Capt. Lou Lenart flew the F4-U or FG-1D Corsair in combat as a U.S. Marine Corps and Navy pilot during World War II, carrying out close support for ground troops, protecting the fleet from kamikaze attacks, and flying attack missions against military installations and equipment on mainland Japan. Later, as a volunteer during the State of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, he led the first mission of the Israel Air Force, then equipped with only four ME-109 fighters, in a surprise bombing and strafing attack on the advancing Egyptian Army that halted its attack 16 miles from Tel Aviv.
