Robert Laing "Bob" Little (died May 22, 1942) was an American fighter pilot and double

ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

with the

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

, credited with 10, 10.5 or 10.55 victories. He was a native of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, and attended North Central High School in 1935 and 1936. Little resigned from the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

8th Pursuit Group The 8th Operations Group (8 OG) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing. It is stationed at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, and is a part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The group is a direct su ...

to join the Flying Tigers in the days before the United States entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was one of the few Flying Tigers with prior experience with the

Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

fighter, having logged 375 hours. In 1942, he was credited with downing

Nakajima Ki-27 The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligen ...

fighters on January 29 and February 6, 25 and 26, as well as a

Nakajima Ki-43 The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...

fighter on April 8. He was killed while on a ground attack mission at the

Salween River , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

Gorge south of Baoshan. Wingman R. H. Smith reported that Little was diving at the target when, at Smith heard an explosion, then saw flames and smoke coming from Little's left wing. With half the wing gone, the airplane went into a tight spin and struck the ground. Smith noted that he had seen no

flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

; Little may have been the unlucky victim of small arms fire from the ground triggering the premature detonation of one of his own bombs. Squadron leader Robert Neale stated, "Bob flew more missions over enemy territory than anybody else in the outfit. He never turned down a chance to fight. Bob was one of the most aggressive pilots in the AVG and a helluva good guy." Little was awarded a British Distinguished Flying Cross and an American Distinguished Flying Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Robert 1942 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from Washington (state) Flying Tigers pilots Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Army Air Forces pilots Military personnel from Spokane, Washington United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in China

See also

References