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Military
1st Lt William H Allen 343rd FS
(L-R) T/Sgt. Fayne S Westbrook, Sgt. Wilfred G Holmes, Lt. William H Allen and Cpl. Frank W Bandy. Bundy adds the kill markings to P-51D 44 14049 CY-J 'Pretty Patty II'.
Lt. William H Allen. 343rd Fighter Squadron. P-51D 44-14049 CY-J "Pretty Patty II". Lt. Allen seen with his ground crew (L-R) c.c. T/Sgt. Fayne S Westbrook; a.c.c. Sgt. Wilfred G Holmes; Lt William H Allen and armorer Cpl. Frank W Bandy.
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.
Group
The 55th Fighter Group were the first P-38 Lightning Group to go fully operational from England. The pilots flew long-range escort missions for bombers flying over occupied Europe and racked up 'kills' of their own by destroying enemy aircraft in...
Squadron
P-38 Lightning
Assigned to 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort to Hamm. Shot down in melee with Bf109's Waldbröl 22-Apr-44 - Lt Clair A Penners POW. MACR 4121.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Personal aircraft of Lt William H Allen.
Military site : airfield
Wormingford was a Royal Flying Corps/RAF anti-Zeppelin aircraft Landing Ground First World War, rebuilt for the Eighth Air Force 1942-43. It was a Ninth Air Force base from 1943-44, and home to the 362nd Fighter Group. Switching back to the Eighth Air...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Los Angeles, California | 22 April 1924 |
| Lived in | Torrance, CA, USA | 1940 |
| Enlisted | Los Angeles, CA, USA | 8 July 1942 |
| Assigned | Wormingford, Colchester, Essex CO6, UK | May 1944 – October 1944 |
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Assigned to 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Promotion | Wormingford, Colchester, Essex CO6, UK | July 1944 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant |
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| E/A Destroyed x 5 | Göppingen, Germany | 5 September 1944 |
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Destroyed five He111's Göppingen airfield. |
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| Buried | Riverside County, CA, USA | August 2014 |
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Riverside National Cemetery |
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| Died | California, USA | 17 August 2014 |
| End Tour of Duty (ETD) | England, UK | |
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Ended Tour of Duty (ETD). |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 05 July 2016 22:42:46 | Al_Skiff | Changes to nickname, highest rank and events |
| Sources | ||
http://wingsofvalor.us/ace-lieutenant-william-h-allen-usaaf-ret/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 July 2016 22:36:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, highest rank, biography, awards, events, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
http://wingsofvalor.us/ace-lieutenant-william-h-allen-usaaf-ret/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:28:05 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| 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 |
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