{{Short description|American bobsledder and fighter pilot}} {{other people||William Fiske (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox military person | name = Billy Fiske | image = Billy Fiske.JPG | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1911|06|04|df=yes}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1940|08|17|1911|06|04|df=yes}} | burial_label = | burial_place = St Mary and St Blaise churchyard in [[Boxgrove]], [[Sussex]] | birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], U.S. | death_place = [[Chichester]], England | burial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} --> | nickname = Billy | birth_name = William Meade Lindsley Fiske III | allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}} | branch = [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]] | service_years = 23 March 1940 – 17 August 1940 | rank = [[Acting Pilot Officer]] | service_number = | unit = [[No. 601 Squadron RAF]] | commands = | battles = [[World War II]] *[[Battle of Britain]] {{DOW}} | battles_label = | awards = | relations = [[Jennison Heaton]] (brother-in-law) | module = {{Infobox sportsperson | embed = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics|bobsleigh]]}} {{MedalCountry| the {{USA}}}} {{MedalGold|[[1928 Winter Olympics|1928 St. Moritz]]|[[Bobsleigh at the 1928 Winter Olympics|Five-man]]}} {{MedalGold|[[1932 Winter Olympics|1932 Lake Placid]]|[[Bobsleigh at the 1932 Winter Olympics – Four-man|Four-man]]}} }} }}
'''William Meade Lindsley Fiske III''' (4 June 1911 – 17 August 1940) was an American combat fighter pilot and Olympic bobsledder. At the [[1928 Winter Olympics|1928]] and [[1932 Winter Olympics]], Fiske won gold as driver for the US [[Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics|bobsledding team]], also acting as the [[List of flag bearers for the United States at the Olympics|American Olympic flagbearer]] in 1932.
When [[World War II]] broke out in 1939, Fiske traveled to [[the UK]] and joined the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]], claiming to be Canadian in order to be permitted to enlist. He would participate in the [[Battle of Britain]], before being [[killed in action]] on 17 August 1940. After [[Jimmy Davies (RAF officer)|Jimmy Davies]], Fiske was the second American-born pilot killed in action during [[World War II]], but Fiske has the distinction of being the first American-citizen pilot to be killed in action during [[World War II]].<ref name="Lang">Lang 1989, p. 106.</ref><ref>[http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/BattleofBritainRollofHonour.cfm "Battle of Britain - Roll of Honour."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517022613/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/BattleofBritainRollofHonour.cfm |date=17 May 2015 }} ''RAF.'' Retrieved: 6 January 2013.</ref> His plaque was unveiled in the crypt of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[London]]. The inscription reads: ''An American citizen who died that England might live''.
Between his Olympic career and his military service, Fiske was instrumental in the early development of the [[Aspen Mountain (ski area)|Aspen]] [[ski resort]]. Fiske and his partner built the first [[ski lift]] and lodge in the remote [[Colorado]] mountain town. Others would continue their work after the war.
==Early life==
Fiske was born in Chicago in 1911, the son of Beulah and William Fiske, a New England banking magnate. He attended school in Chicago, and then went to school in France in 1924, where he discovered the sport of bobsled at the age of 16. Fiske attended [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]], in 1928 where he studied economics and history.<ref name="trinhall">{{cite web |title=Front Court -- Meet the athletes |url=https://www.trinhall.cam.ac.uk/alumni/front-court/ |website=trinhall.cam.ac.uk |publisher=Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge |access-date=14 August 2020 |quote=Trinity Hall Olympians have competed in disciplines ranging from athletics, cycling and skiing to, perhaps unsurprisingly, rowing and, more surprisingly, the bobsleigh. Bobsleigh champion, Billy Fiske’s short life was packed with action. Born in 1911 in New York, Fiske was educated in Europe and, aged 16, captained the US bobsleigh team to win gold at St Moritz in 1928. He repeated the victory at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1932, where he carried the flag, and declined a third opportunity in 1936. In 1928 he arrived at Trinity Hall to read Economics and History, and subsequently joined (by a subterfuge) the RAF in 1939 at the start of World War II as its first American pilot. He died of injuries sustained in battle in 1940, the first American to die in the war.}}</ref>
In 1936 Ted Ryan, an heir of [[Thomas Fortune Ryan]], brought some photographs of mountains near [[Aspen, Colorado]], to Fiske. They had been given to Ryan by a man trying to interest him in investing in a mining claim. Fiske and Ryan, however, saw in them ideal terrain for [[downhill skiing]], and the [[ski resort]] the pair had been talking about establishing in the United States, similar to those in the Alps where Fiske had competed in the Olympics.<ref name="Skiing Heritage Journal article">Lund, Morten and Mary Hayes. [https://books.google.com/books?id=oVgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 "Skiing Comes to Aspen: Visionaries and Teachers."] ''Skiing Heritage Journal,'' Issue 2, 1997, pp. 16–18.</ref>
Fiske and Ryan visited Aspen, then a faded mining town decades removed from its [[boomtown]] years in the 1880s. Many of the abandoned properties around town were available for very low prices. Fiske bought an option on one, and he and Ryan had blueprints drawn up for a [[ski lodge]]. For the next season, they hired guides, including Swiss ski champion [[André Roch]], then studying at [[Reed College]] in Oregon. The lodge opened at the end of 1937, and a few weeks later the [[Ski Lift No. 1|Boat Tow]], an early [[ski lift]], opened. These events are considered the beginning of skiing in Aspen.<ref name="Skiing Heritage Journal article" />
Fiske then worked at the London office of Dillon, Reed & Co, the New York bankers. Fiske married Rose Bingham,<ref>[http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?LinkID=mp65434 "Rose (Bingham), Countess of Warwick."] ''Collections''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> [[Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick|Countess of Warwick]], in [[Maidenhead]].<ref name="Fiske Papers"/>
==Bobsled career==
In 1928, as driver of the first five-man [[United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation|US Bobsled team]] to win the Olympics, Fiske became the youngest gold medalist in any winter sport (he was not eclipsed until 1992 by [[Toni Nieminen]]), aged just 16 years<ref>[http://www.bunksplace.com/hot%20runnings.html "Runnings."] ''bunksplace.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> at the [[1928 Winter Olympics]] in [[St. Moritz]], [[Switzerland]]. His [[United States at the 1928 Winter Olympics|American]] team-mates were [[Geoffrey Mason]], [[Nion Tocker]],<ref>Gjerde, Arild et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200417192444/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/tu/nion-tucker-1.html "Nion Tucker: Biography."] ''Sports Reference LLC'', 2009. Retrieved: 31 March 2009.</ref> [[Clifford Gray (athlete)|Clifford Gray]] and [[Richard Parke]].<ref>[http://sports123.com/bob/mo-5.html "Bobsled."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106173335/http://sports123.com/bob/mo-5.html |date=6 January 2017 }} ''sports123.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> [[File:66b69673eab7d0f2e493f52e 66b695b723aa7b3721f1b5d0 clip image002.png|left|thumb|Billy Fiske with his gold medal-winning team in 1932.]] Fiske competed again at the [[1932 Winter Olympics]] at [[Lake Placid, New York]], USA, where he carried the United States' flag at the opening ceremony. The format of the race was altered to a four-man team, but again Fiske and his team-mates, [[Clifford Gray (athlete)|Clifford Gray]], [[Eddie Eagan]], and [[Jay O'Brien (bobsleigh)|Jay O'Brien]]<ref>[http://sports123.com/bob/results/mo-4-1932.html "Bobsleigh."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620071928/http://sports123.com/bob/results/mo-4-1932.html |date=20 June 2009 }} ''sports123.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> took gold.<ref>[http://www.bunksplace.com/fiske.jpg "Fiske."] ''bunksplace.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref>
Fiske was invited, but declined to lead the bobsled team in the [[1936 Winter Olympics]] in [[Garmisch-Partenkirchen]] in Germany. It is believed by some that this decision was due to his disagreeing with the politics in Germany at the time, which may also explain his later decision to join the war effort in 1940.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030114090438/http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/winter02/gen/feature?id=1307970 "Winter Olympics."] ''sports.espn.go.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref>
Fiske was also a [[Cresta Run|Cresta Champion]], and was well known for jumps from the [[Badrutt's Palace Hotel]]'s bar chandelier in St. Moritz.<ref>Bowman, Martin, RAF Fighter Pilots in WWII, Barnsley: Pen & Sword Publishing, 2015</ref>
==World War II== Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Fiske was recalled to the New York offices of Dillon, Reed & Co, but on 30 August 1939 he returned to England aboard the [[RMS Aquitania|''Aquitania'']] accompanying a bank colleague who was also a member of [[No. 601 Squadron RAuxAF|No. 601 (County of London) Auxiliary Air Force Squadron]]. Fiske was one of seven [[Non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain#United States|US aircrew personnel who fought in the Battle of Britain]], although due to the [[Neutrality Acts of 1930s|neutrality]] of the United States, Fiske pretended to be a Canadian. He joined the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]] and was promoted to the rank of Pilot Officer on 23 March 1940.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=34831|page=2248|date=16 April 1940}}</ref>
Fiske undertook his flying training at No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School at [[RAF Yatesbury]], [[Wiltshire]], before moving to [[RAF Brize Norton]], Oxfordshire, for advanced flying training. As an American citizen, he "duly pledged his life and loyalty to the king, [[George VI]],"<ref name="Fiske Papers">Fiske, Hugh. [http://www.fiskes.co.uk/billy_fiske.htm "Pilot Officer W.M.L. (Billy) Fiske: 601 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Volunteer Reserve."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211130922/http://www.fiskes.co.uk/billy_fiske.htm |date=11 February 2006 }} ''The Fiske Papers,'' 2010. Retrieved: 11 January 2012.</ref> and was formally admitted into the RAF. In his diary, a joyous Fiske wrote, "I believe I can lay claim to being the first U.S. citizen to join the RAF in England after the outbreak of hostilities."<ref name="Kershaw">Kershaw, Alex. "Billy Fiske". ''World War II Magazine,'' Volume 25, No. 4, November/December 2010, p. 36.</ref>
On 12 July 1940, Fiske joined [[No. 601 Squadron RAF]], a [[Hawker Hurricane]] unit, at [[RAF Tangmere]], [[West Sussex]], the so-called "Millionaires' Squadron", carrying out his first sorties with the squadron on 20 July, when he flew two patrols.<ref>name"Kershaw"</ref> On 16 August 1940, in the midst of the [[Battle of Britain]], No. 601 Squadron RAF were scrambled to intercept a squadron of German dive-bombers. Fiske was flying Hurricane [[United Kingdom military aircraft serials|serial number]] ''P3358''.<ref name="Fiske Papers"/> The Squadron destroyed eight [[Junkers Ju 87|Junkers Ju 87 Stukas]], but after just 15 minutes of flying time, a German gunner put a bullet through Fiske's fuel tank.<ref>Urquhart, Janet. [https://www.aspentimes.com/article/20050218/NEWS/102180016 "The History Channel profiles Billy Fiske: Pilot's life included a local chapter."] ''The Aspen Times,'' 18 February 2005. Retrieved: 27 July 2011.</ref>
With his aircraft badly damaged and his hands and ankles burnt,<ref>[http://www.battleofbritain.net/0027.html "Battle of Britain."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723125042/http://www.battleofbritain.net/0027.html |date=23 July 2008 }} ''battleofbritain.net''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> instead of bailing out, Fiske nursed his Hurricane home, gliding over a hedgerow to the airfield. Although he landed his aircraft safely back at Tangmere, Fiske had to be extracted from the aircraft by ambulance attendants. Shortly after, his fuel tank exploded. Fiske was taken to the Royal West Sussex Hospital in [[Chichester]] for treatment, but he died from [[surgical shock]] shortly afterwards, on 17 August.<ref>{{cite web |title=Day by day: 17 August 1940 |url=https://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/learn/the-battle-of-britain/day-by-day/#17-august-1940 |website=The Battle of Britain Memorial |access-date=14 August 2020 |quote=Today saw the death of Pilot Officer Billy Fiske of No 601 Squadron, one of the American volunteers to fly with the RAF in the Battle. Fiske’s Hurricane had been hit by return fire from a Ju 87 over Bognor Regis the day before and had forced-landed back at Tangmere on fire. At the time the airfield was being bombed, but groundcrew carried him clear. He had appeared to be recovering in hospital before his death from burns and shock. |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923000423/https://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/learn/the-battle-of-britain/day-by-day/#17-august-1940 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Americans in the Royal Air Force - Pilot Officer Billy Fiske - Battle of Britain |url=https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/americans-in-the-royal-air-force/pilot-officer-billy-fiske/battle-of-britain.aspx |website=www.rafmuseum.org.uk |publisher=[[Royal Air Force Museum]] |access-date=14 August 2020 |quote=Fiske landed safely, but received severe burns. He was taken to St. Richard's Hospital, Chichester, were it seemed he would recover quickly. However, on 17 August Pilot Officer Fiske died of shock. He was buried at Boxgrove.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Britain London Monument - P/O W M L FISKE |url=https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Fiske.htm |website=www.bbm.org.uk |access-date=14 August 2020 |quote=On 16th August 601 was scrambled to intercept a formation of Ju87 Stuka aircraft ... Fiske's Hurricane P3358 was hit, presumably by return fire from a Stuka's gunner, but though the engine had stopped Fiske was able to glide over the airfield boundary and make a wheels-up landing. The aircraft immediately burst into flames. Two ground crew, Corporal GW Jones and AC2 CG Faulkner, drove an ambulance over to the aircraft, unstrapped Fiske and lifted him out. They had to extinguish a fire in his lower clothing before placing him on a stretcher and driving to the Medical building. ... Fiske died the next day at the hospital. He was 29 years old.}}</ref> Fiske was 29 years old.<ref name="Fiske Papers"/>
Fiske's funeral took place on 20 August 1940. Six members of Tangmere's ground staff carried Fiske to his final resting place. His coffin, covered in the [[Union Jack]] and the [[Flag of the United States|Stars and Stripes]], was borne on a bier to [[Boxgrove Priory|Boxgrove Priory Church]] and buried.<ref name="Fiske Papers"/>
Of Fiske's role in the Battle of Britain, Bill Bond, founder of the [[List of historical societies#United Kingdom societies|Battle of Britain Historical Society]], wrote:
{{quote|...although Billy made several sorties he didn't shoot anything down, so that his impact on the battle in that respect was negligible, but he is most definitely still very much a hero in our book.}}
Fiske's Flight Commander, [[Sir Archibald Philip Hope, 17th Baronet|Sir Archibald Hope]], added: {{quote|Unquestionably Billy Fiske was the best pilot I've ever known. It was unbelievable how good he was. He picked up so fast it wasn't true. He'd flown a bit before, but he was a natural as a fighter pilot. He was also terribly nice and extraordinarily modest, and fitted into the squadron very well.<ref>Hough 2005, p. 188.</ref>}}
[[File:Billy Fiske IIIa.jpg|thumb|The grave of William Meade Lindsley "Billy" Fiske III]]
==Memorials and tributes== [[File:Billy Fiske IIIc.jpg|thumb|left|William Meade Lindsley "Billy" Fiske III stained glass window at Boxgrove Priory]] Fiske is buried in St Mary and St Blaise churchyard in [[Boxgrove]], [[Sussex]].<ref>[http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_photos.aspx?cemetery=44872&mode=1 "Cemetery Photos" "Boxglove (SS. Mary and Blaise) Churchyard."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616054401/http://www.cwgc.org/search/cemetery_photos.aspx?cemetery=44872&mode=1 |date=16 June 2011 }} ''Commonwealth War Graves Commission.'' Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> The inscription on his gravestone reads simply: ''He died for England''.<ref>[https://www.boxgrovepriory.co.uk/pilot_officer_billy_fiske_RAF.html "Pilot Officer Billy Fiske RAF."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815213844/http://boxgrovepriory.co.uk/pilot_officer_billy_fiske_RAF.html |date=15 August 2013 }} ''boxgrovepriory.co.uk''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> The funeral was publicized for propaganda purposes.<ref>Cull 1995, pp. 89–90 and illustration.</ref> A memorial stained glass window was dedicated to him on 17 September 2008 at [[Boxgrove Priory]].<ref>[http://www.bbm.org.uk/Fiskewindow.htm "Billy Fiske Memorial Window, Boxgrove Priory."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210015421/http://www.bbm.org.uk/Fiskewindow.htm |date=10 February 2009 }} ''Battle of Britain London Monument.'' Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> At the dedication service, a number of former colleagues attended and his green [[Bentley]] car was on display.<ref>[http://www.601squadron.com/Billy_Fiske_Window.php "Billy Fiske Window."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707065128/http://www.601squadron.com/Billy_Fiske_Window.php |date=7 July 2011 }} ''601squadron.com''. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> Fiske is listed on the [[Battle of Britain Monument in London]] and the [[Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne]].{{fact|date=March 2024}}
On 4 July 1941, a plaque was unveiled in the crypt of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], [[London]]. The inscription reads: ''An American citizen who died that England might live''. The decision to unveil this plaque on [[Independence Day (United States)|American Independence Day]] was probably a political one; the United States had not officially joined the war and the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[Winston Churchill]], was keen to popularise Fiske's story.<ref>White, Duncan. [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2002/feb/03/theobserver "The fast life of Billy Fiske: Amazing American Winter Olympic legend who died an RAF hero in Second World War."] ''The Observer'', 3 February 2002. Retrieved: 20 June 2010.</ref> The plaque was unveiled by [[Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso|Sir Archibald Sinclair]], the [[Secretary of State for Air]]. He said at the ceremony:
<blockquote>Here was a young man for whom life held much. Under no kind of compulsion he came to fight for Britain. He came and he fought and he died. </blockquote> [[File:Fiske unveiling.jpg|thumb|Artist Jenna Gearing and Kevin Billings unveil the Billy Fiske statue.]] Other tributes to Fiske include a memorial tablet dedicated to him in the crypt of the [[Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York]]. The [[United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation]] also created the ''Billy Fiske Memorial Trophy'' as a posthumous tribute to him. The trophy is awarded to the national champion four-man bobsled team each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hall-of-Fame 2010-Inductees |url=https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-Skeleton-Federation/Resources/Hall-of-Fame/2010-Inductees |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140121055359/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-Skeleton-Federation/Resources/Hall-of-Fame/2010-Inductees |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 January 2014 |website=teamusa.org |publisher=[[United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation]] |access-date=14 August 2020 |quote=Pretending to be Canadian, American citizen Fiske joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1939. Fiske was one of the first American pilots to be killed in action when a German gunner shot his aircraft during the Battle of Britain. The USBSF created the Billy Fiske Memorial Trophy in honor of him, which is awarded to the US 4-man national championship team annually.}}</ref>
{{As of|2003}}, a Hollywood film named ''The Few'' was in preparation for release in 2008, based on the story of Fiske. Bill Bond, who conceived the [[Battle of Britain Monument in London]], described a ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' magazine outline of the film's historical content<ref>Fleming, Michael. [https://variety.com/2003/film/markets-festivals/new-flight-plan-for-cruise-1117892183/ "New flight plan for Cruise."] ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', 9 September 2003. Retrieved: 28 December 2007.</ref> as "Totally wrong. The whole bloody lot."<ref>Moreton, Cole. [http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/news/article55566.ece "Hollywood updates history of Battle of Britain: Tom Cruise won it all on his own."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218173843/http://arts.independent.co.uk/film/news/article55566.ece |date=18 December 2007 }} ''[[The Independent]]'', 11 April 2004. Retrieved: 28 December 2007.</ref> In addition to a 2005 documentary (''American Warrior: Billy Fiske''), Red Valley Productions performed a new play based on his life called ''Billy Fiske: King of Speed'' at the Alexandra Theatre, Bognor Regis from 20 to 25 July 2010.{{fact|date=March 2024}}
On 4 June 2024 the Billy Fiske Foundation unveiled and dedicated the Billy Fiske statue at the U.S. Embassy in London, UK. Remarks were presented at the private event by The Honorable [[Matthew Barzun|Matthew W Barzun]], 66th Ambassador to the Court of St James, sculptor Jenna Gearing as well as by Billy Fiske Foundation president Kevin Billings. Gearing was commissioned to create the work of art, which is sculpted in bronze. The statue will reside inside the embassy, at the entrance to the Office of Defense Cooperation.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://billyfiskefoundation.org/future-fiske-statue/ | title=Future Fiske Statue | work=Billy Fiske Foundation }}</ref>
In 2025, the Board of the Billy Fiske Foundation formed a partnership with Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge, to create the Billy Fiske Centenary Scholarship. Meant to honour Billy Fiske's legacy, 100 years on from when he enrolled at the College, by supporting a Masters studentship. Trinity Hall is fundraising in conjunction with the Billy Fiske Foundation to support an American student coming to Trinity Hall, to study in October 2028, for a master's degree course in any subject. This effort will thereby help in the aim to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.{{cn|date=August 2025}}
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} * [[List of RAF aircrew in the Battle of Britain]] * {{section link|Non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain|United States}}
==References==
===Notes=== {{Reflist}}
===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * Cull, Nicholas J. ''Selling War: British Propaganda and American Neutrality in World War Two.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. {{ISBN|0-19-511150-8}} * Hinckley, David. [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/03/05/2003-03-05_next_thrill_billy_fiske_chap.html "Next Thrill: Billy Fiske Chapter 9."]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''New York Daily News'', 5 March 2003. Retrieved: 2 April 2009. * Holmes, Tony. "Saga of Billy Fiske: Part One" ''Air Classics'', Volume 39, no. 12, December 2003. * Holmes, Tony. "Saga of Billy Fiske: Part Two" ''Air Classics'', Volume 40, no. 1, January 2004. * Hough, Sir Richard Alexander and Denis Richards. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AePbrerDWiIC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=sir+%22archibald+hope%22+%22royal+air+force% ''The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II.'']{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. {{ISBN|978-0-393-30734-4}}. * Lang, Walt N. ''United States Military Almanac''. New York: Random House, 1989. {{ISBN|0-517-16092-7}}. {{Refend}}
==External links== {{commons category|Billy Fiske}}[http://www.billyfiskefoundation.org Billy Fiske Foundation]<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Billy Fiske Foundation {{!}} William Mead Lindlsey Fiske {{!}} Battle of Britain|url=https://billyfiskefoundation.org/home/|access-date=24 July 2020|website=Billy Fiske Foundation|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060211130922/http://www.fiskes.co.uk/billy_fiske.htm Churchman's Cigarettes card] *[https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10858854 1932 US Olympic team] *[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10703466 BBC News article mentioning Billy Fiske] *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928150708/http://www.marine-family.org/hollywood/sportsheroes/fiske.htm Billy Fiske]}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20120114160447/http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/online-exhibitions/americans-in-the-raf/pilot-officer-billy-fiske.cfm Pilot Officer Billy Fiske] * {{YouTube|VGmOl4DpBy4|Funeral of Billy Fiske}}, from [[British Pathé]]
{{Authority control}}
{{s-start}} {{s-sports|oly}} {{succession box | before = [[Bud Houser]] | title = [[Standard-bearer|Flagbearer]] for {{USA}} | years = [[1932 Winter Olympics|Lake Placid 1932]] | after = [[Morgan Taylor]] }} {{s-end}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Bobsleigh Four-man |state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiske, Billy}} [[Category:1911 births]] [[Category:1940 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge]] [[Category:Aviators killed by being shot down]] [[Category:Bobsledders at the 1928 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:Bobsledders at the 1932 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in bobsleigh]] [[Category:Bobsledders from Chicago]] [[Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]] [[Category:The Few]] [[Category:Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II]] [[Category:Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics]] [[Category:American male bobsledders]] [[Category:American expatriates in England]] [[Category:American military personnel killed in World War II]] [[Category:American Royal Air Force pilots of World War II]] [[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England]] [[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1940]] [[Category:Military personnel from Chicago]] [[Category:North American expatriate military officers]]