Herzl Bodinger

Herzl Bodinger
Maj. Gen. Herzl Bodinger
Born1943
AllegianceIsrael Israel
Service / branch Israeli Air Force
Years of service1961–1996
RankAluf

Aluf (ret.) Herzl Bodinger (Hebrew: הרצל בודינגר; born 1943) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, he served as the former Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force and currently serves as a member of the International Board of Governors for Ariel University.[1]

Military career

Bodinger was born in Israel and joined the IDF in 1961. He volunteered to attend the flight academy and graduated as a fighter pilot, flying the Dassault Mystère and Sud Aviation Vautour.

During the Six-Day War, Bodinger served as a Vautour pilot and participated in Operation Moked, attacking airfields in Iraq and Egypt and destroying ten Tupolev Tu-16 bombers on the ground. During the Yom Kippur War, he was a Mirage III pilot, and shot down a Syrian MiG-17. During post-war conflicts, he shot down a Syrian MiG-21 over Lebanon.[2]

Bodinger went on to command the Israeli Air Force from January 1992 to July 1996.[2] During his 35-year career, Bodinger accumulated about 6,000 flight hour and conducted 451 aerial sorties.[3]

Civilian career

Following his retirement from the air force, Bodinger was appointed to head RADA Electronic Industries.[2] In the 2000s, he headed a committee appointed by Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz to prepare a plan for Israel's airports.[4]

References

  1. ^ Meet Major General Herzle Bodinger - Chairman of RADA Electronics
  2. ^ a b c "Herzl Bodinger" (in Hebrew). Israeli Air Force. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  3. ^ Marom, Dror (May 5, 1997). "Former Air Force Commander, Herzl Bodinger, to Manage Rada-USA". Globes. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  4. ^ "Meeting between Council Heads and Herzl Bodinger About the Creation of a Complementary Airport to Ben Gurion in Megiddo" (in Hebrew). Megiddo Regional Council. April 26, 2009. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved 2010-05-05.


Flag of IsraelSoldier icon

This biographical article related to the military of Israel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.