Al Williams: The Fleet’s First Frequent Flyer

Picture a Navy biplane swooping low over the Grand Concourse in the Bronx and a father and son being so scared that the former dropped the auto battery he carried. The pilot was Al Williams, the Navy's first test pilot flying over New York. He had met General Billy Mitchell, who had proved that planes could sink battleships with bombs. Williams developed inverted flight and diving from great heights to gain speed in air races - a tactic later pilots developed into dive bombing. Williams fought for air power rather than for battleships, a trait that did not endear him to F.D.R. He encouraged thousands to become air-minded and to serve in WWII. He wrote with conviction for air power.