My first operational encounter with Giora Epstein took place during the Six-Day War, when I returned from the bombing of Mafraq airfield in Jordan with my wounded No. 2, Yoram Harpaz. Yoram had been hit by one of our own Hawk missiles, which was guarding the Dimona reactor. Due to his cognitive impairment, our flight path inadvertently approached the reactor. A formation of Mirage jets from the 101st Squadron—David Ivry and Giora Epstein—was dispatched to intercept us. Once they identified us as friendly, they reported it, disengaged, and returned to base.
I had the privilege of flying in several air battles alongside Giora in the 101st Squadron. It was certainly better to be on his side than against him. One such engagement took place during the War of Attrition—a dogfight that began as what our mission order described as a “violent patrol” to down enemy aircraft. We lured a formation of four MiGs into a trap, and the ruse worked. Giora downed two of them. As a bonus, I shot down the lead aircraft from a second Egyptian formation that had joined the fray—a fifth MiG added to the tally of the completely destroyed first group.
This achievement boosted our morale and had immediate tactical consequences: the Egyptian Air Force scaled back its interference with our strike aircraft near the canal.
Before the Yom Kippur War, I replaced Giora as deputy commander of the squadron, under Avi Lanir. Lanir was later shot down over the Golan Heights and died in Syrian captivity.
Though reassigned to the Air Force headquarters' Operations Department, Giora was supposed to remain in the command bunker during the war. But during his allotted rest hours, he showed up at the squadron and joined combat missions. In just a few flights, he downed more enemy aircraft than anyone else—12 planes in four days. Three of those kills came in the final air battle of the war.
In that engagement, Giora led a four-ship formation from the 101st Squadron on a patrol over the Suez Canal. He joined an ongoing dogfight between my formation and a group of MiGs—eight of our aircraft, later reinforced by two more, against 22 MiGs. Twelve enemy planes were shot down. Giora accounted for three of them. All our aircraft returned safely.
Brig. Gen. (Res.) Israel BaharavGiora was a rare combination of elite warrior and genuine humility. A devoted family man, he had eyes like a hawk—able to spot MiGs 10 miles away with the naked eye. He was also the only person I’ve ever known who truly didn’t experience fear. As he used to say, “I’m disabled—because I’m not afraid of anything.”
After leaving the Air Force, he flew for El Al, though his heart remained with the military. He was the only person ever appointed to command a squadron in the reserves and the oldest reservist pilot to complete an F-16 conversion course.