Billy Fiske

Pilot Officer Billy Fiske was an American Olympic gold medallist (bobsled, 1928 and 1932) who volunteered for the RAF before the United States entered the war. Flying Hurricanes with 601 Squadron from Tangmere near Brighton during the Battle of Britain, he was one of the first American casualties of WW2.On 16 August 1940, Fiske's Hurricane was hit by return fire while attacking Ju 87 Stukas. Though he managed to land his burning aircraft, he died the next day from burns. A plaque in St Paul's Cathedral honours him as the first American to give his life in the war.