1920
Harold “Smoky” Simon Is Born
Historical context
Harold “Smoky” Simon was born in Johannesburg in 1920. He later helped build the Israeli Air Force.
Archive record
Read the event, then follow its documented sources and archive threads.
- Date
- 1920
- Verified sources
- 3
- Archive threads
- 4
Harold “Smoky” Simon was born in Johannesburg in 1920. World Machal records that his family moved to Bultfontein, in the Orange Free State, when he was six months old. He later studied commerce in Johannesburg and served as a navigator-bombardier in the South African Air Force.
Haaretz records that in 1948 he flew 24 missions and served as chief of operations of the Israeli air branch, and that he was discharged in 1950 with the rank of major. The Jerusalem Post records that he died on 28 February 2022, at the age of 101, a few weeks short of his 102nd birthday.
Research trail
Sources and further reading
- Harold “Smoky Simon” z”l · Dave Bloom · World Machal View source
- Harold ‘Smoky’ Simon dies at 101 · Greer Fay Cashman · The Jerusalem Post View source
- Harold 'Smoky' Simon, South African Who Helped Found Israel's Air Force, Dies at 101 · Haaretz · Haaretz View source
Share this history
Support the work
If this history matters to you, you can support Jewish Original.