Legendary test and air-show pilot Bob Hoover in an undated photograph. (Bob Hoover Archives)
Washington Post: Bob Hoover, pilot who escaped POW camp by stealing a German plane, dies at 94
Bob Hoover, a World War II fighter pilot who escaped a POW camp and flew to freedom by stealing a German airplane and who spent decades testing aircraft, thrilling spectators at air shows and training military aviators, died Oct. 25 at a hospital in Torrance, Calif. He was 94.
The cause was congestive heart failure, said his daughter-in-law, Lynn Hoover.
Mr. Hoover, who learned to fly as a teenager in Tennessee, was among the country’s most revered pilots. The renowned World War II airman Gen. Jimmy Doolittle once called Mr. Hoover “the greatest stick-and-rudder man who ever lived.”
In 1947, Mr. Hoover was a test pilot flying alongside Chuck Yeager when Yeager broke the sound barrier. Mr. Hoover taught dive-bombing maneuvers to Air Force pilots during the Korean War.
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Update #1: Fighter Pilot Legend Bob Hoover Dies at 94 (SOFREP)
Update #2: Legendary World War II fighter pilot Bob Hoover dead at 94 (AP)
Hat Tip to James for this incredible story.
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