Mordechai Hod

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Mordechai Hod
(מרדכי הוד)
Nickname(s)Motti
Born28 September 1926 (1926-09-28)
Kibbutz Degania, Mandatory Palestine
Died29 June 2003 (2003-06-30) (aged 76)
Allegiance United Kingdom
 Israel
Service/branch British Army
 Israeli Air Force
Years of service1944–1973
RankAluf (Maj. Gen.)
Commands heldIsraeli Air Force
Battles/warsOperation Focus
Operation Rimon 20
Other workPresident of El Al (1973–1977)

Hebrew: ‏מרדכי הוד‎; 28 September 1926 – 29 June 2003) was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six-Day War.[1]

Biography

Hod was born in the British Mandate of Palestine in Kibbutz Degania in 1926. Hod originally had the surname Fein which he changed later on to Hod, keeping with the prevalent custom that period of taking a Hebrew surname when joining the armed forces.

Hod studied at a local Agriculture College before enlisting in the

Jewish immigration from Europe to Palestine. He was arrested and jailed for two weeks in Rome
for taking part in such actions.

Hod began his flight training career in Italy but was soon sent to Czechoslovakia. The newly created IAF was in need of modern military aircraft, and had purchased several Spitfires and Messerschmitts in that country. Once purchased it was necessary to fly them to Israel, and after learning to fly the new planes, Hod accompanied a group of fellow aviators on the seven-hour flight on 22 December 1948.

Back in Israel, Hod's IAF career commenced. Despite some previous experience flying, Hod attended the

P-51 Mustangs. During the 1956 Suez Crisis Hod led several support missions, including fighter escort for planes laden with paratroopers and air cover for troops on the ground. For the decade after the conflict Hod continued to advance through the ranks of the IAF. He became a base commander in 1957, and three years later the head of IAF Operations. Just one year later in 1961, Hod was promoted to head of the Air Department in the General Staff. He would stay in this post until 27 April 1966, when Hod became Commander of the IAF. During his tenure, the Mossad conducted Operation Diamond
to smuggle a Soviet-built MiG-21 into Israel.

Slightly more than a year into his job, Hod faced an enormous predicament.

air superiority for the rest of the war. In an interview years later, Hod described the 45 minutes it took the first wave of 183 aircraft to reach targets in Egypt as "the longest 45 minutes of my life."[2] Hod also had to deal with the USS Liberty incident, in which Israeli aircraft attacked an American ship off the coast of the Sinai Peninsula
, killing 34 servicemen.

The

MiG
aircraft operating on behalf of Egypt.

In April 1973, Hod stepped down, just 6 months prior to the 1973

Israeli Northern Command
. Before moving into the private sector Hod had one more stint in government, tasked with developing defense projects as an assistant to the Defense Minister. During his military career, Hod met and married an IAF sergeant, Penina. They had three children; two sons and one daughter.

With his military career over, Hod entered the civilian aviation market in 1975 by founding

Israel Aircraft Industries
. He died on 29 June 2003.

References

  1. ^ Dunstan 2009, p. 21.
  2. ^ Obituary of Major-General Mordechai Hod, The Times, 3 July 2003. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
  • Dunstan, Simon (2009). The Six Day War 1967: Sinai (Campaign). Bloomsbury USA.
    ISBN 978-1846033636
    .
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