Robert A. “Bob” Hoover was born on January 24, 1922, and died on October 25, 2016.

He was an air show pilot.

He was a United States Air Force test pilot and fighter pilot.

He was known as the “pilot’s pilot”.

He had revolutionized modern aerobatic flying and was referred to in many aviation circles as one of the greatest pilots ever to have lived.

He learned to fly at Nashville’s Berry Field while working at a local grocery store to pay for the flight training.

Hoover enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard and was sent for pilot training with the Army.

At World War II, Bob Hoover was sent to Casablanca where his first major assignment was test flying the assembled aircraft ready for service.

Bob was later assigned to the Spitfire-equipped 52d Fighter Group in Sicily.

During 1944, on his 59th mission, his malfunctioning Mark V Spitfire was shot down by a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 off the coast of Southern France and he was taken prisoner.

Hoover spent 16 months at the German prison camp Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany.

Bob Hoover passed away at 95 yeas old.