Giora Epstein

Brigadier General Giora Epstein (Template:Langx; 20 May 1938 – 19 July 2025), later known as Giora Even (Template:Langx), was an 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.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite episode</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Epstein was an active IAF pilot from 1961 until 26 May 1997, when he retired at age 59. Like many retired IAF flyers, he later worked as a pilot for El Al Airlines.

Early life and career

Epstein was born to Polish immigrants in kibbutz Negba on 20 May 1938.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> At a young age, he developed a passion for aviation while watching IAF aircraft fly over his kibbutz.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> While enrolled in high school, he volunteered in kibbutz Givat Brenner's scouts' unit.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Epstein joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1956 and began training with the 4th Airborne Division, although this was disrupted by the outbreak of the Suez Crisis and he was reassigned into the IAF's Ordnance Corps.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref> He was initially rejected from flight school because of a heart condition and later volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade's Efah Battalion.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":2" /> While traveling with the IDF's parachute demonstration team, Epstein changed his last name to Even ("stone" in Hebrew).<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> He left the IDF in 1959 before returning three years later as a parachuting instructor, during which he reapplied to flight school and was accepted after gaining medical clearance.<ref name=":3" />

After graduating with honors in 1963, Epstein was assigned to pilot helicopters in the 124 Squadron.<ref name=":8" /> Unsatisfied with this position, he appealed to IAF commander Ezer Weizman, who later personally met with him.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> According to Epstein, Weizman told him: "Listen, you piece of shit, I couldn't sleep all night because of you. Pack your bags and get to the fighter squadron. I don't want to hear from you again." After the exchange, he was assigned to a Mirage fighter squadron.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref> He soon gained the nickname "Hawkeye" or "Eagle Eye" 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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />

Victories: 1967–1973

File:Hatzerim Mirage 20100129 1.jpg

Israeli Air Force Mirage IIICJ

Epstein's first kill came on 6 June 1967 during the Six-Day War, when he downed an Egyptian Sukhoi-7 at El Arish in a Dassault Mirage III.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> During the War of Attrition in 1969–70, Epstein downed four more aircraft: a MiG-17, another Sukhoi-7 and two MiG-21s.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> Two of his kills occurred when Epstein and IAF officer Template:Interlanguage link lured a squadron of four Egyptian MiGs into an ambush, resulting in the downing of all four aircraft. A fifth Egyptian aircraft that joined the battle was shot down by Baharav.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite news</ref> The shoot-downs brought his total number of kills to five, earning him the title "flying ace".<ref name=":1" />

The rest of his kills, 12 in total,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> came during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, of which Epstein played a major role in the build-up. On 6 October 1973, at 2:00Template:Spacesp.m., Epstein activated warning sirens across Israel that signalled the start of the war after aircraft takeoffs were detected at Egyptian and Syrian air bases.<ref name=":0" /> Between 18 and 20 October, he downed an Egyptian Mi-8 helicopter and eight jets: two Sukhoi-7s, two Sukhoi-20s and four MiG-21s. In one dogfight, where Epstein was alone against 20 Egyptian fighter jets, he was able to shoot down four aircraft in a single sortie before retreating to base over a fuel shortage.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Then, on 24 October, while leading a quartet of jets that took off from Hatzor to patrol the Suez Canal area, Epstein joined an aerial battle between a quartet led by Baharav and 22 Egyptian MiG-21s. Twelve MiGs were shot down during the dogfight, three by Epstein, while none of the ten Israeli jets (including two that joined towards the end of the battle) were lost.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":9" /> Eight of his victories during his career 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.<ref name=":7" />

His 17 victories against Egyptian aircraft rank him the top supersonic fighter jet ace in the world and Israel's most decorated combat pilot.<ref name=":1" />

Later career

File:Giora Epstein III.jpg

IAF commander Amikam Norkin with Epstein during the ceremony marking his promotion to brigadier general, September 2018

After the Yom Kippur War, Epstein received the Medal of Distinguished Service, one of Israel's highest military honors.<ref name=":1" /> He was appointed commander of the IAF's 117 Squadron in 1974 and retired from regular service in 1977.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> From then, he continued his service as a reservist and was granted permission to pilot the F-16 in 1988. He was discharged in 1997, accumulating 9,000 sorties and 5,000 flight hours over the course of his career. After retiring, he worked as a commercial pilot for El Al until 2003.<ref name=":0" /> In 2018, he was promoted to brigadier general by IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot.<ref name=":1" />

Epstein was the primary subject of the "Desert Aces" episode of The History Channel series Dogfights. The episode first aired on 10 August 2007.<ref name=":6" />

Personal life and death

Epstein lived in Ramat HaSharon and was married to Sarah, who served in his squadron as an operations officer. They had three children.<ref name=":5" /> In his later life, Epstein participated in the pilots' protest movement.<ref name=":0" />

Epstein died on 19 July 2025, at the age of 87.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• 254 Squadron (Israel)
• 101 Squadron (Israel)
• Nikolai Sutyagin
• Yevgeny Pepelyaev

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Official Israeli Air Force site listing Epstein's victory details