Giora Romm | |
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Born | 1945 Tel Aviv, British Mandate for Palestine |
Allegiance | Israel Defense Forces |
Years of service | 1962–1996 |
Rank | Major General |
Commands held |
115 Squadron Ramon Airbase Tel Nof Airbase |
Battles/wars |
Six Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War First Lebanon War Operation Wooden Leg |
Other work | Director of the Ministry of National Infrastructure Director of the Jewish Agency Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel |
Giora Romm (Hebrew: גיורא רום, born 1945) is a former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel's former military attaché in the United States and the current director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel. Romm was the Israeli Air Force's first jet ace, scoring five kills during the 1967 Six Day War. In 1969, during the War of Attrition, Romm was shot down and spent several months in Egyptian captivity. He commanded the IAF's 115 Squadron through the intensive fighting of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and participated in Operation Wooden Leg, the 1985 raid against PLO headquarters in Tunisia.
Born in Tel-Aviv in 1945, Romm enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces in 1962 and attended Israeli Air Force flight course 43. Initially flying the Dassault Ouragan and Mystère, Romm soon converted to the Dassault Mirage III which he flew with the 119 "Bat" Squadron at Tel Nof.
Romm was 22 at the outbreak of the Six Day War and in the span of three days became the IAF's first jet ace, shooting down five enemy aircraft. When Israel launched operation Focus on June 5, 1967, Romm was one of the few pilots who were not tasked with striking Egyptian air bases, remaining at Tel Nof on quick reaction alert instead. When Israeli Mysteres attacking the air base at Abu Suwayr encountered Egyptian Air Force MiG-21s, Romm and fellow pilot Eitan Karmi were scrambled to the scene. In the ensuing dogfight, each pilot shot down a pair of MiG-21s. That same afternoon, Romm was part of a 119 squadron formation that struck T-4 Syrian Air Force base. Two MiG-21s attempting to defend the base were shot down, one by Romm and the other by Asher Snir.