Biography                  Missing Image DOS RT4

             Roscoe  Turner, 1895-1970,  was born and  raised in Corinth,
        Mississippi.   He learned to fly airplanes in France during World
        War  I while attached to the American Second Army.  After the war
        he ran a flying circus, barnstormed at air shows and state fairs,
        flew  the first flying  store and owned  the Roscoe Turner Flying
        Service, 1926-1929.  He also did stunt flying in movies.

             In  1929 he operated  Nevada Airlines, the  first high speed
        airline.   Roscoe Turner was the only aviator to win the Thompson
        and  Henderson trophies three times  and the Harmon Trophy twice.
        He  and Jimmy  Doolittle were  the only  pilots who  won both the
        Thompson and Bendix trophies.  In 1929 he was the first person to
        land an airplane by parachute.

             He  co-designed and  flew the  first airplane  to fly faster
        than  300 miles  per hour.   He broke  the transcontinental speed
        record  seven times and was known nationally as "The Speed King."
        During  the 1930s he  starred in the  radio serials "Flying Time"
        and  "Sky Blazers" which  had associated clubs  for children.  He
        was  a national hero to enthusiasts who listened to the air races
        and  his radio programs or read of his exploits in newspapers and
        magazines.  He gained international fame when he placed second in
        the  speed division  of the  MacRobertson International  Air Race
        from England to Australia in 1934.  He was also famous for racing
        with his pet lion, Gilmore, as copilot.

             In  1939  he  was  awarded the  American  Legion  Goddess of
        Victory  Trophy as the outstanding  flier of the year, co-starred
        in  the movie Flight At Midnight, retired from racing and founded
        the  Roscoe  Turner  Aeronautical  Corporation  in  Indianapolis,
        Indiana.  During World War II  the corporation trained over 3,500
        fliers for the Army Air Corp.  He and Jean DuBuque wrote the book
        Win  Your Wings in 1940.  From  1941 to 1946 he and Maurice Roddy
        wrote a column, "Aviation", for the Chicago Times Syndicate.

             He  was a member  of the American  Legion from its inception
        and  chairman of the National Aeronautic  Committee.  He was also
        one  of the creators  of the Civil  Air Patrol and  served on its
        National  Executive Board and president  of the National Aviation
        Trades Association for many years.

             In  1952  Congress awarded  Roscoe Turner  the Distinguished
        Flying Cross for his outstanding contributions to the advancement
        of   aerial  flight.     In  1956   the  Federation  Aeronautique
        Internationale   awarded  him  the  prestigious  Paul  Tissandier
        Diploma for his contribution to private and sport flying.

             Roscoe  Turner was noted for  his showmanship, flying skill,
        and  his extraordinary  accomplishments during his  many years of
        experimentation  to  increase  aircraft speed  and  safety.   The
        results  of his studies were used  in building combat aircraft of
        the  1940s and 1950s.   In 1960 he was  appointed a consultant to
        the  House Science  and Aeronautics Committee,  serving the 86th,
        87th  and  89th Congresses.   Throughout  his  life he  played an
        active  and important part in the  development of aviation in the
        United States.