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On November 18, 1952, severe winter in nature. Royce Williams then served in the US Navy. He flew the F9F-Panther as a pilot. At that time, he shot down the MiG-15 warplane of the former Soviet Union. It is not one or two, but four. In just half an hour.
But the surprising thing is that no one knew this 'heroic story' of Williams for a long time. This incident came to light after more than five decades. The noise falls on him. Aviator Williams is now 97 years old. He was honored by the US Navy in a ceremony in California last Friday.
Williams received the Navy Cross Medal. It is the second highest honor of the US military. US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said, "What Roysie Williams did is incredible."
On the day of the incident, Williams went on a special expedition. He was only 27 years old then. Four US Navy warplanes were in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. The warplanes were flying from the USS Oriskany, a US warship in the area. However, due to some technical problems, the three fighter jets returned to the carrier.
Williams was flying alone with the plane in the sky. Suddenly, seven Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets flew into the sky. A situation of war is created. Because at that time North and South Korea were divided into two parts around the Korean War, so the United States and the Soviet Union were also divided in the sphere of influence politics. US supports South Korea. And the Soviet Union supported North Korea.
"At the time, Williams was asked by the US Navy to keep the incident a complete secret. So he did not tell his wife about it. Later he was contacted by the US government. He was told that the secret documents related to this have already been released. After learning this, he first informed his wife about the incident."
US-Soviet rivalry was then often seen. However, four Soviet MiGs turned toward Williams' fighter that day. started firing. But he survived. Able to save the fighter also. Then he also fired back. Four MiG-15s were destroyed one by one. Three Soviet pilots were killed.
Later in an interview, Williams said, 'I was told to run away. It was agreed to fight with Soviet fighter planes. But I knew that Soviet fighters were faster than mine. They will easily chase me and kill me. So I take a bold decision to fight.'
In that fight, Williams said he used all of the 760 rounds of 20 mm cannon shells in his fighter. When he returned to the warship after the battle, he was physically unharmed but his fighter plane was damaged. It can be seen that there are 263 holes in the fighter plane.
"I was told to run away. It was agreed to fight with Soviet fighter planes. But I knew that Soviet fighters were faster than mine. They will easily chase me and kill me. So I take a bold decision to fight."
Royce Williams, former US Navy aviator.
A world war has just ended. If this incident is revealed, the risk of another war may be created. In such a context, this incident was kept secret. However, in 1953, Williams was awarded the Silver Star for valor.
The incident was first disclosed by Russia, not the United States. In the 1990s, Russia released some old military secrets. Among them was this incident. It was then that people first learned of Williams' heroics. But the details came in 2002. At that time, Williams told about this in various interviews.
After 1952, Williams was asked by the US Navy to keep the incident a complete secret. So he did not tell his wife about it. He was contacted by the US government after the documents were released. He was told that the secret documents related to this have already been released. After learning this, he first told his wife about the incident.
"What Royse Williams did was unbelievable."
Carlos Del Toro, United States Secretary of the Navy.
In the meantime, there was a lot of speculation and criticism about Williams. Many criticized him as to why he received the Silver Star Award. However, 70 years after that incident, last December, Carlos del Toro took up the matter again. He said Williams' military medal should be upgraded to the Navy Cross. Accordingly, he was awarded the Navy Cross medal.
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