Archie J . Old , Jr . Archie J . Old , Jr . ( August 1 , 1906 – March 24 , 1984 ) was a General during World War II and a command Air Force pilot . Early life . Old was born at Farmersville , Texas in 1906 . Here he grew up and went to the normal childhood schools and graduated from high school . Old then studied civil engineering at Trinity University and at the University of Texas . Old enlisted as a private in the Texas National Guard on April 16 , 1930 . He then attended aviation cadet training in the United States Army Air Corps . Appointed a flying cadet in February 1931 , he completed his flying training at Brooks and Kelly Field s in Texas . Old was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Reserve on February 26 , 1932 . He then was assigned to active duty with the 13th Attack Squadron at Fort Crockett , Texas . There he served until February 1933 . Old for short periods during the following seven years was on active duty as a reserve officer . Military career . On September 6 , 1940 Old was ordered to extended active duty . At that time , he was assigned to the 52d Bombardment Squadron at MacDill Field in Florida . There he was an assistant armament and chemical officer . In the following February he became operations officer of the 29th Bombardment Group . The group later moved to Gowen Field , Idaho , where he followed with them . Old assumed command of the 96th Bomb Group at Walla Walla , Washington , in September 1942 . In January 1943 he moved his group to the European theater . In December 1943 Old became chief of the 45th Combat Bomber Wing . On August 14 , 1943 , ( Black Thursday ) Col Old led the raid on the Schweinfurt ball bearing factories in the Fertile Myrtle III . It is considered to be the largest aerial battle to have ever occurred . 376 aircraft ( B - 17s ) dispatched , 291 made it over target , 60 failed to return . 5 crashed in England on landing , 12 that did land were so battle damaged that they were scrapped , never to fly again . Total loss , over 600 Flight Crew and 77 aircraft . Old returned to the United States in July 1945 . There he was assigned to the Army Air Forces headquarters at Washington , D . C . In August he was transferred to Air Transport Command headquarters at Gravelly Point , Virginia . Later in December of the same year he became commanding general of the Southwest Pacific Wing of Air Transport Command . In January 1946 he assumed additional duty as commanding general of the China Wing . On June 1 , 1948 , Old became commanding general of the 530th Air Transport Wing of Military Transport Service at Fairfield - Suisun Air Force Base in California . In July of that year he was named commander of the Atlantic Division of MATS . Old became acting commander of the Eighth Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base , Texas , in March 1950 . In 1951 Old got two of SAC ' s important overseas jobs of commanding the 7th Air Division in England and the 5th Air Division in French Morocco . In February 1953 Old was assigned as director of operations for the Strategic Air Command . On August 22 , 1955 , Old assumed command of the Fifteenth Air Force . Old retired September 1 , 1965 . He died March 24 , 1984 at the base hospital at March Air Force Base . World War II . During World War II Old flew 43 combat missions against Germany . He led the October 14 , 1943 raid against a ball - bearing works at Schweinfurt , Germany . He was also the general commander of the 45th Combat Bomber Wing of the Eighth Air Force . Old flew the first shuttle bomb run from England to Russia in June 1944 and received the United States Army Distinguished Service Cross . In response to headquarters directives about his flying combat missions Old is recorded as saying , " Every mission I make means that I ' m that much more competent to advise the boys concerning their jobs . I ' ll go with them anywhere - Berlin , the Ruhr , and , more important , most of us will get back . " Other achievements . Old was the leading commander of the first non - stop round - the - world jet flight . This was done with three heavy bombers in January 1957 . The jet aircraft were refueled in flight by aerial tankers . Each eight engine jet carried a crew of nine . The route was via Newfoundland , French Morocco , Saudi Arabia , India , Ceylon , Philippines , and Guam . This historic project was given to Fifteenth Air Force by the Strategic Air Command headquarters . It was known as Operation Power Flite . General Old flew the lead jet airplane out of the 93d Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base in California . Old took off from there on January 16 , 1957 . He circled the globe non - stop in a Boeing B - 52 Stratofortress jet and completed the trip on January 18 . He landed at March Air Force Base in California some 45 hours and 19 minutes later . The total distance was 24 , 325 miles . The average speed was 525 miles per hour . Old told reporters that the flight was " merely a routine SAC mission . The planning and preparation that went into the aerial circumnavigation were identical to what was demanded every day in the Fifteenth Air Force and the Strategic Air Command . " Televison appearance . General Old appeared , playing himself , in " Massacre , " a 1966 episode of the television show " Twelve O ' Clock High " .