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{{Short description|Israeli fighter pilot}}
{{BLP sources|date=January 2013}}
{{Expand Spanish|topic=bio|Giora Epstein|date=December 2009}}

{{Infobox military person
| name = Giora Epstein-Even
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1938|5|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Negba]], [[Mandatory Palestine]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| image = Giora Epstein.jpg
| caption = Epstein in the late 1990s
| nickname = Enei netz (Hawkeye)
| allegiance = {{flag|Israel}}
| serviceyears = 1956–1997
| rank = [[Aluf#Rank order of aluf and its derivatives|Tat aluf]]
| branch = {{Air force|Israel}}
| commands =
| unit =
| battles =
| awards =
| laterwork = [[El Al]] pilot (1977–1997)
}}

[[Brigadier General]] '''Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein''' ({{langx|he|גיורא אפשטיין}}; born May 20, 1938), today '''Giora Even''' ({{langx|he|גיורא אבן}}), is a retired [[Israeli Air Force]] (IAF) officer and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets and one against an Egyptian [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] helicopter, making Epstein the [[List of aces of aces#Flying aces|ace of aces]] of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.<ref>{{cite episode
|title=Desert Aces
|series=Dogfights
|series-link=Dogfights (TV series)
|url=http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/
|network=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]
|airdate=2007-08-10
|season=2
|number=5
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010045635/http://www.history.com/minisites/dogfights/
|archive-date=2007-10-10
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3897/is_199812/ai_n8809020 |title=CBSi|website=findarticles.com|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref>
Epstein was an active IAF pilot from 1961 until May 26, 1997, when he retired at age 59. Like many retired IAF flyers, he later worked as a pilot for [[El Al]] Airlines.

== Early career ==
Epstein joined the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in 1956 during the [[Sinai War]]. He was initially rejected from flight school because of a heart condition and began his military career as a paratrooper. While traveling with the IDF's parachute demonstration team, Epstein changed his last name to Even ("stone" in Hebrew). He left the IDF in 1959 before returning two years later to again apply for flight school.

After gaining medical clearance (mostly through his own stubbornness), Epstein began fighter training. He soon gained the nickname "Hawkeye" due to his extraordinary eyesight. Epstein was allegedly able to spot aircraft at a distance of 24 miles (38,4 km) — nearly three times further than a normal pilot.

== Victories: 1967–1973 ==
[[File:Hatzerim Mirage 20100129 1.jpg|thumb|Israeli Air Force Mirage IIICJ]]

Epstein's first kill came on June 6, 1967 during the [[Six-Day War]], when he downed an Egyptian [[Sukhoi Su-7|Sukhoi-7]] at [[El Arish]]. During the [[War of Attrition]] in 1969–70, Epstein downed a [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]], another Sukhoi-7 and two [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]]s. The rest of his kills came during 1973's [[Yom Kippur War]]. Between October 18 and 20, 1973, he downed an Egyptian [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] helicopter and eight jets: two Sukhoi-7s, two [[Su-20|Sukhoi-20]]s and four MiG-21s. Then, on October 24, 1973, Epstein downed three more MiG-21s west of the [[Great Bitter Lake]]. Eight of these victories were with the French-built [[Dassault Mirage III|Mirage III]], a [[delta wing]] fighter designed primarily as a high-altitude interceptor. His other nine victories came in an [[IAI Nesher]], an Israeli-built version of the [[Dassault Mirage 5|Mirage 5]]. Five of his kills were downed using air-to-air missiles, the rest with cannon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazing-airplanes.com/amazing_acheivements/best_pilot.php |title=The best pilot|website=amazing-airplanes.com|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref>

== Later career and retirement ==
After the Yom Kippur War, Epstein received the [[Medal of Distinguished Service]], one of Israel's highest military honors. He went on to command [[Mirage (aircraft)|Mirage]] and [[IAI Kfir|Kfir]] squadrons and was flying "ready" missions in the [[F-16]] up until his 59th birthday. Epstein was a captain for [[El Al]] Airlines from 1977 to 1997.

Epstein was the primary subject of the "Desert Aces" episode of The History Channel series ''[[Dogfights (TV series)|Dogfights]]''. The episode first aired on August 10, 2007.

==See also==
* [[254 Squadron (Israel)]]
* [[101 Squadron (Israel)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/Kills/FirstDown.aspx?lang=EN&subfolderID=294&folderID=43&lobbyID=40 Official Israeli Air Force site listing Epstein's victory details]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Giora}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Israeli Jews]]
[[Category:Israeli Air Force personnel]]
[[Category:Israeli flying aces]]
[[Category:Six-Day War pilots]]
[[Category:Yom Kippur War pilots]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Medal of Distinguished Service]]
[[Category:Commercial aviators]]

Giora Epstein - Revision history

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