CHICAGO TRIBUNE June 24, 1970

                              SPEED   FLIER
                              ROSCOE TURNER
                              IS DEAD AT 74

                           Set 7 Air Records,
                           Awarded DFC in '52

         Indianapolis, June 23 UPI- Col. Roscoe Turner, 74, internationally
  known daredevil speed pilot of the generation between World Wars I and
  II, died of cancer today in a hospital here after a long illness.
          Turner was working on plans for a museum to house mementoes of
  the aviation industry before entering the hospital.
          Previously he had disposed of his Turner Aeronautical
  Corporation, a firm based at Weir Cook Municipal airport here which
  occupied much of his time for many years.
          Turner was an aviation pioneer and speedster.  He won the
  Thompson trophy for cross-country speed flying three times, a feat nobody
  else has accomplished.

                  Awarded DFC in '52
          At the age of 56 in 1952, Turner was awarded the distinguished
  flying cross for his contributions to aerial speed and safety.  It was
  the first award of the dfc to a civilian in 20 years.
          Turner was one of the top of the breed of barnstormers and
  stunters who kept aviation going between the wars.
          He set seven transcontinental speed records.  One, the 1933
  Bendix trophy mark of 11 hours and 30 minutes from New York to Los
  Angeles, stood more than five years.
          Turner won the closed-course Thompson trophy race three times and
  finished second in a London-to-Melbourne dash in 1934, the world's
  toughest long-distance haul.

                  War I Pilot
          After serving as a pilot in World War I, Turner barnstormed for
  eight years, then opened the first commercial airfield at Richmond, Va.,
  in 1927.
          Though he ended his military flying career as a 1st lieutenant,
  Turner was known as "colonel" by virtue of appointments from the
  governors of Nevada, California, and his native Mississippi.
          His trademark was a lion cub which he carried in his plane as an
  advertising gimmick.
          Until Turner won the DFC it hadn't been awarded to a civilian
  since 1932 when the army gave it to five flyers- including Amelia Earhard
  Putnam and Wiley Post.

                              CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Wednesday, June 24, 1970


       Data transcription by: Milton Sandy, Jr., copy of article courtesy
                of Jelena Radicevic, Harold Washington Library Center,
                400 South State St., Chicago, IL 60605 (312) 747-4999
                June 16, 1994.