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Source: http://www.timesofisrael.com/lou-lenart-pilot-who-saved-tel-aviv-dies-at-94/
Lou Lenart, U.S. Pilot "Who Saved Tel Aviv," Dies at 94
(Times of Israel) Josefin Dolsten - Israeli war hero Lou Lenart, an American fighter pilot who led an Israeli air attack during the War of Independence that fended off an Egyptian raid on Tel Aviv, died Monday at the age of 94. Lenart fought in World War II, seeing action in Okinawa and elsewhere in the Pacific. He then joined the clandestine effort to smuggle war-surplus planes to Israel in 1948. On May 29, 1948, large Egyptian forces advanced to within 16 miles of Tel Aviv and Israel sent its entire air force - four Czech versions of the German Messerschmitt - to attack the Egyptian advance columns. As the most experienced pilot, Lenart led the attack. The Egyptian troops stopped their advance and retreated. Subsequent news reports hailed Lenart as "The Man Who Saved Tel Aviv."