Remembrances Of An Israeli Air Force Test Pilot

Early in 2016, ANN contributor Maxine Scheer traveled to Israel, where she had the opportunity to sit down with retired Israeli Air Force Col. Danny Shapira, who served 25 years in the Israeli Air Force.

Shapira was among the first pilots for the Israeli Air Force, which was formed shortly after the State of Israel was established in 1948. He and several others, including some Americans and pilots from other countries, went to Czechoslovakia to train in Avia S-199 aircraft, a variant of the Bf 109. The pilots and the aircraft brought back from Czechoslovakia were instrumental in holding off Arab attacks and cementing Israel as a sovereign state.

The story is the basis for the movie "Above and Beyond", a documentary produced by Nancy Spielberg, the youngest sister of Steven Spielberg.

In the interview, Shapira recounts for Scheer what it was like to be involved in the beginning of the Israeli Air Force, his training, and subsequent action.

He says that the Israeli Air Force was and remains one of the best such services in the world.

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