lspencer534
10-28-2016, 10:51am
LOS ANGELES — Robert A. "Bob" Hoover, a World War II fighter pilot who became an aviation legend for his flying skills in testing aircraft and demonstrating their capabilities in air shows, has died at age 94.
http://i64.tinypic.com/157d7vs.jpg
Hoover, who lived in Palos Verdes Estates, California, died early Tuesday, said Bill Fanning, a close family friend for many years and fellow pilot.
"He was every pilot's icon," Fanning said, recalling his friend as one of the premier test pilots of the 1950s and '60s. "Bob tested everything. He flew them all."
When the National Air and Space Museum conferred its highest honor on Hoover in 2007, the museum noted that Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid on Japan, had once described Hoover as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived."
Hoover, who began flying in 1937 at Berry Field in Nashville, Tennessee, almost came to an early end. While serving in the Army's 52nd Fighter Group in Sicily during World War II, he flew more than 50 missions before being shot down. He survived the crash and spent months in a prisoner-of-war camp before he escaped, stole a German fighter plane and flew to safety in The Netherlands.
Top pilot who stole plane to escape WWII prison camp dies (http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/top-pilot-who-stole-plane-to-escape-wwii-prison-camp-dies)
http://i64.tinypic.com/157d7vs.jpg
Hoover, who lived in Palos Verdes Estates, California, died early Tuesday, said Bill Fanning, a close family friend for many years and fellow pilot.
"He was every pilot's icon," Fanning said, recalling his friend as one of the premier test pilots of the 1950s and '60s. "Bob tested everything. He flew them all."
When the National Air and Space Museum conferred its highest honor on Hoover in 2007, the museum noted that Jimmy Doolittle, leader of the famed 1942 bomber raid on Japan, had once described Hoover as "the greatest stick-and-rudder man that ever lived."
Hoover, who began flying in 1937 at Berry Field in Nashville, Tennessee, almost came to an early end. While serving in the Army's 52nd Fighter Group in Sicily during World War II, he flew more than 50 missions before being shot down. He survived the crash and spent months in a prisoner-of-war camp before he escaped, stole a German fighter plane and flew to safety in The Netherlands.
Top pilot who stole plane to escape WWII prison camp dies (http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/top-pilot-who-stole-plane-to-escape-wwii-prison-camp-dies)