Fred R. Haviland Jr.

Fred Russ Haviland Jr. (March 24, 1915 – March 17, 1989) was an American flying ace in the 355th Fighter Group during World War II, who was credited with 6 aerial victories.

Early life Haviland was born in 1915 in Tampa.

Military career On November 5, 1941, he entered the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Forces and on May 20, 1942, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings on May 20, 1942.

On July 7, 1944, Haviland shot down two Messerschmitt Bf 110s, while en route to Halle, Germany and on August 3, he shot down another Fw 190, his fourth aerial victory. On September 12, he led the 357th FS in attacking a German airfield in Brüx, Czechoslovakia, where he personally destroyed three enemy aircraft on the ground. He finally became a flying ace on November 26, 1944, when he shot down a Fw 190 and Bf 109, while defending 2nd Air Division's B-24 Liberator bombers over Hanover and Gardelegen from German aerial attacks, which were also his last aerial victories of the war. He was an Episcopalian.

He died on March 17, 1989, and was buried at Orange Grove Cemetery in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Aerial victory credits SOURCES: Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II

Awards and decorations