William Portwood Erwin

Lieutenant William Portwood Erwin (18 October 1895 – 19 August 1927) was an American World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. On 19 August 1927, he disappeared during the Dole Air Race from Oakland, California to Hawaii.

Early life William Portwood Erwin was the son of W. A. Erwin of Chicago. The younger Erwin, born elsewhere, was raised primarily in Chicago. Two sources claim he was born in Amarillo, Texas.

World War I

Erwin was assigned to the 1st Aero Squadron on 19 July 1918. As a Salmson 2A2 pilot, he scored his victories between 15 September and 22 October 1918; half of them were with gunner Arthur Easterbrook.

Dole Air Race In 1927, Erwin and his wife planned a flight from Texas to Hong Kong. Along the way, they entered the Dole Air Race, which would be the first air race from California to Hawaii. Constance was later disqualified from participating in the air race due to her age, at 20 years old. Erwin and Eichwaldt would fly the Dallas Spirit, a custom aircraft built by the Swallow Airplane Company on credit for the attempt. Erwin and Eichwaldt's air race attempt was aborted shortly after takeoff due to mechanical problems. After returning to the airport to have the problems fixed, Erwin got word that two competitors' planes had gone missing during the attempt. Erwin and Eichwaldt and the Dallas Spirit went to search for the missing planes. Erwin failed to return from a search for two other missing competitors, the Miss Doran and The Golden Eagle, and is presumed drowned 19 August 1927.