William Harry Allen
MilitaryAssigned to 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Flew seven combat missions. On 5-Sep-44, returning from an escort mission to Stuttgart, Germany, he spotted several aircraft taking off from the airport at Göppingen. His flight of four P-51s went down, and when the fight was over he was credited with five He111's destroyed, making him an “ace-in-a-day”. Ended Tour of Duty (ETD).
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (4 OLC), WWII Victory.
Post War: Remained in USAF. Remained an active pilot throughout his career and flew a total of 39 different aircraft including single, twin and four engine fixed wing aircraft and helicopters prior to his retirement as a Major on 31-Jan-63. Following his retirement, worked as an aircraft accident investigator for the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Retiring for the second time, he continued doing aviation safety consulting in his home state of California.
Connections
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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
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bures / RAF Wormingford / RFC Wormingford / USAAF Station 159 / Wormingford Landing Ground
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Los Angeles, California | 22 April 1924 | |
Enlisted |
Los Angeles, CA, USA | 8 July 1942 | |
Other E/A Destroyed x 5 |
Göppingen, Germany | 5 September 1944 | Destroyed five He111's Göppingen airfield. |
Died |
California, USA | 17 August 2014 | |
Other End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
England, UK | Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). | |
Other Promotion |
Wormingford, Colchester, Essex CO6, UK | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant | |
Other Assigned |
Wormingford, Colchester, Essex CO6, UK | Assigned to 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. | |
Torrance, CA, USA | |||
Buried |
Riverside County, CA, USA | Riverside National Cemetery Riverside Riverside County California, USA. |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list / self, WWW.55th.org roster