(Forbes) Robert Lenzner - In 1950 Schwimmer, a former transport pilot in World War II, was managing a small airport outside Los Angeles when a car drew up and out stepped David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, who convinced Schwimmer to come to Israel to start Israel Aircraft Industries. When France refused to sell its Mirage fighter jets to Israel in the 1960s, Al went to Switzerland and was able to convince a Swiss engineer to part with the plans for the Mirage in return for an unknown amount of cash. Israel manufactured its own version of the Mirage, which was essential for victory over the Arab air might in the 1967 Six-Day War.
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