Robin Olds
Robin Olds | |
---|---|
434th Fighter Squadron | |
Battles/wars | World War II Vietnam War |
Awards | Croix de guerre (France) |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 3 |
Relations | Robert Olds (father) |
Robin Olds[1] (born Robert Oldys Jr.; July 14, 1922 – June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a "triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War.[2] He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general, after 30 years of service.
The son of
Olds was promoted to
Olds had a highly publicized career and life, including marriage to Hollywood actress Ella Raines. As a young man he was also recognized for his athletic prowess in both high school and college, being named an All-American as a lineman in college football.
Early life
Olds was born Robert Olds Jr. in
Growing up primarily at
Olds first flew at the age of eight, in an open cockpit biplane operated by his father.[12] At the age of 12, Olds made attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point an objective to accomplish his goals of becoming an officer and a military aviator, as well as playing football.[13]
His father was made commander of the pioneer
Instead of entering college after graduating in 1939, Olds enrolled at
West Point and football
As a
Olds played on the varsity
In 1942 he was named by
Olds developed ambivalent feelings about West Point, admiring its dedication to "
He walked punishment tours until the day of his graduation in June. The incident left its mark on Olds such that when he became Commandant of Cadets at the Air Force Academy, use of the Honor Code as an instrument for integrity rather than as a tool for petty enforcement of discipline became a point of emphasis in his administration.[21] During his Academy years Olds also acquired a strong contempt for alumni networking, commonly called "ring knocking",[22] to the degree that he went out of his way to conceal his West Point background.[23]
By an act of Congress on October 1, 1942, during Olds' second class year, the academy began a three-year curriculum for the duration of the war for cadets entering after July 1939. Cadets applying to the Air Corps were classified as Air Cadets, with a modified curriculum which provided flying training but eliminated Military Topography and Graphics required for Ground Cadets. Olds' class was given an abridged second class course of study until January 19, 1943, when it began an abridged first class course.[24]
Olds completed primary training in the summer of 1942 at the Spartan School of Aviation in
World War II fighter pilot
P-38 Lightning missions
Olds was promoted to
The 479th began combat on May 26, flying bomber escort missions and attacking transportation targets in occupied France in advance of the
On an escort mission to Wismar on August 23, his flight was on the far left of the group's line abreast formation and encountered 40–50 Messerschmitt Bf 109s near Wittenberge, flying north at the same 28,000 ft (8,500 m) altitude in a loose formation of three large vees. Olds turned his flight left and began a ten-minute pursuit in which they climbed to altitude above and behind the Germans. Over Bützow, undetected by the Germans, Olds and his wingman jettisoned their fuel drop tanks and attacked, although the second element of the flight had been unable to keep up during the climb.[37]
Just as Olds began firing, both engines of his P-38 quit from fuel exhaustion; in the excitement of the attack he had neglected to switch to his internal fuel tanks. He continued attacking in "dead-stick mode", hitting his target in the fuselage and shooting off part of its engine cowling. After fatally damaging the Bf 109 he dived away and restarted his engines.[38] Despite battle damage to his own plane, including loss of a side window of its canopy, Olds shot down two during the dogfight and another on the way home to become the first ace of the 479th FG.[39][40] His combat report for that date concluded:
Still in a shallow dive, I observed a P-38 and a Me 109 going round and round. It seemed that the 38 needed help so I started down. At about 4,000 ft (1,200 m), the Jerry, still way out of my range, turned under me and slightly to the right. I rolled over on my back, following him and gave him an ineffective burst at long range. By this time I was traveling in excess of 500 mph (800 km/h). My left window blew out, scaring the hell out of me. I thought I had been hit by some of the ground fire I had observed in the vicinity. I regained control of the aircraft and pulled out above a wheat field. I tried to contact the flight to get myself recognized, but observed an Me 109 making a pass at me from about seven o'clock high. I broke left as well as my plane could and the Jerry overshot. I straightened out and gave him a burst. He
Immelmann. As I straightened out at the top, I saw the pilot bail out.[41]
Although in Dogfights S1EP2,[42] Robin Olds recounts this memory of the P-38 needing help with some variance. He says "I went on into the fight, got another one, BE (His wing man) got two others with one pass. Then I looked down and there was a North American P-51 Mustang, and where he came from; I have no idea." The Narrator then tells the viewers that the P-51 Mustang is being chased by two Bf 109s. Olds dove to help and in his excitement dove too fast. This led him to be subject to compressibility. Upon reaching the denser air at lower altitudes he regained control of his P-38 and pulled up. This led to his canopy window blowing out due to excess G forces. He said "It sounds like an exaggeration but I managed to pull out, right above this wheat field near the town of Rostock." That made him one of very few that have recovered from a compressibility event. "After that I had enough, I was ready to go home" But a string of tracer fire across his nose brought him right back into the fight, as a Bf 109 dove from behind on him. Weighing his options, he decided to risk it all and flat planed. While pulling hard on the yoke and turning hard left at 90°. That made him shutter into a high speed stall, the air combat equivalent of locking the brakes. The Bf 109 passed beneath him and as he rolled the nose down he fired, taking the Bf 109 out before heading home.[43]
He made eight claims while flying the P-38 (five of which are sustained by the Air Force Historical Research Agency) and was originally credited as the top-scoring P-38 pilot of the European Theater of Operations.[44]
P-51 Mustang pilot
The 479th FG converted to the P-51 Mustang in mid-September. On his second transition flight, at the point of touchdown during landing, Olds learned a lesson in "false confidence" when the powerful torque of the single-engined fighter forced him to ground loop after the Mustang veered off the runway.[45] Olds shot down an Fw 190 in his new Scat VI on October 6 during a savage battle near Berlin in which he was nearly shot down by his own wingman.[46] He completed his first combat tour on November 9, 1944, accruing 270 hours of combat time and six kills.[47]
After returning to the United States for a two-month leave, Olds began a full second tour at Wattisham on January 15, 1945. He was assigned duties as operations officer of the 434th Fighter squadron.
His final World War II aerial kill occurred on April 7, 1945, when Olds in Scat VI led the 479th Fighter Group on a mission escorting
Olds achieved the bulk of his strafing credits the following week in attacks on
I was hit by
flap had been blown away and two large holes knocked in the same wing). What to do? Bailout seemed the logical response, but here's where sentiment got in the way of reason. That airplane (note: "Scat VI") had taken me through a lot and I was damned if I was going to give up on her...why the bird and I survived the careening, bouncing and juttering ride down the length of the field, I guess I'll never know.[53]
Olds had not only risen in rank to
As recognized by the American Fighter Aces Association, Olds was the only pilot to "make ace" in both the P-38 (5 victories) and the P-51 (8 victories).
Career highlights and assignments
Returning to the United States after the war, Olds was assigned at West Point as an assistant football coach for
In April 1946, he and Lieutenant Colonel
The jet demonstration performances with Herbst ended tragically on July 4, 1946, when Herbst crashed at the
Olds went to England under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force Exchange Program in 1948. Flying the
Olds was assigned to command the
Promoted to
Olds had administrative and staff duty assignments at
Olds next became commander of the
Olds formed a demonstration team for the F-101 using pilots of his wing, without command authorization, and performed at an Air Force open house at Bentwaters. He asserted that his superior at
In September 1966, Olds was tapped to command an
Vietnam
On September 30, 1966, Olds took command of the
Olds' vice commander was Col. Vermont Garrison, an ace in both World War II and Korea,[78] and in December Olds brought in Daniel James Jr. to replace an ineffective deputy commander for operations, creating arguably the strongest and most effective tactical command triumvirate of the Vietnam War.[79] The Olds-James combination became popularly nicknamed "Blackman and Robin".[80][a] James was named 8th TFW Vice Commander in June 1967, succeeding Garrison, who had completed his tour. Olds took to the air war over North Vietnam in an F-4C Phantom he nicknamed "Scat XXVII", in keeping with his previous combat aircraft that all carried the "Scat" name.[82]
MiG Kills
After suggesting the idea to
In October 1966, strike force
The Bolo plan reasoned that by equipping F-4s with jamming pods, using the call signs and communications codewords of the F-105 wings, and flying their flight profiles through northwest Vietnam, the F-4s could effectively simulate an F-105 bombing mission and entice the MiG-21s into intercepting not bomb-laden Thunderchiefs, but Phantoms configured for air-to-air combat.[84]
After an intensive planning, maintenance, and briefing period, the mission was scheduled for January 1, 1967. Poor weather caused a 24-hour delay, but even then, a solid overcast covered the North Vietnamese airbases at
The F-4s and their crews, however, proved equal to the situation and claimed seven MiG-21s destroyed, almost half of the 16 then in service with the VPAF without loss to USAF aircraft. Olds himself shot down one of the seven, for which he and the other aircrew were awarded Silver Stars. Follow-up interceptions over the next two days by MiGs against RF-4C reconnaissance aircraft led to a similar mission on a smaller scale on January 6, with another two MiG-21s shot down. VPAF fighter activity diminished to almost nothing for 10 weeks afterwards, thereby accomplishing the main goal of Operation Bolo: to eliminate or diminish the threat of MiGs to the strike formations.[84]
On May 4, Olds destroyed another MiG-21 over Phúc Yên. Two weeks later, on May 20, he destroyed two
He was awarded a fourth Silver Star for leading a three-aircraft low-level bombing strike on March 30, 1967, and the Air Force Cross for an attack on the Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi on August 11, one of five awarded to Air Force pilots for that mission.[54] He flew his final combat mission over North Vietnam on September 23, 1967.[88]
His 259 total combat missions included 107 in World War II and 152 in Southeast Asia, 105 of those over North Vietnam. Scat XXVII (F-4C-24-MC 64-0829) was retired from operational service and placed on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.[89][90]
Olds' mustache
Olds was known for the extravagantly waxed (and decidedly non-regulation)
For his part, Olds was not upset with the order, recalling:
To tell the truth, I wasn't all that fond of the damned thing by then, but it had become a symbol for the men of the 8th Wing. I knew McConnell understood. During his visits to Ubon over the past year he had never referred to my breach of military standards, just seemed rather amused at the variety of 'staches sported by many of the troops. (It) was the most direct order I had received in twenty-four years of service.[95]
The incident with the mustache is given credit as the impetus for a new Air Force tradition, "Mustache March", in which aircrew, aircraft maintainers, and other airmen worldwide show solidarity by a symbolic, albeit good-natured "protest" for one month against Air Force facial hair regulations.[96]
Dogfighting advocate
We weren't allowed to dogfight. Very little attention was paid to strafing, dive-bombing, rocketry, stuff like that. It was thought to be unnecessary. Yet every confrontation America faced in the Cold War years was a 'bombs and bullets' situation, raging under an uneasy nuclear standoff." The Vietnam War "proved the need to teach tactical warfare and have fighter pilots. It caught us unprepared because we weren't allowed to learn it or practice it in training.[93]
Olds often lamented the lack of an internal gun in the F-4C he flew during his tour in Vietnam, but would not allow his fighters to be equipped with the gun pods then available. While he knew that he would be capable of effectively using them, he was also aware that none of his pilots were trained in the use of a gun or dogfighting. He also reasoned that the drag of the pod would both degrade the performance characteristics of the F-4 while not gaining it any advantage against the more maneuverable MiG-17s and MiG-21s, result in unnecessary losses strafing worthless targets, and reduce the number of bombs carried by the Phantoms, the delivery of which was the 8th's primary mission.[97]
Operation Bolo, and P-38
Post-Southeast Asia career
Air Force Academy 1967–71
After relinquishing command of the 8th TFW on September 23, 1967, Olds reported for duty to the
Director of Aerospace Safety
In February 1971 he began his last duty assignment as director of aerospace safety in the Office of the Inspector General, Headquarters USAF, and after December 1971 as part of the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, a newly activated separate operating agency located at Norton Air Force Base, California. Olds oversaw the creation of policies, standards, and procedures for Air Force accident prevention programs, and dealt with work safety education, workplace accident investigation and analysis, and safety inspections.[89]
1971 inspector general tour and 1973 retirement
Air Force Inspector General and Olds' West Point classmate Lt Gen Louis L. Wilson Jr. sent Olds to Southeast Asia in the autumn of 1971 to determine the state of readiness of Air Force pilots. Olds toured USAF bases in Thailand (flying several unauthorized combat missions in the process) and brought back a blunt assessment. Air Force pilots, he reported to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen John D. Ryan (a former SAC general and bomber pilot often at odds with the tactical fighter community), "...couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag," because of a systemic lack of interest by the USAF in air-to-air combat training for fighter crews. He warned that losses would be severe in any resumption of aerial combat. Olds recalled that Ryan expressed surprise at this assessment and reflected his disagreement.[98]
When the
Awards and decorations
Robin Olds' ribbons as they appeared at retirement.[89]
U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge | ||
Air Force Cross | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
with one bronze oak leaf cluster |
Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters |
Legion of Merit | Valor device and silver oak leaf cluster
|
Air Medal with four silver oak leaf clusters |
Air Medal with three silver and one bronze oak leaf clusters (second ribbon required for accoutrement spacing) |
Air Medal with oak leaf cluster (third ribbon required for accoutrement spacing) |
Air Force Commendation Medal |
Air Force Presidential Unit Citation with four oak leaf clusters |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor device and three oak leaf clusters |
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (second ribbon required for accoutrement spacing) |
American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | campaign stars
|
World War II Victory Medal
|
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
Vietnam Service Medal with two campaign stars |
Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and one bronze oak leaf clusters |
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon
|
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) |
Croix de Guerre with silver star (France) |
Vietnam Air Force Distinguished Service Order (2nd Class) |
Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross with gold wings |
Vietnam Air Service Medal, Honor Class | Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
|
Vietnam Campaign Medal |
Air Force Cross citation
- Colonel Robin Olds
- U.S. Air Force
- Date Of Action: August 11, 1967
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Colonel Robin Olds (AFSN: 0-26046), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving as Strike Mission Commander in the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand, against the Paul Doumer Bridge, a major north-south transportation link on Hanoi's Red River in North Vietnam, on 11 August 1967. On that date, Colonel Olds led his strike force of eight F-4C aircraft against a key railroad and highway bridge in North Vietnam. Despite intense, accurately directed fire, multiple surface-to-air missile attacks on his force, and continuous harassment by MiG fighters defending the target, Colonel Olds, with undaunted determination, indomitable courage, and professional skill, led his force through to help destroy this significant bridge. As a result the flow of war materials into this area was appreciably reduced. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Colonel Olds reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.[101]
Other Honors
In 1968, Olds received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[102]
Effective dates of promotion
Rank | Date |
---|---|
Second Lieutenant |
1 June 1943 [1] |
First Lieutenant |
1 December 1943 |
Captain | 24 July 1944 |
Major | 9 February 1945 |
Lieutenant Colonel | 20 February 1951 |
Colonel | 15 April 1953 |
Brigadier General | 1 June 1968 |
Personal life
Olds was briefly a stepbrother of author
In 1946, while based at March Field, Olds met
– Christina Eloise Olds (1952), formerly married to Eric Newman with whom she has a daughter, Jennifer Olds Newman;
– Susan Bird Scott-Risner (née Olds; 1953–2018), she was married to David Scott-Risner. Her husband has three children from a previous relationship;[107]
– Robert Ernest Olds, who was stillborn in 1958.[67]
Most of their 29-year marriage, marked by frequent extended separations and difficult homecomings, was turbulent because of a clash of lifestyles,[108] particularly her refusal to ever live in government housing on base.[109] Robin Olds and Ella Raines separated in 1975 and divorced in 1976. Robin married Abigail Morgan Sellers Barnett in January 1978, and they divorced after fifteen years of marriage.[110]
In his retirement at Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Olds pursued his love of skiing and served on the city's planning commission. He was active in public speaking, making 21 events as late in his life as 2005 and 13 in 2006.[111]
Olds' fondness for alcohol was well known. John Darrell Sherwood, in his book Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience,
Days later, on July 21, 2001, Olds was enshrined at
Death
In March 2007 Olds was hospitalized in Colorado for complications of Stage 4
Olds is remembered as the
Notes
- ^ A private site asserts that this was a derogatory comment, and that they were usually referred to as "Batman and Robin", after the TV series then airing.[81]
References
Notes
- ^ a b Zamzow 2008, p. 7 The family surname was spelled "Oldys" until 1931, when it was officially changed to "Olds", reverting to the original spelling before Robin's grandfather. Both the spelling change and his birth name sourced by Major Zamzow from AF records.
- ^ "Aerial Victory Credits database". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2007. Query "name"="contains"="Olds Robin" NOTE: THE AVC DATA BASE IS CURRENTLY OFF-LINE. (NOV 2013)
- ^ a b c Sherwood 1999, p. 42
- ^ Griffith 1999, p. 41
- ^ Anderson 2004, p. 20
- ^ Zamzow 2008
- ^ "Eloise Nott divorce, 1921". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 1921-09-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ Captain Olds was stationed at Luke Field, Hawaii, when Robin was an infant. From 1927 to 1933, and again from 1935 to 1940, Olds was stationed at Langley.
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 5
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 6
- ISBN 978-0-06-050547-9, 176
- ISBN 978-0-312-56023-2, p. 6.
- ^ a b Anderson 2004, p. 11
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 7
- ^ a b Anderson 2004, p. 21
- ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 55–66
- ^ Wyatt, Hugh. "Chapter Two, Answering the Call". Earl "Red" Blaik. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
- ^ a b Robin Olds at the College Football Hall of Fame
- ^ Anderson 2004, p. 186
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 16
- ^ Boyne 2001, p. 147
- ISBN 978-0-7603-3217-7, 141. According to Broughton, a 1945 USMA graduate and a fellow wing commander with Olds in Thailand, the term "implies that if there is a discussion in progress, the senior (West) Pointer need only knock his large ring on the table and all Pointers present are obliged to rally to his point of view."
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 7
- ^ Official Register of the Officers and Cadets, United States Military Academy, For the Academic Year Ending June 30, 1943 Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 11
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 21
- ^ Anderson 2004, p. 188. Arnold was present to give the commencement address, and to see his son, William Bruce Arnold, graduate. Bruce Arnold, however, was medically disqualified from being a pilot and entered the Army Ground Forces.
- ^ The class originally designated the Class of 1943 graduated January 19, 1943, as the Class of January 1943.
- ISBN 978-0-8117-3124-9, p. 135)
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 19. The P-322 was a variant of the P-38 originally intended for the Royal Air Force, differing from the standard P-38 by having neither counter-rotating propellers nor turbo-superchargers.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 18–23
- ^ Fairfield 2004, pp. 25–27
- ^ Anderson 2004, p. 202
- , January 16, 1945.
- ^ Fairfield 2004, p. 55
- ^ Fairfield 2004, pp. 138–139
- ^ Fairfield 2004, pp. 152–155. The lead aircraft of the lagging second element, flown by 1st Lt. Berkeley E. Hollister, also shot down two Bf 109s in the engagement.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 89–90
- ^ Anderson 2004, pp. 219–225
- ^ a b "USAF Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II" (PDF). Office of Air Force History, AFHRA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2006. Retrieved 14 October 2006..
- ^ Fairfield 2004, p. 155
- ^ Dogfights Season 1 Episode 2
- ^ History Channel
- ISBN 978-0-85059-788-2, 73–74
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 99. Olds stated that the embarrassing near-crash was in full view of—and aimed at—Major Glenn Miller and his band, performing outside a hangar.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 102–103
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 114
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 122
- ^ "P-51 combat reports". Spitfire Performance. Retrieved 22 May 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-87938-638-2., 226. Also known variously as "Kommando Elbe", "Rammkommando Elbe", "Schulungslehrgang Elbe", and "Lehrgang Elbe" under Maj. Otto Köhnke.
- ^ Fairfield 2004, pp. 384–386
- ^ "Robin Olds (sidebar)". AU Gathering of Eagles. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ Fairfield 2004, p. 399. In spite of the effort, Scat VI was written off as beyond economical repair on April 13.
- ^ a b "Hall of Valor – Robin Olds". Military Times. Retrieved 13 June 2009. Lt. Col. James McInerney, Lt. Col. Harry Schurr, Capt. Fred Shannon, and Col. Robert M. White were the other recipients.
- ^ a b Sherwood 1999, p. 12
- ^ a b Sherwood 1999, p. 18
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 153–161
- ^ Olds was a supernumerary major in the 412th and soon became ad hoc operations officer for an unattached provisional squadron of reconnaissance pilots training on the P-80 in preparation for activation of the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron later that year. (Olds, pp. 160–161)
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 165. The "team" was unofficial, consisting of just Herbst and Olds, and their performances were ad hoc in nature. Olds also thought that the team might have been the first of its type in the world but did not know if any similar group had been put together in the RAF.
- ^ a b Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 170–171
- ^ "Jet Racing at Reno -Point/Counterpoint". Aero Press. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 198
- Laurence Rockefeller, use his influence to have the applications refused.
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 13
- ^ a b c "Wings/Groups index". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 215
- ^ a b Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 225
- ^ Boyne 2001, p. 160
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 234–235
- ^ "Airman Exemplars: Gen Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr". United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 17
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 243–245. Olds averred that he deliberately staged the incident to have his name removed from the 1965 selection list to brigadier general. Promotion would have meant the end of his flying career and refusal of the promotion would have resulted in his retirement from the Air Force. Disoway was a friend and arranged the staff assignment as a means of routing him to a command assignment in Southeast Asia.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 247–252
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 27
- ISBN 0710602383, p.110.
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 28. The previous commander, who had been a P-80 pilot with Olds at March Field in 1946, had been in command of the 8th TFW for 13 months and despite the appearance of being relieved from command, soon was promoted to general and held a series of "deputy chief of staff" assignments.
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 28
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 254–255
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 261
- ^ Stringer, Jerry (2006-02-16). "Remembering General James and others". Air Force News Agency. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
- ^ "How It Was!". kalaniosullivan.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 325
- ^ Michel 1997, p. 71
- ^ a b c Boyne 1998
- ^ Wetterhahn 1997
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 318–320
- ^ Sherwood 1999, p. 37. Sherwood states he interviewed sources who suggested that Olds did shoot down more than the four MiGs, but those uncounted kills went unclaimed or were awarded to wingmen for the same reason. In his memoirs, Olds denied further MiG kills (Olds p. 319), but in an interview with Oliver North he was purposely vague, stating "I was only in nine more fights. Unfortunately... nothing worked." Ironically, in his memoir Olds recalls that on June 5, before he learned of Secretary Brown's directive, he nearly had a fifth kill anyway, but the much-despised and unreliable AIM-4 Falcon he launched went ballistic after it initially guided toward the tailpipe of his MiG target. (Olds pp. 314–315)
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 333
- ^ a b c d "Brigadier General Robin Olds". Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 335. Olds reported that during the eleven active months of his command of the 8th TFW (October 1966 to August 1967 inclusive), the wing flew 13,249 combat sorties, incurred 29 combat and 7 operational losses of F-4s, and had casualties of 6 killed and 32 missing. 34 aircrew were rescued, a 47% recovery rate. 18 of the combat losses were in the vicinity of Hanoi.
- ISBN 978-0-02-881012-6., 39
- ISBN 978-0-89141-854-2., 105
- ^ a b CMSgt Tom Kuhn (December 1996). "Robin Olds: An Unconventional Man's Fight for Conventional Warfare". Airman:Magazine of America's Air Force. Archived from the original on October 9, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 284
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 342
- ^ "Mustache Madness down to the wire". 386AEW, AF.mil. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 317
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 377–378
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 378
- ^ Sherwood 1999, pp. 34–35
- ^ "Robin Olds". Military Times Hall of Valor. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ Zamzow 2008, p. 85
- ^ Fogerty, Ronald P. (editor, 1953), USAF Historical Study 91: Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers, 1917–1952, Vol II: "L-Z".
- ^ Anderson 2004, p. 187
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 163
- ^ "Remembering Susan Bird Olds". Elemental Cremation & Burial. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, pp. 233–234, 337, 347–350
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 214
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 382
- ^ "Fighter ace Robin Olds dies at 84". Steamboat Pilot. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- ^ Olds, Olds & Rasimus 2010, p. 352 Olds attributed this block of any further rise beyond brigadier general to a widespread perception in the senior officer hierarchy that his wife was unsupportive of his career following his return from Southeast Asia.
- ^ Salazar, Gary E. (2002-01-23). "Retired general put on probation". Steamboat Pilot & Today. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
- ^ "Famed fighter pilot dies". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
- ^ Boggie, Dale. "Memorial Service for Brigadier General Robin Olds". KeytLaw (Another Life: Flying the F-4 Phantom in the United States Air Force). Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009. The flyover included a flight of F-4 Phantoms, which were no longer operational in any component of Air Force except as target drones, for a missing man formation. The flight lead, LTC Anthony Murphy, requested family permission to modify the normal missing man procedure. Instead of having the third aircraft leave formation, Murphy had the lead aircraft, using Olds' callsign Wolf 01, pull up into a vertical climb over the grave site as a symbolic tribute to Olds' leadership (a photograph of the pull-up appears in Olds' memoirs facing page 177).
- ^ "Legendary fighter pilot Robin Olds dies". Air Force link. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
Bibliography
- Anderson, Lars (2004), The All Americans, St. Martins Press, ISBN 978-0-312-30887-2
- Boyne, Walter J. (November 1998), "Mig Sweep", AIR FORCE Magazine
- Boyne, Walter J (2001), Aces in Command: Fighter Pilots as Combat Leaders, Brassey's, Inc., ISBN 978-1-57488-401-2
- Griffith, Charles (1999), The Quest: Haywood Hansell and American Strategic Bombing in World War II, ISBN 1-58566-069-8, archived from the originalon November 1, 2013, retrieved 31 October 2013
- Fairfield, Terry A. (2004), The 479th Fighter Group in World War II: in Action over Europe with the P-38 and P-51, Schiffer Military History, ISBN 978-0-7643-2056-9
- Michel, Marshall L. (1997), Clashes: Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965-1972, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 978-1-55750-585-9
- Olds, Robin; Olds, Christina; Rasimus, Ed (2010), Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds, New York: St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0-312-56023-2
- Sherwood, John Darrell (1999), Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience, Free Press, ISBN 978-0-312-97962-1
- Wetterhahn, Ralph (September 1997), Change of Command, Air and Space Smithsonian
- Zamzow, Major S.L. USAF (2008), Ambassador of American Airpower: Major General Robert Olds (SAASS thesis published on-line), Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University
Further reading
- Olynyk, Frank (1995), Stars & Bars: A Tribute to the American 'Fighter Ace 1920–1973', Grub Street, ISBN 1-898697-17-5
- Nordeen, Lon O. (1986), Air Warfare in the Missile Age, Smithsonian Institution Press, ISBN 978-0-87474-680-8
Online
- USAF in SEA: Aces and Aerial Victories – 1965–1973 – No. 146 AFHRA
- USAF Credits – WWII -No. 85
- Brigadier General Robin Olds. USAF biography
- Robin Olds at the College Football Hall of Fame (includes photograph of Olds as a cadet)
External links
- Staff writer(s) (January 14, 2016). "Yesterday's Air Force: Robin Olds". Air Force TV. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
- Photostatic copy of Olds' victory claim report of 14 Feb 45 with links to other reports
- Olds´ P-38J-15 43-28431 Scat II, August 1944
- Profile image of Scat VI P-51K Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- "The Old Man and the Migs", TIME Magazine June 6, 1967
- Veterans Tributes – Robin Olds
- Ace Pilots.com – Col. Robin Olds – Operation Bolo
- Ace Pilots.com – Maj. Robin Olds – WW2
- 8th Tactical Fighter Wing Vietnam Era Website
- Memorial Service for Brigadier General Robin Olds @ U.S. Air Force Academy, 30 June 2007
- Air Force Times obituary
- 8TFW.com Photo Gallery tribute
- Robin Olds at Find a Grave