Mahmoud Eskandari
Born	1950 Karaj, Iran
Died	2001
Allegiance	The Imperial Iranian Air Force IIAF, then Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force IRIAF
Service/branch	The Imperial Iranian Air Force IIAF, then Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Battles/wars	Iran–Iraq War

Mahmoud Eskandari (Persian: محمود اسکندری; 1950–2001) was a Fighter aircraft pilot of the F-4 Phantom ll for IIAF and IRIAF.^[1]

Military background

He served his country as one of the most sophisticated F4 E-Phantom ll pilots during Iran–Iraq War and he could reach the title of (Man of the impossible missions) such as the liberation of Khorramshahr, H-3 airstrike^[2] and Baghdad Operation He is considered as one of the most prominent pilots of the Iranian Air Force.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

During Baghdad operation, Eskandari managed to repeatedly pass through the firewall that was protecting Baghdad and return to Iran despite multiple damages to his airplane and severe, threatening injuries to him and his RIO, following the crash of Abbas Doran due to a SAM strike.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Operations

• H-3 airstrike (April 6, 1981)
• Flying a F4E Phantom ll from Syria back to Iran, straight through Iraqi territory where Iraqi fighter jets were waiting for him at the borders with Turkey and then Iran. Instead, he flew straight through Iraq at a very low-altitute and at supersonic speed.
• Liberation of Khorramshahr (May 6, 1982) with his high-precision, successful bombing of a strategic bridge that other pilots had failed to hit.
• Battle of Khorramshahr (1982) (July 1982)^[12]