Gone West: WWII Fighter Pilot William Overstreet Jr. | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.12.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.13.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.14.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-05.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.16.25

Tue, Jan 07, 2014

Gone West: WWII Fighter Pilot William Overstreet Jr.

Famously Flew Through The Eiffel Tower In Pursuit Of A German Plane

A WWII P-51 pilot who became famous for flying his airplane through the arches of the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a German Messerschmitt Bf-109G during the war passed away last week in Roanoke, VA. William Overstreet Jr. was 92 years old.

During the European liberation effort in 1944, Overstreet flew his P-51C 'Berlin Express' beneath the tower, a feat that was said to have lifted the spirits of the French Resistance troops on the ground in the occupied city. Overstreet was presented with France's Legion of Honor for his heroics in 2009 by the French ambassador to the United States.

Overstreet had been born in Clifton Forge, VA in 1921, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps and a fighter pilot shortly after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor. The Roanoke (VA) Times reports that he had been awarded hundreds of medals during his military service in the 357th squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces.

The U.K. newspaper The Times reports that Overstreet followed the Messerschmitt pilot under the tower as he continued to fire. The American pilot successfully shot down the German before escaping the city.

Overstreet's obituary said he returned from the war and worked briefly as General Manager of Charleston Aviation in West Virginia before returning to Roanoke and marrying Nita Brackens, who preceded him in death. He worked as an accountant in Roanoke until retiring at age 65.

Services for Overstreet were held last Friday.

(Public domain image)

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/357th_Fighter_Group

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.16.25)

Aero Linx: International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) IFATCA is the recognised international organisation representing air traffic controller associ>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.16.25)

“The BlackBird is more than a demonstrator—it’s a flying testbed for the future of aviation. To see it take flight in such a short time is a testament to our team>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.16.25): Glideslope Intercept Altitude

Glideslope Intercept Altitude The published minimum altitude to intercept the glideslope in the intermediate segment of an instrument approach. Government charts use the lightning >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 05.13.25: Merlin Tests, Dronetag Accuses, Flying Car?

Also: MQ-9B UAS MTC, FlightSimExpo, New JPL Director, Japanese Lunar Lander Preps Merlin’s flight testing campaign continues to rapidly progress with its certification-ready >[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Jabiru's New J170-D - An Upgraded and Fine-tuned LSA

From 2017 (YouTube Edition): The Airplane From Down Under Is A Proven Trainer… Jabiru was one of the early light sport aircraft (LSA) brought into the U.S.A. when the sport >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC