Bill Whisner 487th FS anomalies
I found a book in my attic that I bought years ago. "George Preddy - Top Mustang Ace" by Joe Noah and Samuel Sox (published 1991). In it it states Whisner was not officially credited with a victory on April 30, 1944 and that he was finally credited with on November 21, 1944, when he claimed six kills and a probable in 1978 at the time in 1944 this was reduced to five and two probables.
This would mean that at the end of WW2 he was credited this fourteen kills (one shared) rather than sixteen (one shared). Was this reflected in the period 1945-77?
Was the April 30 1944 kill awarded by the USAAF later? The book itself makes a great case for the claim being insubstantial and convincingly gives the revised tally assessment of 1978 as evidence.
Do not mistake me. Whisner was a cracking good fighter pilot, a favourite subject of mine and I am quibbling about stats but as always it's about the fine details. It reduces his victory tally by one...
|