Obituaries : * Robert T. Smith; Author, Flying Tigers Ace

Robert T. Smith, an author and member of World War II’s famed Flying Tigers, has died.

Smith, who was 77, died of lung cancer early Monday at Valley Presbyterian Hospital. He was a Van Nuys resident for 20 years.

Born Feb. 23, 1918, in York, Neb., Smith--later known as “R. T.”--attended the University of Nebraska before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps. He later resigned to sign up with the American Volunteer Group, which was formed--technically, by American civilians--to fly for the Chinese government against Japanese invaders before the U.S. entry in World War II.

The AVG became known as the Flying Tigers because the noses of their P-40 Tomahawk fighter planes were painted with rows of gleaming teeth, a trademark part of the group’s glamorous image.

Smith spent nine months as a soldier of fortune with the Flying Tigers, who were paid bonuses for each aerial victory. After shooting down five planes he qualified as an ace, and then won the Chinese Air Force 9-Star medal for nine victories. With the U.S. entry into the war after Pearl Harbor, the Flying Tigers pilots returned to the U.S. Army Air Forces.

After the war, Smith returned to the United States, eventually settling in California. He worked as an airline pilot, a military sales representative for Lockheed and a radio and television writer for shows including “Hopalong Cassidy” and “Lum n’ Abner.”

He then became an officer of the Flying Tiger Line, the airline founded by Robert Prescott, one of his fellow “Hell’s Angels”--members of the 3rd Squadron of the Flying Tigers.

While he pursued other interests, including inventing a conditioning product for convertible tops called “Top Secret,” his interest in flying never waned and he discovered that the American public’s interest in the Flying Tigers had not subsided either.

In 1986, he wrote and published “Tale of a Tiger,” featuring his original diary entries and photos from his stint with the AVG. In retirement, he established a lucrative mail-order business, selling the book and color prints of Flying Tigers’ planes.

“People really like his book,” said his oldest son, Bradford M. Smith, of Berkeley. “People have extraordinary reverence and respect for what they did. It’s wonderful to see.”

At the time of his death, Smith was planning to attend the Flying Tigers’ biennial reunion next week in Portland, Ore., according to his sister, A. J. Shields of Van Nuys. “All he ever wanted was to fly.”

In addition to his son and his sister, Smith is survived by sons Robert T. Smith Jr. of Anaheim and William Reed Smith of North Hollywood.

There will be no services. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to an aviation organization of the donor’s choice.