Aluf (Maj. Gen.) Mordechai "Mottie" Hod (September 28, 1926- June 29, 2003) was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six-Day War. Born in British Mandated Palestine in Kibbutz Degania, Hod originally took the surname Fein. He studied at a local Agriculture College before enlisting in the British Army in 1944, where he served as a driver. With the end of the Second World War Hod joined the Haganah's Palmach groundforce. In this c...
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Aluf (Maj. Gen.) Mordechai "Mottie" Hod (September 28, 1926- June 29, 2003) was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force during the 1967 Six-Day War. Born in British Mandated Palestine in Kibbutz Degania, Hod originally took the surname Fein. He studied at a local Agriculture College before enlisting in the British Army in 1944, where he served as a driver. With the end of the Second World War Hod joined the Haganah's Palmach groundforce. In this capacity he assisted Aliyah Bet, illegal 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...
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