William Harry Allen

Military
media-22580.jpeg UPL 22580 1st Lt William H Allen 343rd FS

Object Number - UPL 22580 - 1st Lt William H Allen 343rd FS

Assigned 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

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
  • Nicknames: Pretty Patty
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 343rd Fighter Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
  • Nicknames: Pretty Patty II
  • Unit: 55th Fighter Group 343rd Fighter Squadron

Places

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.
  • 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

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

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

William Harry Allen: Gallery (3 items)