Where was his wingman?According to some video I saw on the subject, the wing-man's guns jammed and Williams ordered him back to the carrier.
According to Williams himself in this interview, his wingman chased off after the first MiG he hit and didn't show up again until the fight had just finished and he was already damaged.
In the above linked interview and
this one, Williams describes his wingman's action as
He went down smoking, and my wingman then followed him, leaving me alone.
and
At that point, my wingman chose to follow him instead of sticking with me.
He sounds a little miffed about it to me. Can't say I blame him.
It should be noted that his wingman was credited with a probable kill and also got a Silver Star as part of the cover up of Soviet involvment, despite not having fired a shot and basically not having taken part in the fight. So maybe the 'ordered back' thing was deliberate misinformation as well, or perhaps you're confusing it with the flight lead being ordered back to the carrier before the engagement started (taking his wingman with him) due to a fuel pump issue.
Thanks! Facts are, of course, always welcome. By me, at least.