page_title: William T. Whisner Jr.
section_title: Post-war
hierarchical_section_title: William T. Whisner Jr. / Military career / Post-war
caption_attribution_description: English: Maj. Van Chandler (right) shakes hands with Maj. William Whisner (left). In addition to his 15 1/2 kills during World War II, Whisner shot down 5 1/2 MiGs in Korea. (U.S. Air Force photo)
context_page_description: William Thomas Whisner Jr. was a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, retiring as a colonel with 30 years of military service. He was a fighter ace with Army Air Forces over Europe in World War II and a jet fighter ace with the Air Force in the Korean War.
  Although best known for his credited destruction of 22½ aircraft in aerial combat and being one of only seven U.S. combat pilots to become an ace in two wars, Whisner commanded the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, before retiring in 1972.
context_section_description: Whisner returned to the U.S. in March 1952, where he continued his career as a fighter pilot. Whisner also competed in air races, and in 1953, while a Major, he won the 1,900-mile Bendix Trophy Race, flying an F-86F Sabre jet from Edwards Air Force Base in California to Dayton, Ohio, in what was then a record time of 3 hours 5 minutes and 45 seconds, for an average speed of 603.5 miles an hour. He served with the 3596th Flying Training Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base until December 1954, when he went to Randolph Air Force Base to serve on the staff of Headquarters Crew Training Air Force. Whisner then served as a Royal Air Force exchange officer in London, England, from February 1956 to April 1957, followed by service as commander of the 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Chaumont Air Base from April 1957 to April 1959.
  He then served on the staff of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base from April 1959 to June 1962, and then as a special assistant to the commander for the Combat Crew Training Group at Luke Air Force Base until September 1962, when he became commander of the 4517th Combat Crew Training Squadron,  also at Luke Air Force Base.
  After completing Vietnamese Language School, he served as an Operations Staff Officer with Headquarters 2nd Air Division at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in the Republic of Vietnam from October 1963 to October 1964, followed by service on the staff of Pacific Air Forces at Hickam Air Force Base from October 1964 to October 1967, during the Vietnam War. He made several deployments to Southeast Asia, but did not fly any missions during the war.
  Whisner then served as Chief of the Fighter Division with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base from October 1967 to June 1969.
  He was commander of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, from February 1970 to March 1971. Whisner retired from the Air Force at Kirtland Air Force Base on July 31, 1972.
caption: Whisner (left) shakes his hand with Maj. Van Chandler
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