William Dolley Tipton – Colonel, United States Army

Name: William Duncan Tipton

Country: United States
Rank: Lieutenant
Service: United States Air Service
Units: 3 (RAF)
17th Aero (USAS)
Victories: 5
Born: 11 December 1892
Place of Birth: Jarretsville, Maryland
Died: 12 December 1945
Place of Death: Adena, Ohio

To gain combat experience, Tipton was attached to 3 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. A Sopwith Camel pilot, he scored two victories before he was reassigned to the 17th Pursuit Squadron. After scoring his last two victories on 26 August 1918, Tipton and six other Camel pilots were shot down during a melee with Fokker D.VIIs of Jasta 2 and Jasta 27. Tipton was captured and remained a prisoner until the end of the war.

During World War II, he attained the rank of Colonel while serving with the United States Army Air Corps. He was killed in a crash while flying a P-47 Thunderbolt.

The first newspaper in America to use an airplane for newsgathering was the Evening Sun in Baltimore. It began its operation on Sept. 1, 1920. Piloted by Lt. William D. Tipton, it became a useful tool, sighting a train wreck on its first outing; two days later it sighted a submarine in trouble off the Delaware Capes.

Fairchild Four Seater Airplane (Aviation) June 11, 1928
Baltimore, Maryland

Major William D. Tipton of the Maryland National Guard Air Corps put in two round trips to New York in one day recently when he covered the distance four times in 7 hr. 30 min. Colonel John A. Hambleton was a passenger. They were off at 7:28 and were back at Logan Field at 10:29.

In a Fairchild four seater, he was off again at 11:01 A.M. with Frank Callahan of New York and a party of three. Although a new propeller was installed at the factory, Major Tipton was back at seven o’clock, before dark. This is thought to be the first double round trip flights between the two cities in one day.

TIPTON, WILLIAM DOLLEY

• COL AIR COPRS 204 ARMY AIR FORCE BASE UNIT BRIGGS FIELD TEXAS
• DATE OF DEATH: 12/12/1945
• BURIED AT: SECTION 10  SITE 10604
  ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard