Question: Colonel Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein, is a retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), it operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces, founded on which date?

full_context: Document 1: Giora Romm: Giora Romm (Hebrew: גיורא רום‎ ‎ , born 1945) is a former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), Israel's former military attaché in the United States and the current director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel. Romm was the Israeli Air Force's first jet ace, scoring five kills during the 1967 Six Day War. In 1969, during the War of Attrition, Romm was shot down and spent several months in Egyptian captivity. He commanded the IAF's 115 Squadron through the intensive fighting of the 1973 Yom Kippur War and participated in Operation Wooden Leg, the 1985 raid against PLO headquarters in Tunisia.
Document 2: Erich Hartmann: Erich Alfred Hartmann (19 April 1922 – 20 September 1993), nicknamed "Bubi" ("The Kid") by his German comrades and "The Black Devil" by his Soviet adversaries, was a German fighter pilot during World War II and the most successful fighter ace in the history of aerial warfare. He flew 1,404 combat missions and participated in aerial combat on 825 separate occasions. He claimed, and was credited with, shooting down 352 Allied aircraft—345 Soviet and 7 American—while serving with the "Luftwaffe". During the course of his career, Hartmann was forced to crash-land his fighter 14 times due to damage received from parts of enemy aircraft he had just shot down or mechanical failure. Hartmann was never shot down or forced to land due to enemy fire.
Document 3: Israel Defense Forces: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; Hebrew: צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל‎   , "lit." "The Army of Defense for Israel"; Arabic: جيش الدفاع الإسرائيلي‎ ‎ ), commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym "Tzahal" (), are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force, and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel. The IDF is headed by its Chief of General Staff, the "Ramatkal", subordinate to the Defense Minister of Israel; Lieutenant general ("Rav Aluf") Gadi Eizenkot has served as Chief of Staff since 2015.
Document 4: Gerhard Barkhorn: Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn (20 March 1919 – 8 January 1983) was the second most successful fighter ace of all time after fellow "Luftwaffe" pilot Erich Hartmann, the two people to ever exceed 300 confirmed victories. Barkhorn joined the "Luftwaffe" in 1937 and completed his training in 1939.
Document 5: Chris Gainor: Chris Gainor is a historian of technology specializing in space exploration and aeronautics. He has written four books on the history of space exploration and on the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, a jet interceptor aircraft canceled by the Canadian government in 1959.
Document 6: Yonatan Netanyahu: Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu (Hebrew: יונתן נתניהו‎ ‎ ; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal during Operation Entebbe, an operation to rescue hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda in 1976. The mission was successful, with 102 of the 106 hostages rescued, but Netanyahu was killed in action—the only IDF fatality during the operation.
Document 7: Giora Epstein: Colonel Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein (Hebrew: גיורא אפשטיין‎ ‎ , born 1938), today Giora Even (Hebrew: גיורא אבן‎ ‎ ), is a retired colonel in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victories, 16 against Egyptian jets, making Epstein the ace of aces of supersonic fighter jets and of the Israeli Air Force.
Document 8: Indian Air Force: The Indian Air Force (IAF; : "Bhāratīya Vāyu Senā") is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the airforces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honored India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix "Royal". After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix "Royal" was removed after only three years.
Document 9: Eitan Ben Eliyahu: Aluf Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944) is a retired Major General in the Israel Defense Forces and was the Commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
Document 10: List of Syrian flying aces: The following Syrian pilots became flying aces by scoring five or more confirmed aerial victories while flying combat against the Israeli Air Force.
Document 11: Israeli Air Defense Command: The Israeli Air Defense Command (in Hebrew: מערך ההגנה האווירית) is the Israel Defense Forces unit responsible for the surface front of Israel's air defense, complementing the air defense provided by Israeli Air Force squadrons. Initially a part of the IDF Artillery Corps, since 1970 the Air Defense Command has been subordinate to the Israeli Air Force.
Document 12: Hatzerim Airbase: Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base (Hebrew: בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר חֲצֵרִים‎ , "Bsis Heil HaAvir Hatzerim") (ICAO: LLHB) is an air base of the Israeli Air Force in the Negev Desert on the west outskirts of Beersheba, near Kibbutz Hatzerim. The base was constructed during the early 1960s and declared operational on 3 October 1966, the first air base located on a former Royal Air Force base. At Hatzerim is the Israeli Air Force Museum, which opened in 1977 and has allowed public access since June 1991. The IAF Flight Academy has been housed at Hatzerim since April 1966 and the IAF Aerobatic Team is located there as well.
Document 13: 69 Squadron (Israel): The 69 "Hammers" Squadron is an Israeli Air Force squadron operating the F-15I Thunder out of Hatzerim. It was formed in July 1948 to operate three B-17 Flying Fortresses which the fledgling Israeli Air Force had acquired in the United States. The squadron flew the Flying Fortress, a type credited with propelling the IAF into the realm of modern aerial warfare, during both the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and 1956 Suez Crisis. Disbanded in early 1957, 69 Squadron reformed in 1969 to fly the F-4 Phantom II. 69 Squadron operated the "Kurnass" (Sledgehammer), as the Phantom was known in Israel, for 25 years and its Phantoms saw extensive action during the War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War, First Lebanon War and numerous engagements in between. The squadron often played a central role in IAF suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD) efforts and took part in repeated battles against Egyptian and Syrian air defence arrays.
Document 14: Israeli Air Force: The Israeli Air Force (IAF; Hebrew: זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל‎ , "Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal", "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , "Kheil HaAvir", "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. As of August 2017 Aluf Amikam Norkin serves as the Air Force Commander.
Document 15: Italian Air Force: The Italian Air Force (Italian: Aeronautica Militare; AM) is the aerial defence force of the Italian Republic. The Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923, by King Victor Emmanuel III as the "Regia Aeronautica" (which equates to "Royal Air Force"). After World War II, when Italy was made a republic by referendum, the "Regia Aeronautica" was given its current name. Since its formation the service has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history. The aerobatic display team is the Frecce Tricolori.
ground_truth: May 28, 1948