Henry William Brown (January 25, 1923 – February 19, 2008) was a

United States Army Air Force 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 ...

fighter ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

who was credited with shooting down fourteen aircraft and destroying another fourteen on the ground during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1974. He was the highest scoring ace of the

355th Fighter Group 355th may refer to: Aviation * 355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit * 355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force * 355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Ai ...

Early life

Brown was born on January 25, 1923 in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

World War II

Brown joined the reserves in December 1941 and attended flight school at

Spence Field Spence Field is a mountain highland meadow in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 4,920 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. The Appalachian Trail traverses the field, and a backcountry shelt ...

in Georgia, graduating as a flight officer in March 1943. He was assigned to the 354th Fighter Squadron of the

of the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

RAF Steeple Morden Royal Air Force Steeple Morden or more simply RAF Steeple Morden is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Royston, Hertfordshire, England. History RAF Bomber Command use Between 1940 and September 1942, Steeple Morden was a grass ...

in November 1943. Brown scored his first four ground kills, while flying the

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

, before transitioning to the P-51 Mustang. He was assigned to three different aircraft during his time with the 355th FG, in which his P-47 was named 'Baby' and his P-51B and D were named 'The Hun Hunter Texas'. All of which bore the fuselage identification codes WR: Z. On March 8, 1944 following a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

mission escort, Brown destroyed three

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

and a shared

Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

, while strafing Hosepe Airfield to become the first

fighter pilot to destroy more than 3 in one day. He became the 355 FG's fifth flying ace on April 24, 1944 and led the 355th FG in total air/ground scores on May 13 at the start of the Eighth Air Force campaign against German oil industry. When Brown returned from stateside leave in late August he was promoted to Captain in September and went on a 30-day rampage, destroying 8 on the ground and 7 in the air to become the Eighth Air Force (active) leading top scorer. He was the first Eighth Air Force pilot to destroy 6 on the ground, during September. On October 3, 1944 Brown was shot by German flak at Nordlingen Aerodrome. Major Charles Lenfest, CO of 354th Fighter Squadron landed in an attempt to rescue Brown, but became stuck in the wet ground and both were captured. Brown was a

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

until the end of the war, while Lenfest successfully escaped in April, 1945. Brown remained 355th FG top ace and top scorer. His final score was 14.2 destroyed and 3 damaged in the air, 14.5 destroyed and 10 damaged on the ground.

Cold War era

Brown remained in the Air Force after the war. Brown obtained degree at

University of Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

in 1960. He headed the

F-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft. Production variants of the F-111 had roles that included attack aircraft, ground attack (e.g. Air interdiction, i ...

program at

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

. He later commanded the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing and was the deputy Director of Operations for the

Seventh Air Force The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, flying combat missions. He retired from the Air Force in 1974.

Later life

Brown died on February 19, 2008 at

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Sumter Metropolitan Statistical Area, the namesake county adjoins Clarendon and Lee to form the core of Sumter-Lee-Clarendon Tri-county (o ...

Awards and decorations

His awards include:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Henry William 1923 births 2008 deaths American World War II flying aces Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II American prisoners of war in World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War United States Air Force colonels Shot-down aviators