Top Gear

Fighter Pilot

The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds

This is not a new book and I admit to never having heard of Robin Olds until his name came up in a LinkedIn conversation with a US colleague, then I went looking for it on Amazon. Robin Olds was a US fighter pilot who was aged 21 when he was shipped to RAF Wattisham in Norfolk in May 1944 to fly Lockheed P-38 Lightnings after training back in the States.

Among his first sorties was as air escort for the vast armada of ships across the Channel for D-Day, which is described in astonishing detail. Shortly after D-Day, he got his first ‘kills’ becoming the unit’s first ‘ace’ (five confirmed kills).

Olds rose to a double ace and the unit’s commander at the age of 22, then after WWII moved onto jets and the first jet display team. He missed out on action in the Korea war, despite requesting a combat role. Then came a series of desk jobs before becoming commander at RAF Bentwaters, heading the F-101 Voodoo fighter-bomber wing, but he fell out with his superiors after setting up an unofficial F101 display team.

In 1966, he shipped out to the Vietnam War where he led a F-4C Phantom fighter wing, and at the age of 44, became an ace again, shooting down MiG-21s and MiG-17s. He flew his final combat mission in 1967 – the photo on the book’s cover shows him on that day.

Olds had a phenomenal career, but what makes this book so good is the way it’s written, with help from his daughter Christina Olds and Ed Rasimus, a retired USAF fighter pilot.

It’s full of huge amounts of detail but never gets bogged down. The opposite in fact – you’re there with him, experiencing the flying, the adrenaline, the awfulness of war. There’s also the frustrations. Olds was nothing if not a maverick, even telling President Lyndon Johnson how to win the war in Vietnam – but also the man’s humanity. DC

Norman Conquest

£45 | www.porterpress.co.uk

Mention the name Vic Norman and chances are, most pilots and aviation enthusiasts will know who you’re talking about. A bit of a legend within the display flying world, Vic’s flying exploits started at 17 and continue to this day. Vic is the guy who really thrust wingwalking into mainstream UK air displays in the 80s when he formed the Yugo Cars display team, a high-profile act that had no-end of big sponsors looking to fly their brand in front of a big audience.

Beautifully illustrated and produced, as well as plenty of coverage of Vic’s flying exploits, there’s also plenty of vintage and classic car stuff, old motorcycles, and a section on the restoration of the beautiful airfield of Rendcomb, so plenty to keep readers interested! EH