Jalil Zandi
|
Jalil Zandi
|
|
|---|---|
| Portrait of Jalil Zandi | |
| Native name |
جلیل زندی
|
| Born | May 2, 1951 Garmsar, Iran |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Tehran, Iran |
| Buried |
Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, Tehran
|
| Allegiance | Iran |
| Service/ |
 Imperial Iranian Air Force Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force |
| Years of service | 1970–2001 |
| Rank | 20pxBrigadier General |
| Battles/wars | Iran-Iraq War |
| Awards |  2nd grade Fath Medal |
| Spouse(s) | Zahra Moheb Shahedin |
Brig. General Jalil Zandi (Persian: جلیل زندی) (1951-2001) was a fighter pilot in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force who served for the full Iran–Iraq war. His record qualifies him as an ace and the most successful pilot of that conflict in air-to-air combat[1][2][3] and made him the highest-scoring pilot in the history of the F-14 Tomcat.
Career
Jalil Zandi began in the IIAF and stayed on to serve in the IRIAF when it was somewhat dangerous for pilots to continue their military service. While a major, he often clashed with his superior Lt. Col. Abbas Babaei,[2] who was a poorly skilled F-14 pilot.[4] Abbas Babaei was "notorious for his merciless treatment of the pilots and officers" considered disloyal to the new regime[5] and because of this Jalil Zandi was condemned to ten years of imprisonment. When he was in prison, he was threatened to be sentenced to death, but by demand of the then–air force commander and many other air force pilots, he was released after six months.[6]
Iran–Iraq war
He earned his fame as an F-14 Tomcat pilot during the Iran-Iraq War. He has been reliably credited with shooting down 11 Iraqi aircraft (8 confirmed victories[7][8] through examination with US intelligence documents released according to FOIA inquiry and 3 probable victories). The victories include four MiG-23s, two Su-22s, two MiG-21s, and three Mirage F1s.[9] This makes him the most successful F-14 Tomcat pilot ever.[9]
Post War
His last official post, before his death, was deputy for planning and organization of the Iranian Air Force. He died with his wife Zahra Moheb Shahedin in 2001 in a car accident near Tehran.[2] He is buried in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in the south of Tehran. He had three sons: Vahid, Amir, and Nader.
See also
- Flying ace
- Islamic Republic of Iran Air force
- F-14 Tomcat operational history
- Iranian aerial victories during the Iran-Iraq war
- List of aces of aces
- Fighter pilot
References
- ↑ Imperial Iranian Air Force: Samurai in the skies
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982, by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, Sept. 9, 2003
- ↑ Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, p. 79, ISBN 1 84176 787 5
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, p. 23, ISBN 1 84176 787 5
- ↑ Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 23-24, ISBN 1 84176 787 5
- ↑ http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml
- ↑ http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Iranian F-14 Tomcat Units in Combat by Tom Cooper & Farzad Bishop, 2004, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, pp. 85–88, ISBN 1 84176 787 5
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- Iranian aviators
- Iranian military personnel of the Iran–Iraq War
- Iranian generals
- Iranian Air Force personnel
- 2001 deaths
- Iranian flying aces
- Iran–Iraq War flying aces
- 1951 births
- Road accident deaths in Iran
- Persian people
