Avihu Ben-Nun (; born 24 December 1939) is a retired Israeli general who was the 11th commander of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

between 1987 and 1992.

Biography

Ben-Nun enlisted in the

in 1957 and became a fighter pilot. In 1963 he began flying the

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizont ...

, yet on the eve of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

became deputy commander of 116 "Defenders of the South" squadron, flying Dassault Mysteres. He assumed temporary command of the squadron after its commander was forced to eject early in the war. After the war he was assigned to 119 Squadron, which at the time was based at Tel Nof Airbase. In July 1967 Ben-Nun shot down an Egyptian

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

over the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, and another in October 1967. In March 1969 Ben-Nun was one of the first airmen assigned to fly the

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

. In September 1969 he became commander of 69 Squadron, which he commanded throughout the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

. In the course of the war, Ben-Nun led the Phantom contingent that participated in operation Rimon 20 and shot down a Russian MiG-21 operating from Egypt. On September 9, 1972, a month after handing command of 69 Squadron to Amnon Arad, Ben-Nun and navigator Zvi Kesler shot down a Syrian

Sukhoi Su-7 The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...

. During the Yom Kippur War Ben-Nun was in charge of the Air Force's offensive operations command, yet flew eight operational sorties with his former squadron. In 1975 Ben-Nun was put in charge of Tactical Operations in the Israeli Air Force's Headquarters. Between 1977 and 1982 he commanded Hatzor Airbase and Tel Nof Airbase. In 1982 Ben-Nun headed the Operations Department of the Israeli Air Force. In 1983 he was put in charge of building operations within the IAF. In 1985 headed the IDF's

Planning Directorate The Planning Directorate (Hebrew: אגף התכנון, Acronym: AGAT) was the central body in the Israel Defense Forces' Israeli General Staff, General Staff whose focus was on strategic and tactical planning, the building of military forces, and ...

, and was promoted to the rank of

Aluf ( or "first/leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. In addition to the ''aluf'' rank, fo ...

. In September 1987 he became Commander of the

, replacing Amos Lapidot. Under his aegis the IAF begun operating the

AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

and took delivery of additional

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

s. At the same time, the IAF carried out 500 operations against terrorist groups based in Lebanon. In 1992 Ben-Nun handed command of the Israeli Air Force over to Herzl Bodinger, resigning from the IDF. In 1995 Ben-Nun was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Nun, Avihu 1939 births Israeli Air Force generals Living people Israeli aviators People from Haifa District People with Parkinson's disease 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews