Gender Male
Dan Tolkowsky born January 17, 1921, is a retired Israeli Air Force officer who served as a major general in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) from 1953 to 1958. A noted investor, he helped start the first Israeli venture capital fund.
Tolkowsky being decorated with the French Légion d’honneur, 1958
Tolkowsky was born in Tel Aviv in 1921 and was
educated at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium. In 1936 he joined the Haganah. In 1938 he went to London to study at Imperial College London and graduated with a BSc. in engineering in 1941.
In 1942 Tolkowsky volunteered for the Royal Air Force. At the end of World War II, he served as a transport pilot, and was later stationed in Palestine at RAF Lydda, in Lydda (now Lod). He was discharged from the RAF in June 1946 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
After his discharge, Tolkowsky moved to Britain and worked as a mechanical engineer. In December 1947 he secretly began helping efforts to purchase aircraft for Sherut Avir, the Haganah’s air arm and forerunner of the Israeli Air Force, In 1948, a few days before the Israeli Declaration of Independence, Tolkowsky returned to Palestine. He served in the Israeli Air Force during the Israeli War of Independence, participating in bombing attacks on the Egyptian front.
He was initially discharged from the IAF, but reenlisted in 1951. He first served as Inspector-General, and then as Chief of Staff to the Commander. He was appointed Commander of the IAF in May 1953 and served until July 1958, During his time as commander, the IAF received its first fighter jets and took part in the Suez Crisis. He was seconded to the Israeli Ministry of Defense in 1958-1959. He holds the rank of major-general (Res.) in the Israel Defense Forces.
