Walter C. Beckham

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]

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 (4) Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (5) Air Medal (6)
Other work	Civilian nuclear scientist

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, Upon graduation from Aviation Cadet Class 41I(SE) in December, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the Panama Canal Zone and Ecuador. After his return to the US, he was promoted to Captain and was assigned to the 351st Fighter Squadron of the 353rd Fighter Group, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts.

World War II

In mid-1943, the 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, the 353rd FG flew its first combat mission. In late September, Beckham scored his first kill, an Fw 190 over Nantes, France. Credited with a second kill, a Bf 109 on October 6, and then on October 10 he became a flying ace by destroying three twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110s.

During the winter of 1943-44, his score mounted, with victories frequently coming in pairs. By mid-February, Beckham had 18 victories, which at that time, made him the top scoring ace of the Eighth Air Force. On February 22, while on his 57th combat mission, he was hit by flak over Ostheim, Germany and bailed out of his P-47D successfully near Bergen-Neukirchen, but was captured and remained a Prisoner of War until he was released during April 1945.[1]

Post war

After his release in 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:[4]

US Air Force Command Pilot Badge

	Distinguished Service Cross
	Silver Star with three bronze oak leaf clusters
	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
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with bronze campaign star
	World War II Victory Medal
	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

• Kirtland Air Force Base
• Edward Teller

References

1. 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–.
4. https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6021

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. hdl:2027/mdp.39015077597527. ISSN 0029-5582.

External links

• "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.