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| Aviation Art Collecton - Lt Col William Wheeler |
  Died : 2011 | Flew with the 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airmen. William Wheeler earned his wings as a fighter pilot in March 1944 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He began combat fighter training in the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and completed his training at Walterboro Army Air Corps Base, SC, in the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. He was then sent to Eglin Army Air Base, FL, where he completed bombing and aerial gunnery training. Lt. Wheeler was sent to Ramitelli, Italy in August 1944, as a replacement pilot assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron for the 332nd Fighter Group. He qualified in the P-51D Mustang and flew combat missions to Germany, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Albania and Greece, escorting allied bombers and strafing enemy troops, vehicles and airfields. He was credited with destroying three bombers on strafing missions: two Heinkel HE-111s and a Junkers JU-52. On his last mission, he became anoxic and lost consciousness at 36,000 feet over Germany. His P-51 spun out of control until he regained consciousness and recovered at 8,000 feet. Miraculously, he was able to return safely to his home base. This near-fatal incident led to a medical inquiry which determined that Lt. Wheeler's respiratory problems would render him vulnerable to repeated anoxic attacks on missions requiring the use of oxygen. He asked to be transferred to the Eighth Air Force which was flying low-level missions, but his request was denied because the Army Air Corps was still segregated at that time. Lt. Wheeler was Honorably Discharged in August 1945. Later he joined The Tuskegee Airmen's Speakers Bureau and spoke at many events about the history of the Tuskegee airmen. He died on 19th July 2011. |
| Based on many years of experience in dealing with thousands of aviation signatures, we have estimated the value this signature adds to a print as £65 |
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