William P Kelly
MilitaryIWM Photo D 9518
IWM Photo.
Joined RCAF, service pilot training, shipped overseas to ETO, operational training at OTU, assigned to 121 [Eagle] Sqn RAF, Fw190 destroyed on Rodeo to Abbeville, France 31-7-42
transferred to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Dispatched in Spitfire EN918 to strafe a convoy off Walcheren Island. He was hit by flak from one of the ships at 1200 feet. Attempted to make land, but A/C was seen to go into the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). 5-2-43. Body not recovered.
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: Spitfire
- Unit: 4th Fighter Group 335th Fighter Squadron No 121 'Eagle' Squadron
Missions
- Date: 5 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Saratoga, New York | 23 August 1918 | Born - 23 August 1918 Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. |
Other E/A Kill |
Abbeville, France | 31 July 1942 | Fw190 destroyed on Rodeo to Abbeville, France. 31-7-42. |
Other Transferred |
Debden, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11, UK | 14 October 1942 - 5 February 1943 | Transferred to 335FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF 14 October 1942 |
Died |
4364 Walcheren, Netherlands | 5 February 1943 | Killed when aircraft was shot down by flak while strafing an enemy ship convoy near Walcheren Island, Holland. Killed in Action (KIA). His remains have never been recovered. |
Buried Commemorated |
Memorialised on the Tablets of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery. | ||
Saratoga, NY, USA | Saratoga, New York, USA. | ||
Other Joined RCAF |
Canada | Joined Royal Canadian Air Force. Fl/Sgt. | |
Other Service pilot training |
Ottawa, ON, Canada | Service pilot training. | |
Other Shipped overseas |
Merseyside, UK | Shipped overseas to ETO. | |
Other Operational training |
Great Britain, United Kingdom | Operational training at OTU. Conversion to Hurricane and Spitfires. | |
Other Assigned |
Kirton in Lindsey, Gainsborough, North Lincolnshire DN21, UK | 14 October 1942 | Assigned to 121 [Eagle] Sqn RAF. |
Revisions
EAGLES of the RAF - The World War II Eagle Squadrons by Phillip D Caine.
http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=3572
http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/uploads/8/2/0/3/8203817/335_k…
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=52168
EAGLES of the RAF - The World War II Eagle Squadrons by Phillip D Caine.
http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=3572
http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/uploads/8/2/0/3/8203817/335_k…
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=52168
EAGLES of the RAF - The World War II Eagle Squadrons by Phillip D Caine.
http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/people_details.php?PeopleID=3572
http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/uploads/8/2/0/3/8203817/335_k…
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=52168
Lee Cunningham 29-Jan-2015. Added decoration , confirmed SN and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; KIA event and loss details in biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE and confirmed by Peter Randall, webmaster and historian of the liittlefriends.co.uk wesbsite.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop and Hey, p .74, with picture, ABMC web site / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list