The William H. Anderson Pilot Collection holds textual and visual materials related to the military service and post-war test pilot career of William H. Anderson from 1942-2023. The collection has been divided into two series: Military materials and Professional materials with items filed chronologically in each series.

Military materials contains primarily textual items from Anderson's World War II service as a United States naval aviator and his post-war service in the Naval Reserve. Items include his flight training logbook and Naval Reserve-era logbook, naval aviator license, military records, including Gold Star citations; correspondence, officer qualification questionaire, notice of separation papers, and assorted printed ephemera, including calendar pages with aircraft images, an event flyer for a plaque honoring the USSEssex, and a lithograph signed by United States Navy Captain David McCampbell. The lithograph was created by artist Stan Stokes and is titled "Off to the Turkey Shoot." It depicts McCampbell's Grumman F6F Hellcat just after take-off from the USSEssex on June 19, 1944, the same day McCampbell achieved seven aerial victories. Also present are materials related to a 2008 "Naval Aviation Rendezvous Award," which includes a 1944 combat tour list for Air Group 15, a biographical sketch and resume for Anderson, notes, correspondence, and photocopy of a speech given about Anderson by an unidentified individual.

Fifteen black-and-white photographs are also present in this series with the majority being World War II-era. Eight are group portraits of squadrons, including VF-15, Anderson's assigned unit. Six images feature Anderson in uniform, with family and fellow soldiers, receiving an award, and in aircraft. One print depicts the Japanese battleship Ise smoking at sea on October 25, 1944.

The second series, Professional materials, forms the bulk of the collection and holds mostly textual materials that pertain to Anderson's post-war career as a test pilot for North American Aviation and Northrop. A highlight in this series are the nine logbooks that shed light on the wide variety of aircraft flown by Anderson from 1945 to 1997, including the Boeing B-47 Stratojet, Boeing 727, Cessna Citation, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, Douglas RB-66 Destroyer, Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, North American F-86 Sabre, North American F-100 Super Sabre, and Piper J-3, among others. Most entries are minimal and include the date, type of aircraft and engine, time flown, and origination and destination points.

Additional textual materials include Anderson's 1949 aeronautical engineering diploma from Northop Aeronautical Institute, his 1953 pilot certificate for the F-89 Scorpion, a letter regarding "sonic dives" and the F-89, a notice of invention letter for a take-off indicator developed by Anderson, biographical documents, and assorted clippings that pertain to Anderson and the companies he worked for.

Fifteen photographs are also included. Four depict aircraft during flight testing and are stamped as "Autonetics," which was a division within North American Rockwell. One image depicts the Douglas B-66 or a variant thereof; four prints depict what appears to be a Douglas A-26 or B-26 variant. Two additional "Autonetics" prints are present; one depicts a cockpit for one of the aircraft and the other depicts four men in front of an obscured aircraft, possibly the A-26. One man's nametag "Lowell" is visible. Additionally, there are nine assorted prints. Three prints depict the North American B-45 Tornado and Northop B-49 and one print shows the interior of a hangar with four aircraft and one helicopter in blue and white livery, likely a private corporation fleet. One image features Anderson and an unidentified man in front of an obscured aircraft with the caption "Last flight at Rockwell, age 60." Four photographs show aircraft on static display at museums or air fields, circa 2000s-2010s.

The photographs in this collection are a mix of black-and-white and color and include both casual snapshots and posed portraits. Sizes vary, although most are 8x10-inches. Some prints include basic contextual information or proprietary stamps, such as names, dates, or locations.