Israeli Flying Aces

The term "flying ace" traditionally designates a fighter pilot credited with five or more confirmed aerial victories over enemy aircraft.[1] Israeli aces are documented across conflicts including the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and the First Lebanon War of 1982.[3]

Details about IAF pilots and their individual victory counts were historically kept under official secrecy, making comprehensive accounting difficult.[3] One compilation distinguishes between 796 credited victories and an "Official Total" of 686, without explaining the discrepancy.[3] A review of Shlomo Aloni's book on Israeli aces reports that its appendix lists 43 pilots who reached the ace threshold, with tallies ranging from 17 down to five victories for 16 pilots.[4] A separate aviation encyclopedia says that lists indicated at least 34 Israeli aces, led by Giora Epstein with 17 victories.[1] The available sources do not establish whether these figures use comparable criteria or time periods.

Giora Romm became the Israeli Air Force's first fighter ace during the Six-Day War of June 1967, at age twenty-two and with the rank of lieutenant.[5][6] He shot down five enemy aircraft within three days: two Egyptian MiG-21s and a Syrian MiG-21 on the opening day, followed by two Egyptian MiG-17s on June 7, 1967.[6] During another sortie his aircraft was struck by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, but he brought the damaged jet back to Israel. After leaving the hospital without authorization, he returned to flying and scored his final two victories.[7][6]

During the War of Attrition, Romm's aircraft was shot down over Egypt and he sustained serious injuries while ejecting.[5][6] Ynet reports that he spent three months in Egyptian captivity, while a National Library of Israel account gives four months.[6][8] A year after his return, while flying over the Nile Delta where he had been shot down, he experienced uncontrollable shaking, extreme dryness in his mouth, and a rapid heart rate.[8] Romm later attained the rank of major general and held senior public-sector positions. He died in August 2023.[8][6]

Giora Even Epstein is credited with 17 aerial victories, the highest total recorded for an Israeli Air Force pilot and one that places him among the leading jet-age aces in the world.[9] He served as a fighter pilot from 1963 to 1977. A pilot-by-pilot ledger records one victory during the Six-Day War, four during the War of Attrition, and 12 during the Yom Kippur War; it lists Mirage IIICJ, Nesher, and Mirage IIIBJ aircraft and identifies Egypt as the opposing country for every entry.[3]

The breakdown of Epstein's Yom Kippur War total varies slightly among published accounts. One Ynet account describes 12 fighter jets, while a quotation from then-IAF commander Amikam Norkin specifies 11 aircraft and one helicopter, with five victories by missile and seven by cannon.[10][9] The Times of Israel gives 11 fighter jets and one helicopter for the war.[11] Despite these variations, the cited accounts consistently credit Epstein with 17 victories overall.[3][9] He received the Medal of Distinguished Service for his actions.[9] Sources identify him under variant forms including "Giora Even," "Giora Epstein," and "Giora Aven (Epstein)."[12][13]

Several other IAF pilots are individually documented as having reached or exceeded the five-victory threshold.

Yiftah (Iftach) Spector is credited with 15 aerial kills, 334 combat missions, and more than 8,500 total sorties. A Jerusalem Post profile describes him as one of the best Mirage fighter pilots in IAF history; the Jewish Virtual Library table places him at 15 victories alongside Amir Nahumi and below Giora Epstein.[14][12]

Amir Nahumi, also rendered "Nachumi," is credited with either 14 or 15 enemy-aircraft kills.[12][15] He shot down four Egyptian MiGs in an F-4 Phantom on October 6, 1973, the opening day of the Yom Kippur War, and finished the war with seven confirmed F-4 kills. He added six more aircraft during the First Lebanon War.[15]

Asher Snir is described as the IAF's first double ace, having reached ten victories. A Jerusalem Post profile credits him with 12.5 aerial victories and records that he led the 119th Squadron, headed the flight academy, commanded Hatzerim Air Base, served as chief of IAF operations, and became deputy air force commander.[16]

Kobi (Ya'akov) Richter is credited with 12 enemy aircraft, or 13 if a jointly recorded victory is included. His victories were mainly against MiGs over Syria and Egypt.[17]

Ran Pecker, also rendered Ran Ronen or Ran Pekker, is identified as the second IAF pilot to earn the ace designation. He was credited with seven enemy aircraft across approximately 350 operational sorties during 27 years of service. His first victory, in 1966, was a Jordanian squadron commander flying a Hawker Hunter; by 1969 he had downed six additional Egyptian and Syrian MiGs. He led a Mirage squadron during the Six-Day War, commanded an F-4 Phantom squadron during the War of Attrition, and commanded Tel Nof Air Base during the Yom Kippur War.[18]

Amos Amir is credited with seven enemy aircraft: one during the Six-Day War and six during the War of Attrition, when he commanded the Atalef squadron. In April 1970 he intercepted an Egyptian Ilyushin Il-28 bomber over Sinai after scrambling from rest in sports clothes and sandals.[19]

Eytan Stibbe reached the ace threshold during the First Lebanon War, shooting down five aircraft. He downed a MiG-23 on June 9, 1982, and two days later shot down two Su-22s, a MiG-23, and a Gazelle helicopter within minutes over the Bekaa Valley. He is described as one of four Israeli pilots to shoot down four aircraft in a single sortie.[20]

Israel "Ralick" Shafir is explicitly identified in published coverage as an IAF ace, although the source consulted does not provide his victory total.[21]

The Jewish Virtual Library flying-aces table covers the period from 1948 to the present. It lists 34 named pilots and one entry with the name withheld, together with their credited victory totals.[12] The table contains fractional tallies and plus-sign notations but does not explain the conventions behind them.[12]

The entries, in the page's order, are: Giora Aven (Epstein), 17; Yiftah Spector, 15; Amir Nahumi, 15; Asher Snir, 13.5; Abraham Shalmon, 13.5; John F. McElroy, 13.5, including 10.5 credited to World War II; Ya'akov Richter, 11.5; Israel Baharav, 11; Dror Harish, 11; Oded Marom, 11; Shlomo Levi, 10; Yehuda Koren, 9; Eitan Carmi, 9; Shlomo Egozi, 8; Ilan Gonen, 8; Uri Gill, 7.5; and Menachem Enian, 7.5.[12]

The table continues with a name-withheld entry, 7; Yirmiahu Kadar, 7; Amos Amir, 7; Ran Ronen (Pecker), 7; Rudy Augarten, 6, including two credited to World War II; Moshe Hertz, 6.5; Ehud Hankin, 6+; Yoram Agmon, 6; Uri Even-Nir, 6; Aviem Sela, 5+; Herzl Bodinger, 5+; Ezra "Babban" Dotan, 5; Ben-Ami Peri, 5; Itamar Noiner, 5; Eitan Peled, 5; Ariel Cohen, 5; and Giora Rom, 5.[12]

A separate Jewish Virtual Library victory compilation says its lists were assembled from multiple sources and are believed to be fairly accurate and complete, but it offers no guarantees and acknowledges missing attributions and sketchy details.[3]

Israeli flying aces are notable both for their individual records and for the wider operational history in which those records were achieved. A strategic history of the IDF describes the IAF's air-to-air kill ratios between 1967 and 1973 as unparalleled in the jet age and gives a force-level ratio of 82-to-nothing during the 1982 Lebanon War.[2] That figure is not an individual ace tally, but it provides context for records such as Eytan Stibbe's five victories during the same war.[20]

No single exhaustive roster is established by the available public sources. One book review reports an appendix listing 43 aces, while an encyclopedia says that published lists indicated at least 34.[4][1] The Jewish Virtual Library table contains 35 entries, including one anonymous entry.[12] The sources do not establish whether these counts cover the same periods or apply identical rules for confirmed and shared victories.

Individual tallies also vary. A Jerusalem Post profile credits Asher Snir with 12.5 victories, while the Jewish Virtual Library table gives 13.5.[16][12] Kobi Richter's count is reported as 12 or 13 depending on whether a jointly recorded victory is included.[17] Ynet formulations differ over whether Giora Epstein's Yom Kippur War score should be described as 12 fighter aircraft or as 11 aircraft and one helicopter.[10][9] The Times of Israel describes the total as 11 fighter jets and one helicopter.[11]

The Jewish Virtual Library table displays fractional and plus-sign tallies without formally explaining them.[12] Its separate victory ledger states that Israeli records were long kept secret and that its lists were reconstructed from multiple sources, with missing attributions and uncertain details remaining.[3]