Yancey Williams

Yancey Williams (alternatively spelt Yancy Williams, February 1, 1916 – October 22, 1953) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and pilot with the 85th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails".

Williams is notable for his landmark 1941 federal lawsuit against the U.S. War Department for denying Williams' entry into the U.S. Army Air Corps's pilot cadet program based on Williams' race. Leveraging tactics inspired by the seminal 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal doctrine, the U.S. War Department avoided the lawsuit, immediately creating the racially separate and allegedly equal 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) at Tuskegee Institute. This unit would be solely responsible for the training and possible deployment of all African American pilots, ground crew and support operations.

Early life and education Williams was born in Louisiana on February 1, 1916. He attended Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School, graduating in 1932. Williams attended Howard University, majoring in engineering.

In September 1938, Tuskegee Airmen training impresario C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson started Howard University's Civilian Pilot Training. Williams was one of Anderson's student pilots at Howard. In 1940, In 1940, Tuskegee Institute recruited Anderson as its Chief Civilian Flight Instructor for the newly-minted program for African American pilots.

Leveraging tactics inspired by the seminal 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson's "separate but equal doctrine, the War Department dodged the lawsuit, immediately creating the racially separate, allegedly equal 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) at Tuskegee Institute. This unit would be solely responsible for the training and possible deployment of all African American pilots, ground crew and support operations. However, Williams would be a 1st lieutenant when he finally received his wings as a member of Tuskegee Air Field's Single Engine Section Cadet Class SE-44-J on December 28, 1944.

Death On October 22, 1953, Williams was killed when his North American F-86D Sabre crashed after takeoff from Runway 14 in F-86D-20-NA, 51–3029. When he attempted a northwest turn, he overshot the approach to Runway 36 and tried to land in a nearby cornfield west of Scott AFB. Though Williams almost crash landed successfully, his aircraft struck an electric transformer pole, causing the aircraft to explode on impact. An investigation found that the aircraft's hydraulic elevator control locked up as a result of a misconnection between hydraulic lines. This was the 85th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron's first fatal North American F-86D Sabre loss.

Williams was 37 years old. He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, Sec: 8, Site: 5428-A.