Roscoe Turner

Born in September 1895 in Corinth, Mississippi, Turner quickly decided life on a farm wasn’t for him. He ran away from home at the age of 16, traveling to Memphis, Tennessee. There, he found jobs driving taxis and an ice truck while also working as an auto mechanic. 

Turner first saw an airplane in 1913, and with the outbreak of World War I, decided to enlist in the aviation section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He was denied, due to a lack of college education. He would go on to enlist in the Ambulance Corps, and from there was able to transfer to an aviation section. While he saw combat in that unit, he would never do so as a pilot. 

Turner ended his military service in 1919. Like many of his fellow pilots, he would go on to purchase a surplus Canuck biplane and begin barnstorming. Thus began his flair for the dramatic, styling himself in a custom-made, military-style uniform—complete with custom wings with “RT” in the center. His barnstorming career would last for five years, and to drum up publicity he was even married in the cockpit of his plane, with the officiant standing beside. 

In 1925, Turner would acquire a Sikorsky S-29-A. His intent was to use the plane for publicity campaigns, charters, and joyrides. But this airplane would lead to Turner getting the taste of fame he seemed to crave. The Sikorsky, flown by Turner, would have a prominent role in Howard Hughes’ WWI 1930 movie epic Hell’s Angels. Turner landed the role of a handsome British airman and went on to play small roles in three other films—all as pilots. 

Turner turned to the world of racing, making his first appearance at the 1929 National Air Races. He flew a plane owned by the airline he had started—Nevada Air Lines. The carrier ceased operations in 1930, and its planes would be repossessed, but Turner wasn’t quite ready to be done with air racing. He convinced the Gilmore Oil Company to purchase a Lockheed Air Express and painted it with the company’s lion on the side. To further complete the image, he purchased a lion cub that he named Gilmore. 

Turner and Gilmore would fly more than 25,000 miles together, setting east-to-west and Canada-to-Mexico flight records. But an adult lion in an airplane wasn’t exactly practical, and Gilmore would be grounded after they finished fifth in the 1930 Los Angeles-to-Chicago derby race. 

The 1930s were an active time for Turner. He won the Bendix Trophy race in 1933 and the Thompson Trophy race in ’34, ’38, and ’39. He was the only three-time winner of the Thompson competition. Upon receiving that trophy in 1939, Turner said, “Make room for the photographers. It’s their last chance to shoot me. Racing is a young man’s game. I’m 43!”

But Turner’s retirement from racing wasn’t his farewell to the aviation world. He established the Turner Aviation Institute in Indianapolis and went on to train pilots, flight instructors, and mechanics for World War II. In 1949, through a special act of Congress, Turner would become the last civilian to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. 

Turner died in 1970 at the age of 74 and was buried in Indianapolis. His lion, Gilmore, was taxidermized and sits on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., alongside Turner’s  “uniform” and his plane.”