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Victoria Sharp-Family
to remember
Sharp, William C., Capt.
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Contact Info
Home Town Cleveland
Last Address Eglin AFB
Date of Passing Jun 21, 1953
Location of Interment Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (VA) - San Diego, California
Captain WIlliam C. Sharp had flown as a fighter pilot on combat operations in the CBI. He flew 25 missions in P-40 and P-51 aircraft.
On 21 June 1953, he and his radar operator serving with the 3200th Fighter Test Squadron, Air Proving Ground Command, Eglin, AFB, Florida were flying an F-94C-LO "Starfire (tail number #50-969) that crashed at Fairfax Field, Kansas City, Kansas.
They had departed the airfield on a routine training mission for a flight to Scott AFB, Illinois, when the pilot, Capt. William C. Sharp, 34, Cleveland, Ohio, attempted to return shortly after the 1330 hrs. CST take-off. The aircraft struck a dike short of the runway, hitting 10 feet below the top, and struck and rebounded onto the runway. The Radar Operator, 1st Lt. Ray P. Tucker, 32, Tipton, Indiana, was killed on impact and the pilot died later of injuries. (The RO, 1st Lt. Tucker, had seen combat in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre in World War II).
Captain Sharp was buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, San Diego County, California, in Plot: O.
1943-1944, P-40 Warhawk/Kittyhawk
From Year 1943
To Year 1944
Personal Memories
Not Specified
Image
P-40 Warhawk/Kittyhawk Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model Curtiss P-40N / Kittyhawk IV Length 33.46 ft | 10.20 m Width 37.47 ft | 11.42 m Height 12.37 ft | 3.77 m Engine(s) 1 x Allison V-1710--81 inline piston engine generating 1,360hp. Empty Weight 6,005 lbs | 2,724 kg MTOW 8,858 lbs | 4,018 kg Max Speed 378 mph | 609 km/h | 329 kts Max Range 240 miles | 386 km Ceiling 38,156 ft | 11,630 m | 7.2 miles Climb Rate 2,142.86 ft/min (653 m/min) Hardpoints 1 Armament 6 x 12.7mm machine guns 1 x 500lb bomb under fuselage Accommodations 1
Major Variants
* Model 75I - Prototype Base Model derived from XP-37A airframe fitted with Allison 1,150hp V-1710-11 inline engine. * P-40 - United States Army Air Corps production version fitted with V-1710-33 powerplant. * Hawk 81-A1 - Export model for French use. * P-40B - Improved model featuring improved armor and armament with seal-sealing fuel tanks. * P-40C - Additional 2 x 12.7mm machine guns added to wings; improved seal-sealing fuel tanks. * P-40D - Fitted with V-1710-39 generating 1,150hp; increase performance at high altitude; improved supercharger. * P-40E - Only 4 x 12.7mm machine guns in wings. * P-40F - Improved supercharger. * P-40L - Similar to the P-40F with improved supercharger and 1,300hp Packard V-1650-1 (license-built 1,300hp Rolls-Royce Merlin) powerplant. * P-40K - Based on the P-40E model with V-1710-33 powerplant. * P-40M - Fitted with V-1710-71 powerplant. * P-40N - Fitted with V-1710-81 OR V1710-99 OR V1710-115 powerplants; improved performance capabilities; decreased overall weight.
