William Dawson Bridges Jr

Military
media-27411.jpeg UPL 27411 2nd Lt William D Bridges Jr 38FS, 55FG 8AF.

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots/38th%20Pilots/Bridges%20William…

Object Number - UPL 27411 - 2nd Lt William D Bridges Jr 38FS, 55FG 8AF.

Assigned to 82FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 38FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF.



Awards: WWII Victory, EAME, OCC, Korean and UN Medals.



Post war: Remained in USAF serving in Korea and rising to the rank of Major.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Aircraft

44-63683

  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Nicknames: Punker Ruthie K
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 78th Fighter Group 38th Fighter Squadron 83rd Fighter Squadron

Places

Line up of P-47 Thunderbolts of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, at Duxford air base. September 1944. Printed caption on reverse of print: '55432 AC - War Birds Home To Rest - Republic P-47 Thunderbolts lined up on an 8th Air Force field in England after a daylight sweep over Germany. Crews have finished inspections and refueling.'

Duxford

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: "Duckpond"
Lieutenant-Colonel Elwyn G. Righetti of the 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group stands beside his P-51 Mustang, "Katydid". Print signed 'Best of everything your big loud Elwyn', 1944-1945.

Wormingford

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Bures / RAF Wormingford / RFC Wormingford / USAAF Station 159 / Wormingford Landing Ground

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Montgomery County, AL, USA 30 April 1925

Enlisted

Gunter Park Dr, Montgomery, AL 36109, USA 10 February 1943 Gunter Field Montgomery Alabama

Other

Crashed

Giebelstadt, Germany 29 May 1946 Mid Air Collision 10 Miles W Giebelstaat Cat 2 damage Lt William D Bridges, 29-May-46. P-51D 44-63683

Died

Harrison County, MS, USA 19 April 1975

Based

Duxford Assigned to 82FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF.

Based

Wormingford Transferred to 38FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF.

Other

Promotion

Wormingford, UK Promoted to 1st Lieutenant.
Montgomery County, AL, USA

Buried

Gulf Pines Memorial Gardens Long Beach Harrison County Mississippi, USA

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots/38th%20Pilots/Bridges%20William…
https://www.fold3.com/page/84090583_william_d%20bridges%20jr/details/
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbapi.asp?Pilot=Bridges%2C+Willi…
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84141842

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots/38th%20Pilots/Bridges%20William…
https://www.fold3.com/page/84090583_william_d%20bridges%20jr/details/
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=84141842

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / EAGLES OF DUXFORD, The 78th Fighter Group in WW2 by Fry, p132 / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

William Dawson Bridges: Gallery (1 items)

Object number: UPL 27411 - 2nd Lt William D Bridges Jr 38FS, 55FG 8AF.