williamportwooderwin

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 (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:

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.)