Archie J. Old Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Archie J. Old Jr. | |
| Born | (1906-08-01)August 1, 1906 |
| Died | March 24, 1984(1984-03-24) (aged 77) |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1930–1965 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | Fifteenth Air Force 5th Air Division 7th Air Division 20th Combat Bombardment Wing 45th Combat Bombardment Wing 530th Air Transport Wing 96th Bomb Group |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (5) Purple Heart Air Medal (9) |
Archie J. Old Jr. (August 1, 1906 – March 24, 1984) was alieutenant general in theUnited States Air Force.[1][2]
Old was born inFarmersville, Texas, on August 1, 1906.[2]
Old flew 43 combat missions against Germany. On October 14, 1943, Old led the second raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories in the Fertile Myrtle III. Of 291 B-17s that reached the target, 60 were downed by flak or enemy fighters, for a loss rate of 20 percent. On June 21, 1944, Old led the second shuttle bombing run to Russia.[3][4] The B-17 that Col. Old was in for the first Schweinfurt mission aborted, so Col.Curtis Lemay and BGen.Robert Williams led the first Schweinfurt raid on 17 August; Col. Old and Maj. Thomas F. Kenny led the second Schweinfurt raid on 14 October 1943. On June 21, 1944, Col. Old led the second Shuttle Mission to Russia.[5]
In July 1948 he was named commander of the Atlantic Division of theMilitary Air Transport Service.[2]
In 1951 Old got two of SAC's important overseas jobs of commanding the7th Air Division in England and the5th Air Division in French Morocco.[2] Old retired September 1, 1965. He died March 24, 1984, at the base hospital atMarch Air Force Base.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
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Old ledOperation Power Flite as aMajor General. ThreeBoeing B-52 Stratofortresses became the firstjet aircraft tocircle the world nonstop in that mission. The mission was intended to demonstrate that the United States had the ability to drop ahydrogen bomb anywhere in the world.[13]
Distinguished Service Cross
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters
Purple Heart
Air Medal with eight oak leaf clustersOld appeared, playing himself, in "Massacre", a 1966 episode of the television showTwelve O'Clock High.[15]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographies: Lieutenant General Archie J. Old Jr.United States Air Force.Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved2008-06-24. This article incorporatespublic domain material fromLieutenant General Archie J. Old Jr.United States Air Force. Archived fromthe original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved2008-06-24.
