William Bill Katz

William Bill Katz was born in 1921 in Philadelphia

Katz was born in 1921 in Philadelphia to Louis and Tillie Katz. The family moved to Jacksonville, Florida, when he was young. He finished Andrew Jackson High School in 1939 and played quarterback on its football team.

In 1941 he joined the US Army Air Forces and flew B-17 bombers over Europe in World War II. He flew 25 bombing missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He left the service in 1945 as a captain and ran a construction business that later closed.

In 1948 the Haganah recruited him through Mahal. He flew C-46 planes carrying arms from Czechoslovakia, and on 14 July 1948 he commanded one of 3 B-17s that bombed targets in Egypt on the way to Israel. He then commanded Squadron 69, was removed for a time after an unauthorized air show, and later returned as acting commander.

After leaving the air force he flew for El Al, where he became chief pilot and head of operations. In 1981 he left El Al to help found Maof Airlines and train its pilots. In 1969 he founded the Squadron 69 veterans association.

He was married to Balfouria, and they had a son and a daughter. He died in 1994 and was buried in Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.