Honored 1982
William Dunn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 16, 1916. He soloed in 1930 at the age of 14. In 1934, he entered the U.S. Army and served until late 1935. When the Second World War began he enlisted in the Canadian Army’s “Seaforth Highlanders of Canada”.
Having an aviation background, Dunn volunteered for flight training with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1940. After completing RAF Flying School at Tern Hill, England, he was assigned to No. 71 Squadron, also known as the “Eagle Squadron” of American Volunteers. Flying the RAF Hurricane and Spitfire he destroyed five German fighters and became the first American fighter ace of World War II.
After being wounded in action on August 27, 1941, Dunn was hospitalized for 3 months. He served as an instructor pilot in Canada until he transferred to the US Army Air Force (USAAF) in 1943. He joined the 513th Fighter Squadron and flew the P-47 “Thunderbolt” fighter in the European Theater. He was credited with the destruction of his 6th enemy aircraft in aerial combat in June, 1944.
Dunn later served in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater, and was an advisor to the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. He continued to serve in the Air Force through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, retiring in 1973.
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