bluenose slender

352nd FG ace Lt. Col Bill Halton's Slender Tender & Tall

"Slender Tender and Tall" was flown by Major William T. Halton, C. O. of the 487th FS, 352nd FG. Captain Halton Joined the 352nd FG in December of 1943 and served with the 328th FS during his first tour. He scored his first aerial victory over an Me 109 on February 20, 1944 while flying the P-47 Thunderbolt. This was his only score before completing his tour in May.

Halton returned to the 328th in August 1944 and resumed flying combat missions. In October of that year he was transferred to the 487th FS where replaced George Preddy as operations officer in the 487th Squadron which was the highest scoring squadron of the 8th Air Force during W.W.II with 236.5 aerial victories. Halton was made Squadron Commander on November 20, and promoted to Major on November 27. Halton finished the war with 10.5 victories. His biggest day was December 27, 1944 when he chalked up 3.5 victories over Me 109s.Besides his aerial feats Halton was also credited with two ground victories on April 17. For his efforts during WWII he was awarded the Silver Star, DFC, Air Medal and the Croix de Guerre. Halton was promoted to Lt. Colonel on July 12, and remained on as CO of the 487th until September, 1945 when he took command of the entire Group.

Major "Wild Bill" Halton leads the 487th squadron out on a mission from AAF Station Y-84 Belgium in 1945. The 352nd FG operated from this advanced base from January 27, through April 13, 1945 when they returned to Bodney, England . They flew their last combat mission on May 3, 1945

Captain Bill Halton poses for a PR shot. On the right "Slender Tender & Tall" is parked at Bodney. The landing gear clamshell doors are starting to come down as hydraulic pressure bleeds off indicating that the engine was recently shut down. All of Halton's victories were over the Me 109 except for one. On January 1, 1945 Major Halton shot down an Fw 190 from JG 11 during the legendary air battle that took place over the Bluenosers Y-29 airbase in Asch, Belgium. During the Korean war Lt. Col. Halton served with the 16th FBS, 18th Fighter Bomber Group. He was killed in action on May 21, 1952 while flying an F-51D Mustang with that unit. Photos copyright ©352nd FG Association via Sam Sox . Used with permission.

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