Giora Romm, Israeli Air Force’s first ‘ace,’ dies at 78

Giora Romm, a fighter pilot who became the Israeli Air Force’s first “ace” when he shot down five enemy planes during the Six Day War, has died at the age of 78.

Romm died Friday after a battle with cancer, his family said. He is survived by his wife Miriam and three children.

Romm, who was born in Tel Aviv in 1945, was serving as a fighter pilot in the Air Force when the 1967 war broke out.

During the fighting he shot down four Egyptian jets and a Syrian fighter, making him the first IAF pilot to achieve the status of an “ace.”

Romm’s jet was hit by anti-aircraft fire during one sortie, but he managed to fly the damaged craft back to Israel.

However, in 1969, Romm was shot down while flying over Egypt during the War of Attrition. He was seriously injured while bailing out of the craft, breaking his leg and shoulder.

Romm spent three months as a prisoner of war before being released in a prisoner exchange.

After returning to Israel and spending four months in a hospital recovering, Romm resumed his military career, rising through the ranks to become deputy commander of the Air Force and military attaché to the United States before retiring in 1996.

During his military career, he also commanded a fighter squadron during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and took part in the 1985 raid on the Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Tunisia.

After leaving the military, Romm served in a series of senior public service roles, including director of the National Infrastructure Ministry, head of the Jewish Agency, director of the Civil Aviation Authority, and also led the National Road Safety Authority.