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William Willis |
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Name : William Willis |
William Willis joined the service in October 1942. Posted overseas to England, he flew P-38s with the 343rd Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group. Based at Wormingford, the Group was equipped with P-38 Lightnings, which they were flying over Normandy at the time of the D-Day invasion. Shortly after they were converted to P-51s, on which Willis went to Berlin on a strafing mission. |
Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew |
  Tactical Support by Richard Taylor. |
| Aircraft for : William Willis | ||
| A list of all aircraft associated with William Willis. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Lightning 
Manufacturer : Lockheed | Lightning Designed by Kelly Johnson the P38 made its maiden flight on the 27th January 1939 and introduced into service in 1941. they cost $134,284 at the time each and a total of 10,037 were built. The Lockheed P-38 was introduced as a inceptor fighter but soon proved a valuable long range bomber escort for the 8thUS Air Force's B-17 and-24 bombers as they bombed targets further into Germany. | |
Mustang 
Manufacturer : North American | Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace. | |
| Squadrons for : William Willis | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by William Willis. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
343rd Fighter Squadron Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 343rd Fighter Squadron | 343rd Fighter Squadron Full profile not yet available. | |
55th Fighter Group Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 55th Fighter Group | 55th Fighter Group Full profile not yet available. | |
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