| Born | Adolph (Al) Schwimmer June 10, 1917 New York |
|---|---|
| Died | June 10, 2011 (aged 94) Israel |
| Awards | Israel Prize (2006) |
Adolph "Al" Schwimmer (Hebrew: אל שווימר; 10 June 1917 – 10 June 2011) was an American-born Israeli businessman who was the founder and first CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries.
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Schwimmer was born in New York in 1917 to parents who had emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe. He never used his given birth name of Adolph, preferring the nickname "Al".[1]
In 1939, Schwimmer began his aerospace career at Lockheed Martin as an engineer and also received his civilian pilot license. During World War II, he worked for TWA and assisted the U.S. Air Transport Command as a flight engineer.[2]
During Israel's War of Independence, Schwimmer used his World War II experience and his contacts to smuggle surplus war planes to Israel.[3] Using circuitous routes, he also recruited the pilots and crews to fly the planes to Israel. Many of these men became the nucleus of the Israeli Air Force.[3]
In 1949, Schwimmer returned to the United States and, in 1950, he was convicted in the United States of violating the US Neutrality Acts for smuggling the planes into Israel. Schwimmer was stripped of his voting rights and veteran benefits and fined $10,000, but did not receive a prison sentence. In 2000, he received a pardon from President Clinton.[3]
In the early 1950s, Schwimmer, who was running an aircraft maintenance company in Burbank, California, was approached by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's then prime minister, who asked Schwimmer to return to Israel and establish an aircraft company for commercial and military purposes.[3] Schwimmer acceded to Ben Gurion's request and founded Israel Aerospace Industries, of which he became the first CEO.[2]
Schwimmer was one of the founders of Savyon, but later moved to Tel Aviv.[4]
In the mid-1980s, Schwimmer was a special adviser for technology and industry for Israel's then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who became a close friend.[3]
Schwimmer died on his 94th birthday in Ramat Gan.[5]