The Robin Olds Factor - Air Force Magazine

On June 14, 2007, Robin Olds, American fighter pilot, died at the age of 84. An excerpt from the article:

"He graduated from West Point in 1943—the year of his father’s early death—and months later graduated from pilot training, with his wings being pinned on by Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold himself.

Young Lieutenant Olds was well- trained, with more than 650 hours in aircraft, including the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, when he entered World War II combat. He flew with the abandon of a man who knows he is invulnerable and for whom the enemy is only a target.

Olds began his sensational rise as a fighter pilot in Europe, where he flew 107 missions, scored 12 aerial victories, and destroyed another 11-and-one-half enemy aircraft on the ground. His knowledge of air combat grew with his victories and so did his willingness to speak out about his beliefs—no matter how contrary they were to current doctrine. It was a trait that would work more often against him than for him.

From P-51s to P-80s

At the peak of the air war against Germany, Olds saw how heavy bombers’ precision attacks were being converted into area bombing by wind, weather, and enemy opposition.

He put forth the idea that 70 P-51s armed with 500-pound bombs could do more damage to a target requiring precise accuracy than a formation of 1,000 B-17s.

As an idea, it was 20 years ahead of its time—and it ran directly contrary to USAAF philosophy. It was the first of many of Olds’ ideas whose time had not yet come, a condition that would frustrate him over the years, and helped induce in him flamboyant behavior that worked against both his acceptance and his advancement.

The refusal to accept his idea about precision bombing was puzzling to him because he was awarded many decorations. Most satisfying of all, he was given command of his squadron as a 22-year-old major. In later life, he sometimes remarked on the strange “disconnect” between the increase of his responsibility on one hand, and the rejection of his ideas on the other."