williamerwin

This is a (albeit understandable) misspelling on the caption. "Lt. W.P. Irwin" should be spelled, "W.P. Erwin." This is a photo of American Fighter Ace William P. Erwin. Bill Erwin would go missing (and presumably drowned) during the ill-fated Dole Air Race from Oakland, CA to Honolulu, Hawaii. Erwin was piloting a Swallow airplane named "Dallas Spirit." Erwin and navigator Alvin Eichwaldt failed to return from a search for two other missing competitors, the Miss Doran and The Golden Eagle, and is presumed to have perished on 19 August 1927. See: William P. Erwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Portwood_Erwin Swallow Monoplane "Dallas Spirit" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Spirit Dole Air Race en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dole_Air_Race See other photos of Erwin during the Dole Air Race within the SDASM Fickr photostream, here are just two among many:

American World War I fighter ace William P. Erwin. Bill Irwin would perish while searching for those lost during the ill-fated Dole Air Race in 1927. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Portwood_Erwin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dole_Air_Race

1st Lieut. William P. Erwin, location unknown but probably Coblenz, Germany along the Rhine River, December 1918‒early January 1919, eight miles SE of the Weißenthurm aérodrome, where the 1st Aero Squadron was stationed postwar.

At center in the photo is American fighter ace William P. "Bill" Erwin. Erwin would perish in 1927 searching for missing fliers during the ill-fated Dole Air Race from Oakland to Honolulu, Hawaii. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Portwood_Erwin

L to R: Lieutenants Harry C. Roberts and George M. Belser, Captains William P. Erwin (shown wearing his Distinguished Service Cross, an eight-victory ace from the 1st Aero Squadron) and Thomas C. Traill (an eight-victory Bristol Fighter ace from 20 Squadron RAF), and Ewin T. Carroll (Lieut. Frank Carroll’s father and a prominent Evangelical Methodist, Local Preacher in Illinois), at Forest Park in St. Louis on April 14, 1919. This was the Victory Loan Flying Circus, Mid-West Flight's fourth air show during their tour of the Midwest. (Note: Roberts face is missing here, but I have my own personal copy, which is in much better condition.)