1954 Newspaper Abstracts

The Daily Corinthian, May 16, 1954

PICTURE:   [Roscoe and Gilmore]  BEST KNOWN CORINTHIAN is Col. Roscoe
           Turner, noted pioneer in nearly all fields of aviation.
           During the period 1927-1937 this Corinthian's name was blazed
           across the face of aviation history in indelible letters.  His
           list of accomplishments was matched only by his flair for
           showmanship that today causes many newspaper readers to
           remember his best by the pet lion (above) that he carried
           everywhere with him for years. Col. Turner today makes his
           home where his business is, Indianapolis, Ind.  Members of his
           family, however, still reside in Corinth and area.

ROSCOE TURNER BEST KNOWN
   OF ALL CORINTH'S NOTABLES

By Grady Peerey

        Best known of all Corinthians is Col. Roscoe Turner, noted speed
flyer and aviation expert, who started his flying career in Corinth
shortly after the close of World War I.  He served in a balloon outfit
during the war and as soon as he returned home he became interested in
airplanes being encouraged and sponsored in this by Ernest F. Waits,
owner, at that time, of Waits Jewelry Store.  Securing parts from four
crashed or discarded airplanes, Col. Turner and Mr. Waits, aided by Lee
Kemp and others, put together a original model airplane in which Col.
Turner began his flying career.

        The Beginning

        Roscoe Turner was born in the Jones School Community of Alcorn
County and moved with his parents to the old Turner homeplace in McNairy
County, Tenn., at an early age.  A few years later the family moved to
West Corinth, where his father, R.L.Turner, still resides.  From earliest
boyhood he loved speed.  Automobiles were his first love and his flair
for showmanship showed itself when he drove an automobile up the south
steps of the Alcorn County courthouse as a stunt.  He became an expert
automobile mechanic, and this ability served him well in his early days
in aviation.
        If you look in the recent record books on aviation and air races
you are not likely to find Roscoe Turner's name mentioned.  But, go back
to the period from 1927 to 1937 and you will find that he blazed aviation
history across the skies from Los Angeles to New York and back, and from
London to Melbourne, Australia.  He was contemporary with such well-known
pilots as Jimmy Wedell, Jimmy Haizlip, James Doolittle, Frank Hawks,
Charles Lindbergh, Howard Hughes, Clyde Pangburn, Wiley Post and James A.
Mollison, a bunch of daredevils who made early aviation history.
        Prior to gaining fame as a speed pilot, Roscoe Turner was
employed by a large oil company on the Pacific coast.  His ability as a
showman won himself and his employer much publicity as Turner flew all
over the country with his lion cub which he named "Gilmore" after his
employer.  The cub grew into a fair sized lion and continued to make
flights for many months, but finally it grew too large and perhaps too
dangerous, so Turner put it in a western zoo.

        The Records

        One of Col. Turner's first records was an east-to-west
transcontinental flight Nov. 11, 1932, which he made in 12 hours and 33
minutes.  In 1933, he broke this record making flight in 11 hours and 30
minutes.  He also established a west-to-east transcontinental record of
ten hours, four minutes and 57 seconds.
        This was the year he was awarded the Harmon Trophy for the
"Outstanding Achievement in Aviation During 1932."
        In 1934, he again broke one of his own records lowering the
west-to-east transcontinental time to ten hours, two minutes, and 57
seconds, exactly twoo minutes faster time than his former record.  this
was the year when he and Clyde Pangburn won third place in the London to
Melbourne, Australia, race making the long journey in 93 hours and six
minutes.  Among the many speed races Col. Turner won between 1927 and
1937 were the Thompson Trophy at Cleveland, Oh., the famous Bendix race,
and many others.
        The time records given in the preceding paragraph, no doubt, seem
slow to modern followers of aviation but it must be remembered that Col.
Turner's records were established while aviation was still in the
experimental stages, and long before it had reached present day
perfection.
        Since the days of his speed flying, Col. Turner has entered the
business end of the aviation industry and has been notably successful,
heading the Roscoe Turner Aviation enterprises at Indianapolis, Ind.
        Perhaps the supreme honor of his career was conferred upon him in
1952, when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by our
government in an elaborate ceremony in Washington.  He was congratulated
by Gen. Nathan F. Twining, acting Air Force Chief of Staff, on being the
first civilian to receive the DFC since 1932.

        The Others

        It is interesting to note that North and East Misssissippi has
been outstanding in developing the early stars in the realm of aviation.
Among the noted flyers, besides Col. Turner, who were native to this
section are Eddie Stinson of Aberdeen, and his sister, Katherine, real
pioneers who did much for the progress of flying;  Fred and Al Key of
Meridian, endurance records holders;  Dick Merrill of Iuka who piloted
actor Harry Richman around the world in record time, and James Hinton who
piloted Admiral Richard E. Byrd on his Antartic Expedition when he
discovered the South Pole.
        Col. Turner has won many honors for himself, and in doing this he
has done much for the progress of aviation, and pointed the way which
those who have come after him have followed that led the United States to
its present world's air supremacy.



Abstracts (c) Copyright 1993 Stephanie L. Sandy

    Data transcription by: Milton Sandy, Jr. Corinth, MS - June 21, 1993