William Cecil Hawkins
MilitaryPhoto from the Hawkins family
William Hawkins was a Mustang pilot assigned to the 4th Fighter Group/335th Fighter Squadron. On a local transition flight on 1 March 1944, he had a landing accident at Station 345, Goxhill, Lancashire, after attempting a go-around during a local transition flight in P-51B 43-12424 of 496th FTG/555th FTS. Returned to duty. He was pilot of P-51 Mustang 43-6316 on a bomber escort/sweep mission to Bordeaux, France on 21 March 1944, a few short weeks after his arrival in England. On return from the raid, his Mustang, which had bullet holes in the wing and fuselage, the result of dog-fighting with German fighters in the Bordeaux area, was running low on fuel. (The German J-726 report says he was downed “by Flak”…) Hawkins thought he wouldn’t have enough gas to make it back across the Channel and he bailed out over the Brest area in Northwest France. He managed to evade capture with the help of French citizens, notably the Dr de la Marniere family in Brest, who sheltered him for over a month, and other members of the Résistance. Evacuated 12-13 July 1944 from Sous-Kéruzeau, Brittany, on board British Motor Gun Boat MGB 503. Back in the UK on 13 July 1944. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 3438. Escape & Evasion Report E&E 832.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 21 March 1944
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Alabama, USA | 20 December 1922 | in Langdale, Chambers County, Alabama, the son of Newton Thomas Hawkins and Elma Annie (Moon) Hawkins |
Enlisted |
Spence Field, Moultrie, GA | 31 July 1942 | Spence Field, Moultrie, Georgia |
Other Crashed |
Goxhill, Barrow-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire DN19, UK | 1 March 1944 | Crashed attempting a go-around during a local transition flight on 1-Mar-44 in P-51B 43-12424. Returned to Duty RTD. |
Other Assigned |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 10 March 1944 - 21 March 1944 | Assigned to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
Other Evaded (EVD) |
France | 21 March 1944 - 13 July 1944 | Evaded capture (EVD). See Biography. |
Other bailed out over Brest, France |
Brest, France | 21 March 1944 | His P-51 crashed between Bourg-Blanc and Lambézellec, about 12km North of Brest, France, after being hit on a sweep in the Bordeaux area of France on 21 March 1944 in P-51B #43-6316. |
Died |
Costa Mesa, Orange County, CA | 10 December 2010 | Costa Mesa, Orange County, California |
Langdale, Alabama, USA |
Revisions
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
WWII Draft Card
Corrected birth date and details after research in Hawkins' Escape & Evasion Report E&E 832 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5555472 (page 18 : born 7/26/22 !); in the 1930 US Census (Cecil, “aged 9”, son of Newt and Elma Hawkins, Langdale, Chambers County, Alabama; one brother “Willard”...); in the 1940 US Census : (Newton T. and Elma Hawkins, with sons Allen Willard and William… ); at https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:William_Hawkins_%28132%29
Corrected date and place of death
MACR 3438
NARA Captured German Records : J-726 : > https://catalog.archives.gov/id/131494597
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3438 / MACR 3438, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list