William R. Williams

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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

1941 - Graduated Ansonia High School

1943-45 - Volunteered for United States Submarine Service -Made three war patrols in the Pacific - Was in combat zone when A-Bombs were dropped on Japan and had to stay on patrol for two weeks after cease fire until ordered back to Midway - After brief stop-over returned to the U.S. with five more boats and a Sub Tender.

1950 - Married Mary Kathleen Callaghan of Derby.

1954-60 - Worked on the power plants that enabled commercial aviation to blossom into an integrated and potent element of our economy. Also military power plants for the F-100 Series of fighter planes with Pratt & Whitney.

1956 - Daughter Kathleen Mary Williams was born 12/4/56.

1957 - Passed Top Secret Security Clearance for Uncle Sam.

1961 - Team from Florida came up and recruited me for the Florida Research and Development Center down in the Florida swamps in Palm Beach County.

1961-89 - Worked on major military projects for Department of Defense, Navy, C.I.A./Air Force, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Air Force, Department of Energy, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

1962-70 - I was heavily involved in Rocket Propulsion - RL-10, Space Shuttle Main Engine, X-15 (sub contractor for Reaction Motors).

Surveyor was the first unmanned soft landing on the moon on June 1966 and we followed up with four more by January 1968.

Six RL-10s powered 2nd stage of the Saturn program.

I initiated the base figures for the SSME Pratt & Whitney proposal for the Space Shuttle in 1970.

1969-71 - Worked on the first F-100 engine and Pratt & Whitney's proposal to the Air Force.

1971 - My wife, Mary, died of a brain aneurism 12/13/71.

1970-89 - Worked on sophisticated projects such as lasers, mirrors and other classified hardware. Was the Planner for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) power plant's initial phase, the Demonstration/Validation phase. This package is a whole new concept for the military and should make the American public proud of their investment.

1989 - On February 4th, at 2230 hours, I retired from Pratt & Whitney after 35 years of dedicated service, one year to the minute that the first Advanced Tactical Fighter powerplant, FX 601, lit up on the test stand and ran successfully for four hours. It electrified everyone.

1990 - Many projects at home to do — some travel, lots of reading. Between all this dedicated work for my country, I managed to get Ronald Reagan elected President of the United States twice and George Bush once. Other than the things that I have listed, I have engaged myself in thinking, which is where I do some of my best constructive work.