Walter C. Beckham

Walter Carl Beckham
Major Walter C Beckham with his P-47D "Little Demon II"
Born (1916-05-12)May 12, 1916
Paxton, Florida
Died May 31, 1996(1996-05-31) (aged 80)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch United States Army Air Forces
 United States Air Force
Years of service 1941–1969
Rank Colonel
Service number O-430771
Unit 353rd Fighter Group
Air Force Weapons Laboratory
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star (3)
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross (5)
Air Medal (6)
Other work Civilian nuclear scientist

Walter Carl Beckham (May 16, 1916 – May 31, 1996) was a United States Army Air Forces officer during World War II and an American ace credited with 18 air-to-air victories.[1][2][3] He remained in the Air Force after the war, obtained a Ph.D. in physics and was a nuclear weapons scientist.[1]

Early life

Beckham was born on May 12, 1916, in Paxton, Florida.

Military career

Beckham became a United States Army Air Corps cadet in early 1941, commissioned a Second Lieutenant in December, and then assigned to the Panama Canal Zone and Ecuador. After his return, he was promoted to Captain and was assigned to 353rd Fighter Group, flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolts.

World War II

In the mid-1943, 353rd FG was initially stationed at RAF Goxhill in Lincolnshire, England, before moving to RAF Metfield in Suffolk, England in August 1943.

After switching its base to Metfield, it flew its first combat mission. Beckham himself scored his first kill in late September, an Fw 190 over Nantes, France. Beckham was credited with a second kill, a Bf-109 on October 6. He finally became a flying ace on October 10, by destroying three twin-engined Messerschmitt Me-110s.

During the winter of 1943-44, his score mounted, with his victories frequently coming in pairs. By mid-February, he had 18 victories, at that time made him the top scoring ace of the Eighth Air Force. On Feb. 22, on his 57th mission, he was hit by flak over Ostheim, Germany. He bailed out successfully near Bergen-Neukirchen, but was captured and remained a Prisoner of War until he was released on April 1945.[1]

Post war

After his release on April 1945, Beckham was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and stayed with the United States Air Force. He earned a PhD in Physics in 1962 and joined the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base as chief scientist, working on nuclear weapons. Beckham remained active in this field until his retirement on 1969 as Colonel in the USAF.

Later life

Beckham continued his career as nuclear scientist in civilian life until he retired in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Beckham died in Albuquerque on May 31, 1996.

Awards and decorations

Beckham earned many decorations, including:

US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Distinguished Service Cross
 Silver Star with two bronze oak leaf clusters
Width-44 crimson ribbon with a pair of width-2 white stripes on the edges Legion of Merit
 Distinguished Flying Cross with four bronze oak leaf clusters
 Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
Prisoner of War Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Bronze star
 European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with bronze campaign star
World War II Victory Medal
Bronze star
Width=44 scarlet ribbon with a central width-4 golden yellow stripe, flanked by pairs of width-1 scarlet, white, Old Glory blue, and white stripes
 National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
 Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters
Croix de Guerre, with Palm (Belgium)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 William Hess. America's Top Eighth Air Force Aces in Their Own Words. Zenith Imprint. pp. 28–. ISBN 978-1-61060-702-5.
  2. ↑ Jerry Scutts (30 October 1998). P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-85532-729-0.
  3. ↑ John Anderson; Steve Sperry (17 May 2017). Thunderbolt to War: An American Fighter Pilot in England. Fonthill Media. pp. 246–.

Further reading

  • Walter Carl Beckham; Lawrence Livermore Laboratory; University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (1962). High energy bremsstrahlung from proton-nucleus collisions. University of California Lawrence Radiation Laboratory.
  • Beckham, Walter C. (1964). "High-energy bremsstrahlung from proton-nucleus collisions". Nuclear Physics. 59 (2): 274–288. doi:10.1016/0029-5582(64)90084-7. ISSN 0029-5582.
  • "Walter Carl Beckham". American Air Museum in Britain. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  • "Beckham, Walter Carl, Maj". Togetherweserved.com Inc. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  • "Walter Carl Beckham". Military Times Hall of Valor. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
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