David Ivry was born in Tel Aviv. In 1952 he was recruited to the Israeli Air Force, where he served as a pilot of a P-51 Mustang. In 1956 he was sent to a special flight-instructors course in the UK, and became the commander of the flight-instruction school at Tel Nof Airbase. During the Sinai Campaign he served as an Ouragan pilot. In 1959 he ejected from his Dassault Super Mystère during an engagement with an Egyptian Mig-17. In 1962, he became the commander of the first Israeli squadron of the French Dassault Mirage. In the Six-Day War, Ivry served as a Mirage pilot and the commander of the Mystère squadron.