William T. Whisner Jr.
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William T. Whisner Jr.
William Thomas Whisner Jr. (October 17, 1923 – July 21, 1989) was a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 30 years of military service. He was a fighter ace with Army Air Forces over Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War. Although best known for his credited destruction of 22½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Whisner commanded the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, before retiring in 1972. Early life William T. Whisner Jr. was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 17, 1923, to William Whisner, Sr. and Eloise Bickham Whisner. In his youth, Whisner was an active member of the local Boy Scouts of America, eventually attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in that program. Growing up in Shreveport, Whisner attended C. E. Byrd High School, becoming active in the school's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It was during this in ...
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Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is the fourth largest in Louisiana, though 2020 census estimates placed its population at 397,590. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, of which it is the parish seat. It extends along the west bank of the Red River (most notably at Wright Island, the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park, and Bagley Island) into neighboring Bossier Parish. The United States Census Bureau's 2020 census tabulation for the city's population was 187,593, though the American Community Survey's census estimates determined 189,890 residents. Shreveport was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail, an overland route into the newly independent R ...
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48th Fighter Wing
The 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW) is part of the United States Air Force's Third Air Force, assigned to Headquarters Air Command Europe and United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE). It is based at RAF Lakenheath, England. The 48 FW is the only F-15 wing based in Europe and consists of both F-15C/D Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft. The 48 FW was given the name "Statue of Liberty Wing" on 4 July 1954 and remains the only U.S. Air Force unit with both a name and a numerical designation. The 48 FW operates in support of United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa, United States European Command and NATO. Units The Liberty Wing has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a geographically separated unit at nearby RAF Feltwell. In addition to supporting two squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and one squadron of F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft. * 48th Operations Group (48 OG) : Formerly the 48th Fighter-Bomber Group. Provide ...
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Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 34,400 at the 2010 census. It is located in the area of historic cotton plantations and culture known as the Mississippi Delta. History Early history This area was occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. When the French explored here, they encountered the historic Natchez people. As part of their colony known as ''La Louisiane'', the French established a settlement at what became Natchez, Mississippi. Other Native American tribes also lived in what is now known as Mississippi. The current city of Greenville is the third in the State to bear the name. The first, (known as Old Greenville) located to the south near Natchez, became defunct soon after the American Revolution, as European-American settlement was then still concentrated in the eastern states. The second Greenville was founded in 1824 by American William W. Blanton, who filed for land from ...
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Greenville Army Airfield (Mississippi)
Donaldson Air Force Base is a former facility of the United States Air Force located south of Greenville, South Carolina. It was founded in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base; it was deactivated in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport. It is currently an active airfield known as Donaldson Center Airport. It was used by the United States Army Air Forces' Third Air Force as a B-25 Mitchell medium bomber training airfield during World War II. It was home to C-124 Globemaster II transports and called "The Airlift Capital of the World" for its role in the Berlin airlift, Korean War, and Cold War, being assigned to both Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). History Originally named Greenville Army Air Base when opened in 1942, and later Greenville Air Force Base in 1948,Greenville Air Force Base, South Carolina should not be confused with Greenville Air Force Base, Mississippi. That base opened as Greenville Army Air ''Field'' in 194 ...
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Basic Combat Training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique demands of military employment. Major characteristics Initial military training is an intensive residential programme commonly lasting several weeks or months, which aims to induct newly recruited military personnel into the social norms and essential tasks of the armed forces. Common features include foot drill, inspections, physical training, weapons training, and a graduation parade. The training process resocializes recruits to the demands made of them by military life. Psychological conditioning techniques are used to shape attitudes and behaviours, so that recruits will obey all orders, face mortal danger, and kill their opponents in battle. According to an expert in United States military training methods, Dave Grossman, recruit ...
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Trainer Aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their skills in a more forgiving aircraft. Civilian pilots are normally trained in a light aircraft, with two or more seats to allow for a student and instructor. Tandem and side by side The two seating configurations for trainer aircraft are: pilot and instructor side by side, or in tandem, usually with the pilot in front and the instructor behind. The side-by-side seating configuration has the advantage that pilot and instructor can see each other's actions, allowing the pilot to learn from the instructor and the instructor to correct the student pilot. The tandem configuration has the advantage of being closer to the normal working environment that ...
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PT-19
The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contemporary of the Kaydet biplane trainer, and was used by the USAAF during Primary Flying Training. As with other USAAF trainers of the period, the PT-19 had multiple designations based on the powerplant installed. Design and development The PT-19 series was developed from the Fairchild M-62 when the USAAC first ordered the aircraft in 1940 as part of its expansion program. The cantilever low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear and tailwheel design was based on a two-place, tandem-seat, open cockpit arrangement. The simple but rugged construction included a fabric-covered welded steel tube fuselage. The remainder of the aircraft used plywood construction, with a plywood-sheathed center section, outer wing panels and tail assembly. The use of ...
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PT-17
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman, or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy (as the NS and N2S), and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years, they became popular as crop dusters and sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows. Design and development The Kaydet was a conventional biplane of rugged construction, with a large, fixed tailwheel undercarriage, and accommodation for the student and instructor in open cockpits in tandem. The radial engine was usually not cowled, although some Ste ...
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Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th-most populous in the United States, with a 2020 census population of 121,374; the consolidated city-parish's population was 241,753 in 2020. The Lafayette metropolitan area was Louisiana's third largest metropolitan statistical area with a population of 478,384 at the 2020 census. The Acadiana region containing Lafayette is the largest population and economic corridor between Houston, Texas and New Orleans. Originally established as Vermilionville in the 1820s and incorporated in 1836, Lafayette developed as an agricultural community until the introduction of retail and entertainment centers, and the discovery of oil in the area in the 1940s. Since the discovery of oil, the city and parish have had the highest number of workers in the o ...
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Lafayette Municipal Airport
Lafayette Regional Airport(French: Aéroport régional de Lafayette) is a public use airport two miles (4 km) southeast of Lafayette, in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the City Parish of Lafayette. The Lafayette Regional airport is located next to U.S. Highway 90 (future Interstate 49) on the east side of the city, close to offshore oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Lafayette Regional is home to one of the largest helicopter companies in the world, Petroleum Helicopters International (formerly PHI-Petroleum Helicopters Inc.). Lafayette Regional airport does not have international flights; however, regional jet service is operated nonstop to four hubs: Atlanta (ATL), Charlotte (CLT), Dallas/ Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston (IAH). Delta Air Lines began mainline Boeing 717-200 jet service nonstop to Atlanta effective July 3, 2014, in addition to its regional jet flights operated by Delta Connection, however the mainline service w ...
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Primary Flight Training
A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guard aviators", although they complete the same undergraduate flight training as Navy and Marine Corps crewed aircraft pilots, and are awarded the same aviation breast insignia. Naming conventions In the U.S. Navy, most naval aviators are unrestricted line officers (URL), eligible for command at sea; however, a small number of former senior enlisted personnel subsequently commissioned as line limited duty officers and chief warrant officers in the aviation operations technician specialty have also been trained as naval aviators and naval flight officers. A small number of URL officers trained as naval aviators and naval flight officers who hold technical degrees at the undergraduate and/or postgraduate level may also opt to laterally tran ...
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United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1945). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Army Chief of Staff. The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed am ...
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