squadrons and was flying "ready" missions in the F-16 up until his 59th birthday. Epstein was a captain for El Al Airlines from 1977 to 1997.

Epstein was the primary subject of the "Desert Aces" episode of The History Channel series Dogfights. The episode first aired on August 10, 2007.

References

^ "Desert Aces". Dogfights. Season 2. Episode 5. 2007-08-10. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.
^ "CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
^ "The best pilot". amazing-airplanes.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

External links

Official Israeli Air Force site listing Epstein's victory details

[1] "Desert Aces". Dogfights. Season 2. Episode 5. 2007-08-10. The History Channel. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10.

[2] "CBSi". findarticles.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

[3] "The best pilot". amazing-airplanes.com. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Israeli fighter pilot}}
 {{BLP sources|date=January 2013}}
-{{Expand Spanish|Giora Epstein|date=December 2009}}
+{{Expand Spanish|topic=bio|Giora Epstein|date=December 2009}}
 {{Infobox military person
-|name= Giora Epstein / Giora Even
+| name          = Giora Epstein-Even
-|birth_date={{birth year and age|1938}}
+| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1938|5|20|df=y}}
+| birth_place   = [[Negba]], [[Mandatory Palestine]]
-|death_date=
+| death_date    =
-|birth_place=
-|death_place=
+| death_place   =
-|image= Even 98.jpg
+| image         = Giora Epstein.jpg
-|caption= Giora Even, sketch by Jay Ashurst
+| caption       = Epstein in the late 1990s
-|nickname=Hawkeye
+| nickname      = Enei netz (Hawkeye)
-|allegiance={{flag|Israel}}
+| allegiance    = {{flag|Israel}}
-|serviceyears= 1956&ndash;98
+| serviceyears  = 1956&ndash;1997
+| rank          = [[Aluf#Rank order of aluf and its derivatives|Tat aluf]]
-|rank= ''[[Aluf Mishne]]''
-|branch= {{Air force|Israel}}
+| branch        = {{Air force|Israel}}
-|commands=
+| commands      =
-|unit=
+| unit          =
-|battles=
+| battles       =
-|awards=
+| awards        =
-|laterwork= Airline pilot
+| laterwork     = [[El Al]] pilot (1977–1997)
 }}
-Colonel '''Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein''' ({{lang-he|גיורא אפשטיין}}, born 1938), today '''Giora Even''' ({{lang-he|גיורא אבן}}), is a retired colonel in the [[Israeli Air Force]] (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the [[List of aces of aces#Fighter Aces|ace of aces]] of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.<ref>{{cite episode
+[[Brigadier General]] '''Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein''' ({{langx|he|גיורא אפשטיין}}; born May 20, 1938), today '''Giora Even''' ({{langx|he|גיורא אבן}}), is a retired [[Israeli Air Force]] (IAF) officer and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets and one against an Egyptian [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] helicopter, making Epstein the [[List of aces of aces#Flying aces|ace of aces]] of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.<ref>{{cite episode
  |title=Desert Aces
- |episodelink=
  |series=Dogfights
- |serieslink=Dogfights (TV series)
+ |series-link=Dogfights (TV series)
  |url=http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/
  |network=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]
@@ Line 30: / Line 32: @@
  |season=2
  |number=5
- |deadurl=yes
+ |url-status=dead
- |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045635/http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/
+ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045635/http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/
- |archivedate=2007-10-10
+ |archive-date=2007-10-10
+}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_199812/ai_n8809020 |title=CBSi|website=findarticles.com|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref>
- |df=
+Epstein was an active IAF pilot from 1961 until May 26, 1997, when he retired at age 59. Like many retired IAF flyers, he later worked as a pilot for [[El Al]] Airlines.
-}}</ref><ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_199812/ai_n8809020 Israeli aces]</ref>
-Epstein was an active IAF pilot from 1963 until 1997, when he retired at age 59. He, like many retired IAF flyers, later worked as captain for [[El-Al]] Airlines.
 == Early career ==
-Epstein joined the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in 1956 during the [[Suez War]]. He was initially rejected from flight school because of a heart condition and began his military career as a paratrooper. While traveling with the IDF's parachute demonstration team, Epstein changed his last name to Even ("stone" in Hebrew). He left the IDF in 1959 before returning two years later to again apply for flight school.
+Epstein joined the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in 1956 during the [[Sinai War]]. He was initially rejected from flight school because of a heart condition and began his military career as a paratrooper. While traveling with the IDF's parachute demonstration team, Epstein changed his last name to Even ("stone" in Hebrew). He left the IDF in 1959 before returning two years later to again apply for flight school.
-After gaining medical clearance (mostly through his own stubbornness), Epstein began fighter training. He soon gained the nickname "Hawkeye" due to his extraordinary eyesight. Epstein was allegedly able to spot aircraft at a distance of 24 miles (44&nbsp;km) — nearly three times further than a normal pilot.
+After gaining medical clearance (mostly through his own stubbornness), Epstein began fighter training. He soon gained the nickname "Hawkeye" due to his extraordinary eyesight. Epstein was allegedly able to spot aircraft at a distance of 24 miles (38,4&nbsp;km) — nearly three times further than a normal pilot.
 == Victories: 1967–1973 ==
 [[File:Hatzerim Mirage 20100129 1.jpg|thumb|Israeli Air Force Mirage IIICJ]]
-Epstein's first kill came on June 6, 1967 during the [[Six Day War]], when he downed an Egyptian [[Sukhoi Su-7|Sukhoi-7]] at El Arish. During the [[War of Attrition]] in 1969–70, Epstein downed a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]], another Sukhoi-7 and two [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG 21]]s. The rest of his kills came during 1973's [[Yom Kippur War]]. Between October 18 and 20, 1973, he downed an [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] helicopter and eight jets: two Sukhoi-7s, two [[Su-20|Sukhoi-20]]s and four MiG 21s. Then, on October 24, 1973, Epstein downed three more MiG-21s west of the [[Great Bitter Lake]]. Eight of these victories were with the French-built [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]], a [[delta wing]] fighter designed primarily as a high altitude interceptor. His other nine victories came in an [[IAI Nesher]], an Israeli-built version of the [[Dassault Mirage 5|Mirage 5]].
+Epstein's first kill came on June 6, 1967 during the [[Six-Day War]], when he downed an Egyptian [[Sukhoi Su-7|Sukhoi-7]] at [[El Arish]]. During the [[War of Attrition]] in 1969–70, Epstein downed a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]], another Sukhoi-7 and two [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]]s. The rest of his kills came during 1973's [[Yom Kippur War]]. Between October 18 and 20, 1973, he downed an Egyptian [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] helicopter and eight jets: two Sukhoi-7s, two [[Su-20|Sukhoi-20]]s and four MiG-21s. Then, on October 24, 1973, Epstein downed three more MiG-21s west of the [[Great Bitter Lake]]. Eight of these victories were with the French-built [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]], a [[delta wing]] fighter designed primarily as a high-altitude interceptor. His other nine victories came in an [[IAI Nesher]], an Israeli-built version of the [[Dassault Mirage 5|Mirage 5]]. Five of his kills were downed using air-to-air missiles, the rest with cannon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazing-airplanes.com/amazing_acheivements/best_pilot.php |title=The best pilot|website=amazing-airplanes.com|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref>
-Five of his claims were downed using air-to-air missiles, the rest with cannon.<ref>http://www.amazing-airplanes.com/amazing_acheivements/best_pilot.php</ref>
 == Later career and retirement ==
-After the Yom Kippur War, Epstein received the [[Medal of Distinguished Service]], one of Israel's highest military honors. He went on to command [[Mirage (aircraft)|Mirage]] and [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] squadrons and was flying "ready" missions in the [[F-16]] up until his 60th birthday. After retiring from the IAF, Epstein became a captain for [[El-Al]] Airlines.
+After the Yom Kippur War, Epstein received the [[Medal of Distinguished Service]], one of Israel's highest military honors. He went on to command [[Mirage (aircraft)|Mirage]] and [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] squadrons and was flying "ready" missions in the [[F-16]] up until his 59th birthday. Epstein was a captain for [[El Al]] Airlines from 1977 to 1997.
 Epstein was the primary subject of the "Desert Aces" episode of The History Channel series ''[[Dogfights (TV series)|Dogfights]]''. The episode first aired on August 10, 2007.
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/Kills/FirstDown.aspx?lang=EN&subfolderID=294&folderID=43&lobbyID=40 Official Israeli Air Force site listing Epstein's victory details]
+* [http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/Kills/FirstDown.aspx?lang=EN&subfolderID=294&folderID=43&lobbyID=40 Official Israeli Air Force site listing Epstein's victory details]
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Giora}}
@@ Line 67: / Line 69: @@
 [[Category:Living people]]
 [[Category:Israeli Jews]]
-[[Category:Israeli flying aces]]
 [[Category:Israeli Air Force personnel]]
+[[Category:Israeli flying aces]]
+[[Category:Six-Day War pilots]]
+[[Category:Yom Kippur War pilots]]
 [[Category:Recipients of the Medal of Distinguished Service]]
+[[Category:Commercial aviators]]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF 2 WorldCat
National	United States Israel