Hossein Khalatbari

Khalatbari was born to a wealthy farmer family in Baslkuh, Ramsar. His maternal grandfather was Seyfollah Khan Hayati, a Mirza Kuchak Khan's companion in the Jungle Movement of Gilan, whom he was very proud of since his childhood. After studying his elementary education in Chalakrud, he moved to Tehran and gained a high school diploma. Khalatbari served his conscription in the 92nd Armored Division of Ground Forces of Imperial Iran Army with the rank of 3rd Sergeant. He became seriously interested in military aviation and decided to become a fighter pilot and joined the Imperial Iranian Air Force as an aviation student. From 1972 to 1974, he was trained as an F-4 Phantom pilot at the US Air Force's Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. == Iran–Iraq War ==

Hours after Iraqi Invasion of Iran began, he became involved in the war. In the Operation Kaman 99, he was the leader of an 8-aircraft squadron tasked to attack Baghdad. Khalatbari was Iran's military delegate in the International Court of Justice case United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran. His mission was set to last for two months, however he returned to Iran after 15 days, After his return, together with pilots like Abbas Doran and Alireza Yasini, he played a key role in Operation Morvarid In the H-3 airstrike, Khalatbari was among the top pilots and his maneuvers were decisive in damaging the Iraqi facility. with a missile. His aircraft then was hit with a R-40 missile shot from a MiG-25PD, == In popular culture ==

• Sky Swallowed the Sea (): The book is memoirs of Khalatbari collected by Rahim Makhdomi. Nashr-e-Shahed published this book in 1999. • The 41st Squire (), book published by Avida Publications. == References ==