The Longest Dogfight: 1952 (Royce Williams)

YouTube ^ | October 10, 2025 | The History Guy

[chrisinoc]

A heroic battle, the longest dogfight in the history of US Naval aviation, was forgotten, buried among the closest held secrets of the cold war, for over sixty years.

[chrisinoc]

Story of Royce Williams' action over the Sea of Japan, awarded the Medal of Honor last night.

[Nervous Tick]

Thank you! Very good. What a pilot Royce Williams is!

[ProudDeplorable]

Amazing story. Well deserved Medal of Honor recipient.

[NorthMountain]

Chalk up another one for the Grumman Iron Works.

Hats off to the guys who designed and built that aircraft, and a snappy salute to Naval Aviator who knew how to use it.

[NorthMountain]

Nice kitty:

[Who is John Galt?]

Royce Williams

In his book 'Holding the Line' about Task Force 77, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver described the fight, saying "On November 18, 1952, Royce Williams became the top-scoring carrier-based naval aviator and the top-scoring naval aviator in a Navy jet of the 'forgotten war'... In the fight of his life, Royce Williams had accomplished what no other American fighter pilot would ever accomplish: shoot down four MiG-15s in one fight."

[xp38]

He was uninjured, but 263 holes were counted in his Panther jet.

Sounds like a rescue mission to Mexico these days. :)

[KeyLargo]

Thanks for the video link.

[SunkenCiv]

• US pilot shot down four Soviet MiGs in 30 minutes -- and kept it a secret for 50 years [01/21/2023]
• Korean War Hero Earns Medal Of Honor For Secret Mission That Involved Lots Of Dead Soviets [02/06/2026]

[DFG]

Neil Armstrong and Ted Williams also flew Panther jets.