Biography

Born in Winona, Mississippi

Winona, Mississippi

Winona is a city in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,482 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County....

, William Billingsley graduated from the Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1909. On December 2, 1912, he reported for duty at the Aviation Camp, Annapolis, MD and was assigned to the Navy-Wright B-2 for instruction.

Billingsley, designated as Naval Aviator No. 9, was the first naval aviator killed in an airplane crash. On June 20, 1913, while piloting the B-2 at 1,600 feet over water near Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis, Maryland

Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...

, he was thrown from the plane and fell to his death. Admiral John Henry Towers, also unseated in the turbulence, was nearly killed in the same accident as he clung to the plane and fell with it into the water.

Namesake

The Clemson-class destroyer USS Billingsley (DD-293)

USS Billingsley (DD-293)

USS Billingsley was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. The ship was named for William Billingsley, one of the first Navy pilots, Naval Aviator No...

 was named in his honor.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (pre-1925)