Robin Olds
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| Robin Olds | |
|---|---|
| July 14, 1922 - | |
 Robin Olds as a colonel in Vietnam with his trademark moustache |
|
| Place of birth | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Years of service | 1943-1973 |
| Rank | Brigidier General |
| Commands | 8th Tactical Fighter Wing |
| Battles/wars | World War II Vietnam Operation Bolo |
Robin Olds (born July 14, 1922) is a former American fighter pilot who served in the U.S. Air Force. He is a triple ace, with 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. He retired in 1973 as a brigadier general.
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[edit] Early Life
Olds was born in Honolulu into an Army family and spent his boyhood in the Hampton, Virginia area where he attended elementary and high school. His father was U.S. Army Air Corps Major General Robert Olds, a World War I fighter pilot, and was once an aide to Billy Mitchell.
[edit] West Point
He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1943, a month shy of his 21st birthday. In 1942, while playing for the academy football team, Olds was selected as an All-American at tackle.
[edit] World War II pilot
He completed pilot training in 1943. Joining the 479th Fighter Group, he sailed to England in May 1944. By summer, he was a captain in the 434th Fighter Squadron, flying a P-38J Lightning named "Scat 1." He became an ace in his first two combat missions, shooting down two FW-190s on August 14 and three Me-109s nine days later.
The 479th re-equipped with P-51 Mustangs in September and Olds scored his first kill in "Scat V" on October 6. Promoted to major in February 1945, he claimed his seventh victory southeast of Magdeburg, Germany the same day. On February 14, he recorded three confirmed victories in one day, two Me-109s and an FW-190. By the end of his tour, he had shot down 13 German planes, destroyed 11.5 others on the ground, and was commander of the 434th.
[edit] Post-war
Back stateside after the war, Olds was the wingman on the first jet acrobatic team in the Air Force. He also participated in the first one-day dawn-to-dusk, transcontinental roundtrip flight in June 1946 from March Field, California, to Washington, D.C., and return. That same year he won second place in the Thompson Trophy Race (Jet Division) in Cleveland, Ohio.
In October 1948 he went to England under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force Exchange Program and served as commander of No. 1 Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Station Tangmere, equipped with the Gloster Meteor jet fighter, and missed Korean War service.
From 1955 to 1965 he commanded two wings in Europe, attending the National War College between commands in 1963.
[edit] Vietnam
In September 1966 he took over the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base. During this time, his Vice Commander was Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr., who would go on to become the first African-American 4-star Air Force general.[1] Together, they formed a legendary team nicknamed "Blackman and Robin."[2] Now a 44-year-old colonel, Olds took to the air war over North Vietnam in an F-4C Phantom named, "Scat XXVII." During "Operation Bolo," a fighter sweep against MiG-21s in January 1967, he shot down one MiG and added another over Phuc Yen Airfield in May. "Operation Bolo" was a program in which the electronic countermeasure pods of F-4s were replaced with F-105 pods (The QRC-160). The resulting false signal enticed MiGs to engage the F-4s-- thinking they were engaging the slower, less agile F-105.
Two weeks later, he destroyed two more MiGs, bringing his total to 17 confirmed kills (13 in World War II and four in Vietnam), making him a triple ace. He flew 107 combat missions in World War II and 152 combat missions in the Vietnam War, 105 of those over North Vietnam. "Scat XXVII" is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Olds was known for the extravagantly waxed (and decidedly non-regulation) handlebar mustache he wore in Vietnam. It was a mark of his individuality. Said Olds:
"Generals visiting Vietnam would kind of laugh at the mustache. I was far away from home. It was a gesture of defiance. The kids on base loved it. Most everybody grew a mustache."[3]
Returning home, however, he discovered not everyone was fond of his maverick behavior. When he reported to his first interview with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. McConnell, he stood at attention and rendered a salute. McConnell walked up to him, stuck a finger under his nose and said, "Take it off." Olds said, "Yes, sir."
[edit] Air Force Academy 1967-71
After leaving Southeast Asia in the fall of 1967, Olds reported for duty to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where he served as Commandant of Cadets and sought to restore morale in the wake of a major cheating scandal and the mounting unpopularity of the Vietnam War. Olds was promoted to brigadier general in May 1968.
[edit] Tour of inspection, SE Asia, 1972; retirement
With the opening of Operation Linebacker in May 1972, American fighter jets returned to the skies over North Vietnam for the first time in nearly four years. Navy and Marine Corps fighters, reaping the benefits of the establishment of TOPGUN, began enjoying considerable success almost immediately. By contrast, the Air Force's fighter community appeared to be struggling. Air Force Inspector General Joseph Wilson sent Olds to Southeast Asia to find out why.
Olds made the visit (flying several unauthorized combat missions in the process) and brought back a blunt assessment. The Air Force fighters, he said, "couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag." It seemed all of the hard-won lessons of Operation Bolo had been forgotten. To the surprise of nearly everyone else in the room, Air Force Chief of Staff John D. Ryan agreed with Olds.
Olds offered to take a reduction in rank to colonel so he could return to operational command and straighten out the situation. This offer was refused and Olds decided to retire from the Air Force.[4]
He had been director of aerospace safety in the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center at Norton Air Force Base, California since February 1971. Olds retired in June 1973.
[edit] Personal
In 1947, Olds married the actress (and "pin-up girl") Ella Raines and remained with her until her death in 1988. Olds is now retired and living in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.[5]
Olds' fondness for alcohol was well-known. John Darrell Sherwood, in his book Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience,[6] posits that Olds' heavy drinking inhibited his post-Vietnam career.
[edit] Dogfighting advocate
Although known for his flamboyance, Olds was a strong advocate of the importance of tactical air power and maintaining conventional warfare proficiency during the Cold War, in an era when the Air Force's emphasis was on nuclear warfare and strategic bombing. In 1962 he was ordered to stop writing a paper on the importance of conventional and tactical air power by his commander.
"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."[7]
[edit] Awards
His military decorations and awards include the Air Force Cross, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with three oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with five oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 39 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, British Distinguished Flying Cross, French Croix de Guerre, Vietnam Air Force Distinguished Service Order, Vietnam Air Gallantry Medal with Gold Wings, Vietnam Air Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He was a command pilot.[8]
[edit] History Channel
In November 2006, 84-year-old Robin Olds was featured on the series "Dogfights" on The History Channel. The hour-long "Air Ambush" episode highlighted his "Operation Bolo" in Vietnam and World War II experiences.
[edit] External Links
- Ace Pilots.com - Col. Robin Olds - Operation Bolo
- Ace Pilots.com - Maj. Robin Olds - WW2
- The History Channel - Dogfights - "Air Ambush" premiered 10-Nov-2006
[edit] Notes
- ^ United States Air Force. Airman Exemplars: Gen Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr.. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Jerry Stringer (2006-02-16). Remembering General James and others. Air Force News Agency. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ CMSgt Tom Kuhn (December 1996). Robin Olds: An Unconventional Man's Fight for Conventional Warfare. Airman:Magazine of America's Air Force. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience, Free Press (1999), pp. 34-5.
- ^ CMSgt Tom Kuhn (December 1996). Robin Olds: An Unconventional Man's Fight for Conventional Warfare. Airman:Magazine of America's Air Force. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ Fast Movers: Jet Pilots and the Vietnam Experience, Free Press (1999), p. 26.
- ^ CMSgt Tom Kuhn (December 1996). Robin Olds: An Unconventional Man's Fight for Conventional Warfare. Airman:Magazine of America's Air Force. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ^ United States Air Force (1972). Robin Old's official Air Force biography. Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
This article incorporates text from http://www.af.mil/history/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006521, a public domain work of the United States Government.
