Col. Richard Toliver - Pilot

469th Fighter Squadron, 388th Fighter Wing

A Distinguished Veteran

Col. Richard Toliver graduated from Tuskegee University with a degree in engineering. He entered the United States Air Force in 1963 as a 2nd Lieutenant and was assigned as a Weapons Development Engineer at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Later, he completed Undergraduate Pilot Training Operations at Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona.

Col. Toliver was next assigned to the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cam Rahn Bay AB, Vietnam in 1966. As a member of the 559th Tactical Fighter Squadron, he flew 231 combat missions throughout Southeast Asia and was known as the “Black Baron”. He was also known as the “Preacher”. Col. Toliver’s follow-on assignments included squadron operations in Europe, instructor pilot in California, and the USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

Col. Toliver returned to Southeast Asia in 1972 and was assigned to 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing, Korat, Thailand. He was one of the initial members of the F-4/F-105 “Hunter Killer Team” that searched for and destroyed surface-to-air missiles in North Vietnam. Later, he joined the 421st TFS, 432nd TRW at Udorn AB and completed 215 combat missions for a total of 446 by June 1973.

Col. Toliver returned to Nellis AFB, Nevada, and began a sustained career of directing, testing, and evaluating major weapons systems for the Department of Defense and allied military programs, and he held key rolls in advanced research, development, and testing of tactical fighter aircraft. Later, Col. Toliver became an operational test pilot for the F-15 Eagle, stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. He set a test record for the longest sustained G flight, averaging 4.5 Gs for 7 minutes, while flying the F-15 against two Top Gun adversary fighters over the Nevada desert. From 1977 to 1980, he was stationed at Ramstein and Bitburg Air Bases in Germany, flying the F-15C. In 1982, General Charles Gabriel, Chief of Staff, USAF, approved his assignment as Test Director for F-15E Strike Eagle at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During this time, he was one of only four persons in the world to have flown both the F-15E and the F-16XL.