Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II

Title Page, Copyright Page, Dedication

Fighter Pilot This page intentionally left blank Fighter Pilot The First American Ace of World War II WILLIAM R. DUNN Foreword by Edward M. Coffman THE UNIVERSITYPRESS OF KENTUCKY Material in Chapter 5, "The Ace," and the appendix, "The War Birds," was originally published in different form in Air Force Magazine, April and September 1975, September 1976, and July 1977. Copyright © The Air Force Association (1975, 1976, 1977); used by permission. Copyright © 1982 by The University Press of Kentucky Foreword copyright © 1996 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine College, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Club, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dunn, William R., 1916Fighter pilot. Includes index. 1. World War, 1939-1945—Aerial operations, American. 2. Dunn, William R., 1916-. World War, 1939-1945—Personal narratives, American. 4. United States. Army Air Forces—Biography. 5. Fighter pilots—United States—Biography. I. Title. D790.D86 940.54'4973 82-40172 ISBN 0-8131-1465-9 AACR2 ISBN 0-8131-0867-5 (pbk.: acid-free paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America AACR2 For all fighter pilots, past, present and future —ours and theirs. Here's to the fighter pilot, wherever he may be, Aloft in lonely glory, At rest in eternity, Or here, reliving thrills again Rolling back the years, from now till then. Here's to the breed apart, to a dying art, To the spirit that now binds us; To the planes and the flak, to the brass and the crap, And to battles long behind us. To the fighter pilot, then, be he friend or foe, Let us drink, Gentlemen, and let us shout, "Tally Ho!" This page intentionally left blank ...