- Date Of Birth: November 21, 1920
- Date Of Death: August 12, 2007
- State: Florida
The Air Force pilot known as Thunderbird One, retired Maj. Gen. Richard C. Catledge, died Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. His extraordinary Air Force career was highlighted by flying number one, or lead position, with the famous U.S. Air Force Thunderbird aerobatic team. In 1953, he was appointed to form the original team, and he put some of the Air Force’s best pilots into the F-84-G. Born in Shawnee, Okla., in 1920, Gen. Catledge grew up in Memphis, Tenn., where he was very active in sports and swimming. He returned to Oklahoma to finish high school and won the state diving championship. Later, attending college in California, he earned the Southern California junior college diving championship. In 1947, he won the National Air Force Diving Championship. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Force and received his pilot’s wings. A year later, World War II found him assigned to the 1st Fighter Group, a P-38 unit in North Africa. While flying his 23rd combat mission, he was shot down in a dogfight over the Bay of Naples. He was captured and sent to a prison camp in northern Italy. He escaped and evaded enemy forces in the mountains of Italy for nine months before reaching friendly lines. In 1944, he was assigned to Luke AFB, Phoenix, Ariz., where he met and married Norma Hart.
