Willard W. Millikan 4th Fighter Group Ace
"Straight No Chaser"
© 2022 Troy White, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 30" For Sale
For canvas prints click here.
Willard Millikan grew up in Iowa but called Rockport, Missouri home after he went off to war. He got in two years of college before enlisting in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet in 1941 but was washed out of flight school. He then joined the RAF, graduated from flying school as a Sergeant Pilot and was then sent to England where he flew Hurricanes and Spitfires before transferring to the Army Air Corps in October 1942. Millie was sent to No. 7 Combat Crew Replacement Centre at Atcham for further training before arriving at Debden in February 1943. He began flying convoy Patrols in Spitfire Mk Vs until the 4th converted to the P-47 Thunderbolt, the aircraft in which he would score first three victories.
Between 20 and 25 February 1944, the Eighth Air Force and the 15th Air Force flying from bases in Italy commenced with Operation Argument which became known as Big Week. It was a series of bombing raids against the German aircraft industry designed to entice the Luftwaffe into the air so that its numbers could be reduced to the point where it could not effectively defend against the upcoming amphibious assault on France to open the long awaited Second Front. (22 Footnote) Big Week turned out to be the last time the 4th Fighter Group would fly P-47 Thunderbolts against the Luftwaffe.
Straight no Chaser back story
On 3 March 1944 Against staggering odds of greater than seven to one, Lt. Millikan was one of eight trapped fighter pilots from 336 Squadron who battled more than 60 German planes over Germany destroying eight of them for the loss of three pilots.
Berlin was on the target for 3 March. The weather was less than ideal and anxious bomber crews in massive formations droned through thickly layered overcast skies toward Berlin along with their fighter escorts. They had already penetrated German territory when a recall to all aircraft came through from 8th Air Force headquarters to all airborne unit commanders. Most of the bombers turned back but some chose to ignore the message and pressed on with the mission despite terrible weather conditions. Eight Mustangs from 336 Squadron led by Major Gilbert O. Halsey became separated from the rest of the Group in the bad weather and were were joined by Lt. George Barnes from 335 Squadron who had fell behind his squadron because his engine was cutting in and out. Not long after that the fliers were attacked by over 60 German fighters. Lt. Barnes was not seen or heard from after that. He remains missing to this day. At 1130 hours Lt. Herter who was warned not to by Don Gentile, went on bounce alone and got himself shot down and killed. The remaining seven of the woefully outnumbered Yanks managed to fight their way out of the trap, destroying seven enemy planes in a battle that ranged from Wittenberg to northwest Berlin. Don Gentile got two FW-190s, Vermont Garrison shot down an FW-190 and an Me-110, Swede Carlson, shot down an Me-110, Pappy Dunn scored his only two kills of the war on the 3 March Berlin raid. The first he claimed was an Me-210 but it was probably an Me-110. After that combat, his engine was running rough so he set course for England but became disoriented in the overcast. Out of oxygen, Dunn descended beneath the clouds and found himself over the Brest Peninsula, whereupon he set course for Spain He was just shy of the border when he encountered an He-111 bomber and shot it down, he then continued toward Spain but ran out of petrol before he could cross the border so he bailed out and was captured by the Germans.
Millikan shot down an Me-110 and then managed to join up with two of his squadron mates.
"I reported who I was to Lts. Garrison and Carlson and we climbed slowly toward Berlin. We flew along underneath the Lightnings which had come in under us, and then Lt. Carlson reported his engine was running very rough and I said we would go home. We steered 250 degrees for a while but this didn’t seem right so I kept changing course to the right. After we had flown for 30 minutes I saw 15 plus fighters (this made between 100 and 150 Huns I had seen) down below us to our left and behind so I took the boys down on these. They evaded into cloud though so I pulled back up and out. Immediately my engine began to run roughly and cut out. I told Lts. Garrison and Carlson that it was doubtful about making it back and found that high revs and boost were better than low settings. However, the engine became very bad and so did the weather so we kept dropping down until finally we were on the deck-avoiding all A/D, towns and the like. We went around several squalls, and after a long period of time on the deck we crossed over a hill through haze and passed right over a coastal town. Lt. Garrison said “We’d better get out of here.” And pulled up and around to get back inland. Immediately he was hit in the engine. Lt. Carlson did as I did then-guns were firing from all directions and little orange balls were going past us in all directions-I shoved my nose down (we were doing 300 all the time) gave my engine full bore and went right down through a street which led to the harbour. I went across the pier, across the harbour with bullets splashing all around me, pulled up to clear the breakwater and right down on top of the open sea. Eventually we picked up a homing and landed at Biggin Hill. I had five gallons of Petrol left in my tanks."
Millikan's victory brought his tally to four. He became an ace after scoring a hat trick on 8 April and eventually shot down a total of 13 German planes and destroyed two more on the ground before he was involved in a mid-air collision with his wingman over Germany on 30 May 1944. Both pilots bailed out safely and spent the rest of the war as POWs.
© 2022 Troy White, Oil on Canvas, 30" x 30" For Sale
For canvas prints click here.
Willard Millikan grew up in Iowa but called Rockport, Missouri home after he went off to war. He got in two years of college before enlisting in the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet in 1941 but was washed out of flight school. He then joined the RAF, graduated from flying school as a Sergeant Pilot and was then sent to England where he flew Hurricanes and Spitfires before transferring to the Army Air Corps in October 1942. Millie was sent to No. 7 Combat Crew Replacement Centre at Atcham for further training before arriving at Debden in February 1943. He began flying convoy Patrols in Spitfire Mk Vs until the 4th converted to the P-47 Thunderbolt, the aircraft in which he would score first three victories.
Between 20 and 25 February 1944, the Eighth Air Force and the 15th Air Force flying from bases in Italy commenced with Operation Argument which became known as Big Week. It was a series of bombing raids against the German aircraft industry designed to entice the Luftwaffe into the air so that its numbers could be reduced to the point where it could not effectively defend against the upcoming amphibious assault on France to open the long awaited Second Front. (22 Footnote) Big Week turned out to be the last time the 4th Fighter Group would fly P-47 Thunderbolts against the Luftwaffe.
Straight no Chaser back story
On 3 March 1944 Against staggering odds of greater than seven to one, Lt. Millikan was one of eight trapped fighter pilots from 336 Squadron who battled more than 60 German planes over Germany destroying eight of them for the loss of three pilots.
Berlin was on the target for 3 March. The weather was less than ideal and anxious bomber crews in massive formations droned through thickly layered overcast skies toward Berlin along with their fighter escorts. They had already penetrated German territory when a recall to all aircraft came through from 8th Air Force headquarters to all airborne unit commanders. Most of the bombers turned back but some chose to ignore the message and pressed on with the mission despite terrible weather conditions. Eight Mustangs from 336 Squadron led by Major Gilbert O. Halsey became separated from the rest of the Group in the bad weather and were were joined by Lt. George Barnes from 335 Squadron who had fell behind his squadron because his engine was cutting in and out. Not long after that the fliers were attacked by over 60 German fighters. Lt. Barnes was not seen or heard from after that. He remains missing to this day. At 1130 hours Lt. Herter who was warned not to by Don Gentile, went on bounce alone and got himself shot down and killed. The remaining seven of the woefully outnumbered Yanks managed to fight their way out of the trap, destroying seven enemy planes in a battle that ranged from Wittenberg to northwest Berlin. Don Gentile got two FW-190s, Vermont Garrison shot down an FW-190 and an Me-110, Swede Carlson, shot down an Me-110, Pappy Dunn scored his only two kills of the war on the 3 March Berlin raid. The first he claimed was an Me-210 but it was probably an Me-110. After that combat, his engine was running rough so he set course for England but became disoriented in the overcast. Out of oxygen, Dunn descended beneath the clouds and found himself over the Brest Peninsula, whereupon he set course for Spain He was just shy of the border when he encountered an He-111 bomber and shot it down, he then continued toward Spain but ran out of petrol before he could cross the border so he bailed out and was captured by the Germans.
Millikan shot down an Me-110 and then managed to join up with two of his squadron mates.
"I reported who I was to Lts. Garrison and Carlson and we climbed slowly toward Berlin. We flew along underneath the Lightnings which had come in under us, and then Lt. Carlson reported his engine was running very rough and I said we would go home. We steered 250 degrees for a while but this didn’t seem right so I kept changing course to the right. After we had flown for 30 minutes I saw 15 plus fighters (this made between 100 and 150 Huns I had seen) down below us to our left and behind so I took the boys down on these. They evaded into cloud though so I pulled back up and out. Immediately my engine began to run roughly and cut out. I told Lts. Garrison and Carlson that it was doubtful about making it back and found that high revs and boost were better than low settings. However, the engine became very bad and so did the weather so we kept dropping down until finally we were on the deck-avoiding all A/D, towns and the like. We went around several squalls, and after a long period of time on the deck we crossed over a hill through haze and passed right over a coastal town. Lt. Garrison said “We’d better get out of here.” And pulled up and around to get back inland. Immediately he was hit in the engine. Lt. Carlson did as I did then-guns were firing from all directions and little orange balls were going past us in all directions-I shoved my nose down (we were doing 300 all the time) gave my engine full bore and went right down through a street which led to the harbour. I went across the pier, across the harbour with bullets splashing all around me, pulled up to clear the breakwater and right down on top of the open sea. Eventually we picked up a homing and landed at Biggin Hill. I had five gallons of Petrol left in my tanks."
Millikan's victory brought his tally to four. He became an ace after scoring a hat trick on 8 April and eventually shot down a total of 13 German planes and destroyed two more on the ground before he was involved in a mid-air collision with his wingman over Germany on 30 May 1944. Both pilots bailed out safely and spent the rest of the war as POWs.