Aluf
''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion 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. ...
Amos Lapidot ( he, עמוס לפידות; &lrm); (1934 – November 20, 2019) was an Israeli fighter pilot who served as the tenth Commander of the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
, a position he held from 1982 to 1987. From 1998 to 2001 he was the President of
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ( he, הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion ...
.
Biography
Lapidot was born in
Kfar Saba
Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...
, Israel, in 1934, and grew up in
Havatzelet HaSharon
Havatzelet HaSharon ( he, חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן) is a moshav in central Israel. Located on the Mediterranean coast in the Sharon plain just north of Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council ...
. He initially enlisted in the
IDF Artillery Corps, before eventually joining the nascent
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
, and completed the IAF pilots' course in 1954. He flew the
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
,
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...
, and
Dassault Ouragan
The Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan (french: Hurricane) is a French fighter-bomber developed and produced by Dassault Aviation. It has its origins in a private venture by Dassault to produce an all-French aircraft which would make use of jet propulsio ...
.
Lapidot held a
BA in mathematics from
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, and a
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
financial systems engineering from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.
During the
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, he flew the Ouragan and the
Dassault Mystère
The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber.
Development
After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I.
The first prot ...
. In 1961 he switched to 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 horizonta ...
and became the deputy commander of
101 Squadron, the IAF's first Mirage squadron. In 1962, he was assigned command of
113 Squadron, flying Ouragans, and in 1965 became commander of 101 Squadron, which he was to lead during the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 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, S ...
. In 1970, he was put in charge of the weapons department in the Israeli Air Force and in 1973 became commander of
Hatzor Airbase
Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חָצוֹר) , also titled Kanaf 4 (''lit.'' Wing 4) is an Israeli Air Force military air base, located in central Israel near kibbutz Hatzor after which it is named. ...
, which he led during the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
.
In 1975, Lapidot was put in charge of the
Air Intelligence Directorate and in 1981 he became the director of the
IAI Lavi
The IAI Lavi (Hebrew: לביא, "Young Lion") was a single-engined fourth-generation multirole jet fighter developed in Israel, by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), during the 1980s. The decision to develop the Lavi was controversial, both with ...
project. A year later, in 1982, he was promoted to the rank of
Aluf
''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion 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. ...
and became the Commander of the Israeli Air Force.
During his tenure, the Israeli Air Force received more
F-16
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...
fighter jets and upgraded its missile inventory with the Israeli
AGM-142 Have Nap
Popeye (Hebrew: פופאי) is a family of air-to-surface missiles developed and in use by Israel, of which several types have been developed for Israeli and export users. A long-range submarine-launched cruise missile variant of the Popeye Turb ...
. It was under his aegis that the IAF carried out
Operation Wooden Leg
Operation "Wooden Leg" ( he, מבצע רגל עץ, ''Mivtza Regel Etz'') was an attack by Israel on the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Hammam Chott, near Tunis, Tunisia, on October 1, 1985. With a target 1,280 miles (2,0 ...
, a raid on the headquarters of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
(PLO) at Hammam al-Shatt,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
(1,500 miles away from
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
). In 1987, Lapidot completed his term as Commander of the Israeli Air Force and handed command over to
Avihu Ben-Nun
Avihu Ben-Nun ( he, אביהו בן-נון; born 24 December 1939) was the 11th commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1987 and 1992.
Biography
Ben-Nun enlisted in the Israeli Air Force in 1957 and became a fighter pilot. In 1963 he began fly ...
.
In 1988, Lapidot created a
think-tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...
organization. From 1998 to 2001 he was the President of
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ( he, הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל) is a public research university located in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire, the Technion ...
, following
Zehev Tadmor and followed by
Yitzhak Apeloig
Yitzhak Apeloig (יצחק אפלויג; born 1 September 1944 in Uzbekistan) is a pioneer in the computational chemistry field of the Ab initio quantum chemistry methods for predicting and preparing the physical and chemical properties of materi ...
. In 2007, he headed a public committee appointed by Transport Minister
Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 L ...
to examine aviation safety. He resigned in May 2008 after its recommendations were not implemented.
He was the chair of the academic committee of the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapidot, Amos
1934 births
2019 deaths
Israeli Jews
Israeli Air Force generals
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology presidents
Tel Aviv University alumni
Stanford University alumni
People from Kfar Saba