Nader Jahanbani

Nader Jahanbani
General Nader Jahanbani
Director of Physical Education Organization
In office
7 August 1977 – 11 February 1979
MonarchMohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prime MinisterJamshid Amouzegar
Jafar Sharif-Emami
Gholam Reza Azhari
Shapour Bakhtiar
Preceded byAli Hojjat Kashani
Succeeded byHossein Fekri
Personal details
Born(1928-04-16)16 April 1928
Tehran, Pahlavi Iran
Died13 March 1979(1979-03-13) (aged 50)
Qasr Prison, Tehran, Iran
Relations
Nickname(s)Eagle, Blue-eyed General
Military service
AllegianceImperial State of Iran
Branch/serviceAir Force
Years of service1950–1979
Rank Lieutenant general(Sepahbod)
CommandsDeputy Chief of the Imperial Iranian Air Force
Battles/warsBattle of Nalos (1947)

Sepahbod Nader Jahanbani (Persian: نادر جهانبانی, romanizedNāder-e Jahānbānī; 16 April 1928 – 13 March 1979) was an Iranian general, distinguished fighter pilot of Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) and the deputy chief of the IIAF under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Despite being executed in 1979 by Islamic Revolutionaries, he is widely lauded as the "father of the Iranian Air Force" along with General Mohammad Khatami and General Amir Hossein Rabii, for modernizing the air force to become a potent and powerful force whose advanced equipment and training they acquired for Iran, such as the F-14 Tomcat, would save Iran's crucial infrastructure during the Iran–Iraq War. He was the leader of the Golden Crown, the first and national aerobatics display Iranian team. He is nicknamed the "blue eyed general of Iran". By many accounts, he is considered one of the best and most capable pilots of his time.