MINNESOTA AVIATION HALL OF FAME

Harold W Bill Atkins Plaque

Harold W. “Bill” Atkins

1919 - 2001

Nebraska native Harold “Bill” Atkins was a B-17 instructor and B-29 instructor during World War II. After the war he joined Northwest Airlines. He was assigned to Air Vietnam and flew in Southeast Asia before moving to Greece to train Olympic Airways pilots on Boeing 720s purchased from Northwest. He developed the strobe light used today on most commercial and military aircraft around the world.

Year Inducted: 1996