However, the news of Williams’ heroics was kept secret as then-President Dwight Eisenhower and other high officials claimed that it could trigger WWIII He slammed onto the deck and caught the third and final arresting wire," it added So the ship’s captain decided to take the extraordinary step of turning the carrier to line up with Williams. “And he couldn’t turn to line up with the carrier. But he already knew if he went lower than 170 knots (195 mph), his aircraft would stall and plunge into the icy sea." Still, Williams had to get his jet on the deck on the carrier, something he’d usually do at an airspeed of 105 knots (120 mph). “Williams said his commander quickly put a stop to that, eliminating one danger. First, with the task force wary of Soviet warplanes possibly attacking it, its heightened air defenses initially thought Williams’ F9F was a MiG, and destroyers guarding the American carriers opened fire on him." Williams’ wingman rejoined the fight and tried to scare off the Soviet flyer.ĬNN report said, “But Williams still had some difficult flying to do to get the damaged jet back on board the carrier. Then, as he was heading in the direction of the US task force off the coast, one of the jets continued to follow him. Meanwhile, the Soviets scored hits on Williams, too, disabling his rudder and wing control surfaces. Over the course of the fight, Williams fired all 760 rounds of 20mm cannon shells the F9F carried. Then, defying US commanders' orders, he engaged with the Russians.Īt that time the MiG-15 was the best fighter airplane in the world, faster and able to climb and dive quicker than the American jets (which was not equipped for aerial dogfights). Four of the Soviet MiGs turned toward Williams and opened fire, he recalled.
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