Robert Olds
Robert Olds was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, a "triple ace" fighter pilot of World War II and the Vietnam War.
He became an instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School between 1928 and 1931, the crucial period when the theory of strategic bombardment achieved ascendancy within the Air Corps as the most effective use of airpower. With eight colleagues at the ACTS, he was a member of the "Bomber Mafia," whose influence led to adoption of the theory as the doctrine of daylight precision bombing during World War II. Olds was a persuasive, sometimes controversial figure in the unsuccessful campaign during the 1930s to promote air force independence, but the bombardment doctrine the clique championed ultimately became the foundation for separation from the Army.
Olds was also an accomplished aviator and flight leader. As commander of the 2d Bombardment Group between 1937 and 1940, he led the first operational unit of B-17 Flying Fortresses and put theory into practice by overseeing the development of standard operating procedures for the heavy bomber. Olds showcased the capabilities of the new weapon by leading several highly publicized goodwill flights to South America.
Despite his advocacy for strategic bombing, during the United States' participation in World War II Olds did not command bombers in the field. Instead his major contribution to the war effort was creation and organization of the Air Corps Ferrying Command, whose task was delivery of newly produced aircraft to all parts of the globe, and which eventually became the Air Transport Command and successors. Health problems resulted in his transfer to a training command and led to his early death in 1943.
Personal history
Family
Olds was born Robert Oldys June 15, 1896, in Woodside, Maryland, to Henry Oldys and May Clendenin Oldys. He was the eldest of four siblings. His father was an ornithologist employed by the Division of Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture. His grandfather was Mark Lafayette Olds, a former physician, infantry veteran of the Mexican–American War, and Episcopal minister of Christ Church on Capitol Hill in the District of Columbia who stood on the gallows at the hanging on July 7, 1865, of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination.Olds married four times. His first marriage, to Eloise Karine Wichman, the ex-wife of Frederick Dickson Nott, in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 22, 1921, resulted in sons Robert Jr. and Stevan Meigs. She had had another child, Carter Nott, from her previous marriage.
Eloise died in 1926 while Olds was assigned to the headquarters of the Air Service in Washington, D.C. In 1928 he remarried, to Marjorie Langley, a divorcée with two sons from her previous marriage, and they were divorced in 1930.
His third marriage, in 1933 to Helen Post Sterling, also resulted in two sons, Sterling Meigs and Frederick A.. They separated in 1939 and were divorced in 1940.
His last marriage was to Nina S. Gore, daughter of Senator Thomas Gore, in June 1942.
Personality
Olds was "personable and charismatic," and highly outspoken, the latter strongly influenced by his association with General William "Billy" Mitchell. Commendations and efficiency reports consistently praised him for "enthusiasm," "energy," "initiative," "drive," and attention to detail. He developed a knack for generating favorable publicity during his tour in Hawaii which resulted in his often being in the public spotlight during his entire career.While noted as being skilled in the "art of diplomacy," particularly as an emissary for air power, his tact sometimes failed him. His outspokenness resulted in several public rebukes, notably during the Billy Mitchell court martial, and in flaps regarding "imprudent comments" he allegedly made during his goodwill trip to Argentina in 1938 and a congressional junket to Alaska in 1942.
His leadership was professionally esteemed by prominent Air Force leaders and historians, several of whom wrote but for his early death, he would have risen to four-star rank. He was exceptionally capable of inspiring subordinates, and of delegating authority, while remaining a firm disciplinarian. Of his decision-making ability, he was described as having quick reactions, sharp responses, and the "courage of his convictions." His friend and "Bomber Mafia" associate, Lt. Gen. Harold L. George, wrote: "He had a brilliant mind... He could grasp instantly, vexing details which usually make up difficult problems and, grasping them, he had the priceless ability to make a decision. He did not mull over what to do—having studied the problem, having arrived at a decision, he made it at once."
Friends and family noted that Olds, although a "hard-core, never-quit perfectionist," had outlets for his energies besides his work. After intense problems he would relax by playing squash or by doing aerobatics in a P-1 Hawk maintained at the base. His son Robin recalled how they would share afternoons sitting on the front porch of their quarters at Langley Field, Virginia, watching planes land. His home at Langley was a social gathering place for numerous aviation pioneers, war veterans, and air power advocates which included Eddie Rickenbacker, Fiorello La Guardia, Ernst Udet, Roscoe Turner, Elliott White Springs, Jimmie Mattern, and Beirne Lay. When the gatherings included his neighbor, Lt. Col. Carl Spaatz, his son fondly noted, they often ended with singing accompanied by Olds on the piano and Spaatz on the guitar.
Olds had a reputation for irascibility, part of which may have been due to arthritis, noted General William H. Tunner, a subordinate at Air Corps Ferrying Command in 1941. He was often in pain but not crippled by the affliction. Tunner went on to describe Olds:
He had energy to burn, on and off the job. He loved high living, and he loved women, too, for that matter; he'd been married four times by that time. He drove himself furiously and within a year he was a major general. Within another year he was dead. He'd given all he had.
Military career
Signal Corps and Air Service
Olds graduated from Central High School in Washington, D.C. He enlisted in the Aviation Section, Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps on January 16, 1917, became a sergeant, and entered pilot training at the Curtis Flying School, Newport News, Virginia. By the time he received his Reserve Military Aviator rating on May 15, 1917, the United States had entered World War I.On June 7, 1917, he was commissioned as a 1st lieutenant in the Signal Officers Reserve Corps. His first assignment was as commander of the newly organized and untrained 17th Aero Squadron at Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2. The next day the squadron entrained for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where they arrived August 4 to begin unit training with the Royal Flying Corps. After three weeks of recruit instruction at Leaside Aerodrome, personnel of the 17th were distributed to various locations for specialized training, while Olds and the squadron headquarters were located at Camp Borden, Ontario. Olds remained squadron commander until October 15, when he became a flying instructor at Scott Field, Illinois.
In December 1917 Olds was transferred as an instructor to Ellington Field, Texas, where he advanced through various supervisory positions, beginning with solo and formation stages and progressing to Officer-In-Charge Flying and OIC Training. He was promoted to captain on September 3, 1918, and sent to France.
Capt. Olds was assigned to pursuit training at the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun on September 25. After completing the course, he was assigned to the 7th Aviation Instruction Center at Clermont-Ferrand, where he became "Training Officer for Bombardment" and later Officer-In-Charge. On January 14, 1919, during demobilization of the American Expeditionary Force, Olds was assigned to the staff of Col. Frank P. Lahm, chief of Air Service, Second Army at Toul as flight examiner, a post he held until April 29. He returned to Washington, D.C., in August 1919.
Olds transferred to Fort Ruger at Honolulu, Hawaii, in October 1919, as Air Service Operations Officer, with concurrent command of the 3rd Balloon Company. A reserve officer, he decided to remain in the military but needed a regular commission to avoid being demobilized by the National Defense Act of 1920, which reduced the Army by 50%. Air Service commanders in Hawaii submitted three letters of recommendation on his behalf, he passed the requisite qualifying examinations, and on July 1, 1920, when the law took effect, Olds received commissions as 1st lieutenant and captain of Air Service of the Regular Army.
In July 1921 Olds was assigned operations officer of the 5th Observation Group at Luke Field. He became its commander from April 12, 1922, to May 20, 1922, and again from November 10, 1922, to April 13, 1923. During his Hawaiian tour, Olds was credited with the first night flight over Oahu on June 30, 1920; the first flight to Molokai, on August 18, 1920; and the first flight over Haleakalā crater on August 25, flying de Havilland DH-4Bs.
Olds transferred in 1923 to the Office of the Chief of Air Service in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the War Plans Division, often as an aide to the Assistant Chief of the Air Service, Gen. Mitchell. In October 1925 he assisted Mitchell during the Morrow Board hearings, and the following month at Mitchell's court martial. With his career conceivably in jeopardy, Olds testified on November 10, describing the dangerous conditions under which the Air Service was forced to operate, and a lack of understanding of aviation requirements on the part of non-flying senior staff and commanders. Although mocked and questioned with sarcastic hostility during cross-examination by the nine ground forces generals comprising the panel, Olds "held his own".