Naval History by Country : ROYAL NAVY US NAVY GERMAN NAVY FRENCH NAVY MORE PAGES

ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS : 20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Robert M Elder

Name : Robert M Elder Died : 12th September 2008

Robert M. Elder was born in Saskatchewan, Canada on December 5, 1918. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle as a Naval ROTC student, where he majored in Aero Engineering. Elder commenced his flight training at Pensacola, and was commissioned as an Ensign in the USNR in May of 1941. In June, Elder was assigned to Bombing Squadron 3, the Mlack Panthers," who were at that time were equipped with Douglas Dauntless S1313-3 bombers, and were assigned to the USS Saratoga (CV-3) based in San Diego. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Elder and his squadron mates from V13-3 would be soon be involved in the heat of battle in the Pacific. Elder flew numerous bombing missions during the Battle of the Coral Sea. During the Battle of Midway, V13-3 flying off the USS Yorktown, along with bombers from the USS Enterprise, sunk three Japanese aircraft carriers in a matter of minutes. This would prove to be the turning point in the War in the Pacific. Elder would later fly in both the Guadacanal and Easter Solomons campaigns. He was awarded two Navy Crosses, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and received two Presidential Unit Citations. Following the War, Elder remained in the Navy. He was one of the first graduates from the Navy's test pilot training school in 1950. He was also one of the first Naval aviators to fly jet aircraft, and he participated in developmental flights on both the F8F Bearcat and the F7F Tigercat. On the former Elder carrier qualified the aircraft. In 1953 Elder returned to combat duty with VF-191 flying off the USS Orinskany. Subsequently he commanded Carrier Air Group 12, the USS Waccamaw, and the USS Coral Sea. Following the Korean War, Elder continued to fly. In 1957 Bob was assigned as Director of the Flight Test Division at the Navy's Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland. Here Bob personally conducted initial test flights on many of the Navy's new supersonic fighter aircraft including the F3 Demon, F-1 1 Tiger, the F-4 Phantom 11, the A-5 Vigilante, and the F8U-3 Crusader 11. Elder retired from the Navy in 1963. He then worked for the Northrop Corporation for 23 years, holding the positions of Chief Test Pilot, Director of Flight Operations, and Head of Flight Test and Evaluation. He was one of the driving forces behind the programs which evolved into the F/A- 18 Hornet. Bob also was founder of the Tailhook Association, and received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1964. During his amazing flying career, Bob Elder has flown more than 8,000 flight hours in 142 different types of aircraft. He has become carrier qualified in 35 different aircraft, and has made almost 1,000 carrier landings. Bob s also served as President of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. He died 12th September 2008.

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

Battle of the Coral Sea by Robert Taylor. (APB)

Midway - Strike Against the Akagi by Robert Taylor.

Fast Cats by Stan Stokes. (B)

Midway: The Turning Point by Stan Stokes. (B)

Aircraft for : Robert M Elder
A list of all aircraft associated with Robert M Elder. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Bearcat Click the name above to see prints featuring Bearcat aircraft. Manufacturer : Grumman Production Began : 1945 Retired : 1963 Number Built : 1265	Bearcat The F8F prototypes were ordered in November 1943 and first flew on 21 August 1944, The first production aircraft was delivered in February 1945 and the first squadron, Fighter Squadron 19 (VF-19), was operational by 21 May 1945, Pstwar, the F8F became a major U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps fighter, equipping 24 fighter squadrons in the Navy and a smaller number in the Marines. Often its performance was sufficient to outperform many early jets Its capability for aerobatic performance is illustrated by its selection as the second demonstration aircraft for the navy's elite Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron in 1946, replacing the Grumman F6F Hellcat. he Blue Angels flew the Bearcat until the team was temporarily disbanded in 1950 during the Korean War and pressed into operational combat service. The F9F Panther and McDonnell F2H Banshee largely replaced the Bearcat as their performance and other advantages eclipsed piston-engine fighters
Dauntless Click the name above to see prints featuring Dauntless aircraft. Manufacturer : Douglas Production Began : 1940	Dauntless The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a naval Dive Bomber and was the US Navys main dive bomber from mid 1940 to late 1943. The Douglas SBD Dauntless, which earned the nickname Slow, But Deadly entered service with the USN and USMC in 1940. Powered by a 1,000 HP, 9-cylinder, Cyclone radial engine the SBD was capable of a maximum speed of 250 MPH. The Dauntless could stay airborne for a long time with its 1,300 mile range and slow cruising speed, The Douglas SBD Dauntless was capable of delivering a 1,200 pound bomb load. Because of its slow speed the SBD needed armament to discourage attack by enemy fighters. Two forward firing machine guns and either one or two rear firing guns mounted in the gunners cockpit behind the pilot, gave the SBD enough firepower to make it a challenging target for enemy fighters. The aircraft was also operated by the United States Army as the A-24 Banshee
Tigercat Click the name above to see prints featuring Tigercat aircraft.	Tigercat Full profile not yet available.

Return to Aviation Directory Search Home

Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY  COPYRIGHT  LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.  NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT.