Talk:William P. Driscoll

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William "Irish Driscoll" was a reknowned US Navy flight officer who was a main protagonist in one of the most celebrated aerial dogfights in the history of aviation, which resulted in the downing of three North Vietnamese MiGs in a single day, by a single crew.

The final battle between Driscoll/Cunningham versus the North Vietnamese pilot was one of the longest jet to jet duels in history and remains controversial due to the alleged identity of the MiG pilot shot down by the Navy crew of Driscoll and now-Congressman "Duke" Cunningham. The Vietnamese pilot is said to have been the top-scoring pilot in the North's air force with thirteen US planes shot down.

Celebrated in dozens of aviation books, the kill against the Vietnamese pilot was certain, but his true identity remains debated.

The pilot Col. Toon or Col. Tomb is a myth. No North Vietnamese pilot by any name made that many kills. Quote from [1]:

• There is no official record of a Colonel Tomb in VPAF files, and, if he really had 13 victories, the VPAF propaganda machine would certainly have used him.
• In 1972 there were no active pilots with rank of Colonel in the VPAF.
• No North Vietnamese pilot had 13 aerial civtories as reported by western experts.
• The name Tomb does not exist in the Vietnamese language, nor are there any similar sounding names."

Dananderson 22:11, 9 February 2006 (UTC)