Robert William Prescott

Robert William Prescott (May 5, 1913 – March 3, 1978) was an American aviator and entrepreneur. An ace with the Flying Tigers in the early part of World War II, he went on to found the Flying Tiger Line, the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States.

He was born in Fort Worth, Texas. After high school, in 1934 he moved to California and worked his way through Compton Junior College as a truck driver. He was also working and attending Loyola Law School in Los Angeles when some friends dragged him along on a visit to the naval flying school at Long Beach. Prescott was hooked. In 1939, he quit studying law and enlisted in the United States Navy to become a pilot.

He completed training and qualified as an aviator, and was commissioned as an ensign in 1940. He became an instructor at the naval flying school in Pensacola, Florida. He resigned his commission in September 1941 to join the American Volunteer Group (AVG) to fight the Japanese in China. Before the AVG disbanded in the summer of 1942, he was credited with either 5.5 or 6 victories. Rather than follow his commander, Claire Chennault, and a few of his comrades into the US military, Prescott returned to Fort Worth, where he was interviewed by Fort Worth Press journalist Helen Ruth.

In 1943, he returned to Asia and, as an employee of the China National Airways Corporation, made over 300 supply flights over "the Hump" into China. After returning to the United States in 1944, he married Helen Ruth. He was the co-pilot of the "Mission to Moscow" flight of US Ambassador Joseph E. Davies.

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