Tuscson (Arizona): Ralph D "Hoot" Gibson, a Korean War ace and former lead pilot for the US Air Force Thunderbirds flight demonstration team, has died. He was 84.

Gibson, an Air Force colonel who founded a Tucson real estate firm after he retired in 1974,died Jan 2 after striking his head while showing a buyer a piece of property, his son Scott Gibson said.

Gibson, born in Keensburg, Illinois, and raised in nearby Mt Carmel, joined the Army Air Forces in 1943 and went to flight school, but did not see combat during World War II. Assigned to the 4th Flying Group during the Korean War, he flew 94 missions in the F-86 Sabre and downed five MiG-15 fighters to become the nation's third jet fighter ace.

In the 1960s, Gibson led the Thunderbirds for two years and flew 104 missions in F-4 Phantoms over Vietnam as a squadron commander, according to an Air Force biography.

Gibson's awards included two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star for valor, a Meritorious Service Medal, 14 Air Medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.

Gibson isn't related to former NASA astronaut Robert "Hoot" Gibson.

Services for Gibson were held yesterday in Tucson, with a flight of Air Force F-16 fighters making a flyover.

Source : PTI