Lieutenant William Portwood Erwin (18 October 1895 - 19 August 1927) was an American World War I

flying 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 ...

credited with eight aerial victories. On 19 August 1927, he disappeared during the

Dole Air Race The Dole Air Race, also known as the Dole Derby, was a deadly air race across the Pacific Ocean from Oakland, California to Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii held in August 1927. There were eighteen official and unofficial entrants; fifteen of ...

from

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, California to Hawaii.

Early life

William Portwood Erwin was the son of W. A. Erwin of Chicago.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/erwin.php Retrieved on 11 April 2010. The younger Erwin, born elsewhere, was raised primarily in Chicago. Two sources claim he was born in

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

, Texas.''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 37.

World War I

Erwin was assigned to the

1st Aero Squadron First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

on 19 July 1918. As a

Salmson 2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 ...

A2 pilot, he scored his victories between 15 September and 22 October 1918; half of them were with gunner Arthur Easterbrook.

Postwar

Erwin is believed to have died during the

between Oakland, California and Hawaii. He flew the ''

Dallas Spirit ''Dallas Spirit'', (aka Swallow Monoplane or Swallow Dole Racer), was a custom-built aircraft designed to compete in the ill-fated Dole Air Race, Dole Air Derby between California and Hawaii. Development ''Dallas Spirit'' was built to attempt t ...

'', a custom aircraft built by the

Swallow Airplane Company The Swallow Airplane Company was an early manufacturer of airplanes. History In January 1920, the E.M. Laird Aviation Company Ltd. was started with the purchase of the six-month-old Wichita Aircraft Company, its aircraft and the factory of the Wa ...

on credit for the attempt. Erwin failed to return from a search for two other missing competitors, the ''Miss Doran'' and ''The Golden Eagle'', and is presumed drowned 19 August 1927.

References

Bibliography

* ''American Aces of World War 1'' Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . * ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. , . 1895 births 1920s missing person cases 1927 deaths American World War I flying aces Aviators from Oklahoma Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Missing aviators Missing person cases in California People from Ryan, Oklahoma People lost at sea Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1927 {{wwi-air

Early life

World War I

Postwar

See also

References

Bibliography