William Judson Sloan
MilitaryFighter Pilot
82nd FG - 95th FS - 12th AF
P-38G-5-LO #42-12830 "Snooks IV 1/2" Code: BO
Sloan went with the 82nd Fighter Group to Northern Ireland in October and on to French Algeria in January. He was assigned his P-38, which he named "Snooks". On early January 1943, while flying the P-38, Sloan scored the groups first aerial victory when he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over an aerodrome in Gabes, French Tunisia. On January 30, he destroyed another Bf 109 and on 20 February he was credited with a double, a Bf 109 and a Dornier 217 off Cape Bon, Tunisia. Sloan became the groups first flying ace when, on 15 February, he downed a Bf 109 over a Luftwaffe airdrome near Kairouan, Tunisia, his fifth aerial victory. On May 20, the group attacked an aerodrome in Villacidro, Sardinia. During this mission, Sloan was credited with a Junkers Ju 88, an Italian Macchi C.200, and two Bf 109 probables. He became a double ace on 20 July when he shot down an Italian Reggiane Re.2001 and a Bf 109 over Gerbini Airfield in Paterno, Sicily. That day, two Italian aces, Franco Lucchini and Leonardo Ferrulli were shot down. On July 10, Sloan claimed his fourth Italian fighter and eleventh aerial victory, an MC.200 over southwest Sicily. He scored his last victory on July 22 to become the top scoring ace in the Twelfth Air Force. Sloan returned to the United States on September 1943. He spent the remainder of the war as a P-38 flight instructor in California. During World War II, Sloan was credited with the destruction of 12 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus 2 probables and 3 damaged, from January to September 1943, all while flying the P-38 Lightning.
Note: He was awarded the Air Force Cross in lieu of the Distinguished Service Cross as noted in "awards"
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-38 Lightning
- Nicknames: Snooks IV 1/2
- Unit: 82nd Fighter Group 95th Fighter Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Richmond, VA | 1 January 1921 | |
Other 5th Aerial Victory |
near Kairouan, Tunisia | 15 February 1943 | Bf109 |
Other 9th and 10th Aerial Victories |
Gerbini Airfield, Sicily | 20 July 1943 | Re.2001 Bf109 |
Died |
Dayton, OH | 30 January 1999 | |
Buried |
8 February 1999 | Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA Section 69, Grave 541 |