williamperwin

L to R: Then 1st Lieut. Arthur J. Coyle, 1st Aero Squadron CO, and 1st Lieut. William P. Erwin standing along the left side of Coyle’s Salmson 2A2 #24. SDASM's scan will show the '2' better.

This is a photo of American fighter ace William P. Erwin in the cockpit of a Fokker D.VII, apparently captured/turned-over to the United States after the Armistice of 1918. Bill Erwin would perish while participating in the search for aviators lost during the 1927 Dole Air Race. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Portwood_Erwin Here is another photo of Erwin in the SDASM's Paul A. Smith Collection: www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/8560887758/

The five Fokker D.VIIs used by the Victory Loan Flying Circus, Mid-West Flight were taken from a cohort of factory-new machines that the German government turned over to American forces at Koblenz, Germany on January 1, 1919, in accordance with the armistice of November 1918. This photo of Capt. Erwin was taken at the Jackson, Mississippi air show on April 11, 1919. During his flight that afternoon, he made a forced landing on account of motor trouble. He landed in the only cleared field available, but due to a ditch in the center of the field, he broke his propeller. This was the only damage to the plane and Erwin was uninjured. Afterwards, they requested new Fokker propellers from the Curtiss Airplane Co. in Buffalo, NY. (Reference source: their War Diary and Library of Congress)

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: