Rudy Augarten

Rudy Augarten
Born	June 16, 1922 Philadelphia, United States
Died	September 11, 2000 Seal Beach, United States
Buried	Mount Sinai Memorial Park
Allegiance	United States, Israel
Service/branch	U.S. Army Air Force, Israeli Air Force
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel (Air)
Battles/wars	World War II, Israeli War of Independence
Children	3

Rudolph "Rudy" Augarten (June 16, 1922 – September 11, 2000) was an American fighter pilot who served in the United States Army Air Forces and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in World War II. He was one of the foreign volunteers and one of the first members of the Israeli Air Force. He shot down three and a half Egyptian aircraft during the Israeli War of Independence (one shot down in collaboration with Boris Senior), instructed the first flight courses in the Air Force, and commanded the Ramat David Airbase.

Biography

O'Graten was born in Philadelphia, the son of Jewish parents who immigrated from Poland.

During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Forces. He was trained as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot, served in the European theatre, and took part in about 100 operational sorties. During the invasion of Normandy, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he was forced to ditch near the city of Caen, France. After a few days, he was captured by the Germans, from whom he managed to escape and join the American invasion forces. He continued to serve as a fighter pilot, shooting down three enemy aircraft. In one of his sorties, he recorded the downing of two German Messerschmitt Bf 109s, a sortie that earned him the Distinguished Service Cross.

After the war, he returned to the United States and studied international relations at Harvard University. During his studies, he heard a lecture by Abba Eban and decided to volunteer for the IDF. He underwent training in Czechoslovakia on Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft used by the Air Service and arrived in Israel at the end of the first truce in the War of Independence. He served in the 101st Squadron as the commander of Wing A and flew Avia S-199, Spitfire and P-51 Mustang aircraft. He was the Air Force's record for shootdowns (along with Jack Doyle) after intercepting four Egyptian aircraft. He achieved his first shootdown on October 16, 1948, during Operation Yoav, when he flew an Avia S-199 and shot down an Egyptian Spitfire. On October 21, 1948, he was on a reconnaissance sortie in a Spitfire and shot down another Egyptian Spitfire. During Operation Moshe, he recorded his third shootdown. On December 22, 1948, he shot down a Mackie MC205V aircraft and during Operation Horev participated in the bombing of Arish.

He served as an advanced flight commander at the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy and instructed the students of the first and second flight courses of the Air Force on T-6 Texan aircraft. He then returned to the United States. In June 1950, he returned to Israel and was appointed commander of Ramat David Air Base, a position he held until September 1951. During this period, he changed his name to Ze'ev Karmi. He participated in the air force attack on Syria in response to the Al-Hamma incident. He then returned to the United States, graduated from Harvard, and worked as an engineer and real estate agent.

O'Grattan was married twice and left behind two sons and a daughter.

External links

• רודי אוגרטן באתר מוזיאון הלוחם היהודי במלחמת העולם השנייה
• Rudy Augarten – avenging the Holocaust
• אחד הראשונים-רודי אוגרטן Archived 2021-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, אתר מרקיע שחקים
• דנה לבוא, ‏מלחמת העצמאות של רודי אוגרטן, בטאון חיל האוויר 174, אפריל 1990, באתר הספרייה הדיגיטלית להיסטוריה ומורשת חיל האוויר
• אייל בירנברג, ‏רודי אוגרטן הלך לעולמו, באתר חיל האוויר הישראלי
• רודי אוגרטן באתר findagrave.com

Notes

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