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Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer behind Mick Mannock, James McCudden and George McElroy.
Born and raised in Nottingham, Ball joined the Sherwood Foresters at the outbreak of the First World War and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in October 1914. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) the following year, and gained his pilot's Aircrew brevet on 26 January 1916. Joining No. 13 Squadron RFC in France, he flew reconnaissance missions before being posted in May to No. 11 Squadron, a fighter unit. From then until his return to England on leave in October, he accrued many aerial victories, earning two Distinguished Service Orders and the Military Cross. He was the first ace to become a British national hero.
After a period on home establishment, Ball was posted to No. 56 Squadron, which deployed to the Western Front in April 1917. He died when his plane crashed into a field in France on 7 May, sparking a wave of national mourning and posthumous recognition, which included the award of the Victoria Cross for his actions during his final tour of duty. The famous German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen remarked upon hearing of Ball's death that he was "by far the best English flying man".
Ball studied at the Lenton Church School, The King's School, Grantham and Nottingham High School before transferring to Trent College in January 1911, at the age of 14. As a student he displayed only average ability, but was able to develop his curiosity for things mechanical. His best subjects were carpentry, modelling, violin and photography. He also served in the Officers' Training Corps. When Albert left school in December 1913, aged 17, his father helped him gain employment at Universal Engineering Works near the family home.
In March 1915, Ball began a short-lived engagement to Dorothy (Dot) Elbourne.Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I. pp. 24–27, 30–31. In June, he decided to take private flying lessons at Hendon Aerodrome, which would give him an outlet for his interest in engineering and possibly help him to see action in France sooner. He paid to undertake pilot training in his own time at the Ruffy-Baumann School, which charged £75 to £100 for instruction (£5,580 to £7,440 in 2010 prices).
Ball would wake at 3:00 am to ride his motorcycle to Ruffy-Baumann for flying practice at dawn, before beginning his daily military duty at 6:45 am. His training at Ruffy-Baumann was not unique; Edwin Cole was learning to fly there at the same time. In letters home Ball recorded that he found flying "great sport", and displayed what Peter de la Billière described as "almost brutal" detachment regarding accidents suffered by his fellow trainees:
On 18 February 1916, Ball joined No. 13 Squadron RFC at Marieux in France, flying a two-seat Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c on reconnaissance missions. He survived being shot down by anti-aircraft fire on 27 March. Three days later, he fought the first of several combats in the B.E.2; he and his observer, Lieutenant S. A. Villiers, fired a Drum magazine and a half of Lewis gun ammunition at an enemy two-seater, but were driven off by a second one. After this inconclusive skirmish, Ball wrote home in one of his many letters, "I like this job, but nerves do not last long, and you soon want a rest". In letters home to his father, he discouraged the idea of his younger brother following him into the RFC. Ball and Villiers tried unsuccessfully to shoot down an enemy observation balloon in their two-seater on 10 April. Ball's burgeoning skills and aggressiveness gained him access to the squadron's single-seat Bristol Scout fighter later that month.Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I. pp. 53–61. April 1916 also saw Ball's first mention in a letter home of plans for "a most wonderful machine ... heaps better than the Hun Fokker". It is now generally believed that these "plans" were unconnected with the design of the Austin-Ball A.F.B.1, with which he later became involved.
Throughout his flying service Ball was primarily a "lone-wolf" pilot, stalking his prey from below until he drew close enough to use his top-wing Lewis gun on its Foster mounting, angled to fire upwards into the enemy's fuselage. According to fellow ace and Victoria Cross recipient James McCudden, "it was quite a work of art to pull this gun down and shoot upwards, and at the same time manage one's machine accurately". Ball was as much a loner on the ground as in the air, preferring to stay in his hut on the flight line away from other squadron members. His off-duty hours were spent tending his small garden and practising the violin. Though not unsociable per se, he was extremely sensitive and shy. Ball acted as his own mechanic on his aircraft and, as a consequence, was often untidy and dishevelled. His singularity in dress extended to his habit of flying without a helmet and goggles, and he wore his thick black hair longer than regulations generally permitted.
While flying a Bristol Scout on 16 May 1916, Ball scored his first aerial victory, driving down a German reconnaissance aircraft. He then switched to Nieuports, bringing down two on 29 May and a Fokker Eindecker on 1 June. On 25 June he became a balloon buster and an Flying ace by destroying an observation balloon with phosphor bombs. During the month he had written to his parents admonishing them to try and "take it well" if he was killed, "for men tons better than I go in hundreds every day". He again achieved two victories in one sortie on 2 July, shooting down a Roland C.II and an Aviatik to bring his score to seven.
Ball then requested a few days off but, to his dismay, was temporarily reassigned to aerial reconnaissance duty with No. 8 Squadron, where he flew B.E.2s from 18 July until 14 August. During this posting, Ball undertook an unusual mission. On the evening of 28 July, he flew a French field agent across enemy lines. Dodging an attack by three German fighters, as well as anti-aircraft fire, he landed in a deserted field, only to find that the agent refused to get out of the aircraft. While he was on reconnaissance duties with No. 8 Squadron, the London Gazette announced that he had been awarded the Military Cross "for conspicuous skill and gallantry on many occasions," particularly for "one occasion when he attacked six in one flight". This was not unusual; throughout his career, Ball generally attacked on sight and heedless of the odds. He professed no hatred for his opponents, writing to his parents "I only scrap because it is my duty ... Nothing makes me feel more rotten than to see them go down, but you see it is either them or me, so I must do my duty best to make it a case of them".
Ball's 20th birthday was marked by his promotion to temporary captain and his return to No. 11 Squadron. He destroyed three Roland C.IIs in one sortie on 22 August 1916, the first RFC pilot to do so. He ended the day by fighting 14 Germans some behind their lines. With his aircraft badly damaged and out of fuel, he struggled back to Allied lines to land. He transferred with part of No. 11 Squadron to No. 60 Squadron RFC on 23 August. His new commanding officer gave Ball a free rein to fly solo missions, and assigned him his own personal aircraft and maintenance crew. One of the squadron mechanics painted up a non-standard red propeller boss; A201 became the first of a series of Ball's aeroplanes to have such a colour scheme. He found that it helped his fellow squadron members identify his aircraft and confirm his combat claims. By end of the month, he had increased his tally to 17 enemy aircraft, including three on 28 August.
Ball then took leave in England. His feats in France had received considerable publicity. He was the first British ace to become a household name, and found that his celebrity was such that he could not walk down the streets of Nottingham without being stopped and congratulated. Prior to this the British government had suppressed the names of its aces—in contrast to the policy of the French and Germans—but the losses of the Battle of the Somme, which had commenced in July, made politic the publicising of its successes in the air.Robertson. The Dream of Civilised Warfare. p. 92. Ball's achievements had a profound impact on budding flyer Mick Mannock, who would become the United Kingdom's top-scoring ace and also receive the Victoria Cross.
Upon return to No. 60 Squadron in France, Ball scored morning and evening victories on 15 September, flying two different Nieuports. On the evening mission, he armed his aircraft with eight Le Prieur rockets, fitted to the outer struts and designed to fire electrically. He intended to use them on an observation balloon. As it happened, he spotted three German Roland C.IIs and broke their formation by his rockets at them, then picked off one of the pilots with machine-gun fire. After this he settled into an improved aeroplane, Nieuport 17 A213. He had it rigged to fly tail-heavy to facilitate his changing of ammunition drums in the machine-gun, and had a holster built into the cockpit for the Colt automatic pistol that he habitually carried. Three times during September he scored triple victories in a day, ending the month with his total score standing at 31, making him Britain's top-scoring ace. By this time he had told his commanding officer that he had to have a rest and that he was taking unnecessary risks because of his nerves. On 3 October, he was sent on leave, en route to a posting at the Home Establishment in England. A French semi-official report of Ball's successes was issued the same day; it was picked up and repeated in the British aviation journal Flight nine days later.
Instead of returning to combat after his leave, Ball was posted to instructional duties with No. 34 (Reserve) Squadron RFC, based at Orford Ness, Suffolk. About this time he was debriefed by flying instructor Philip Gribble, who was charged with discovering the tactics of ace fighter pilots; Gribble decided Ball operated on "paramount courage and a bit of luck". Ball asked Gribble to let him try a Bristol Scout, which he landed badly, seriously damaging the undercarriage; Ball asked for another machine to try again, with the same result, after which he consoled himself by eating "seven pounds of chocolate". It was while serving on the home front that he was able to lobby for the building and testing of the Austin-Ball A.F.B.1 fighter. He hoped to be able to take an example of the type to France with him, but the prototype was not completed until after his death in action.Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I. pp. 209–16. In November he was invited to test fly the prototype of the new Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 single-seat scout, apparently the first service pilot to do so. He was unimpressed, finding the heavier, more stable fighter less responsive to the controls than the Nieuports he was used to.Hare. The Royal Aircraft Factory. p. 294. His negative assessment of other aspects of the S.E.'s performance, on the other hand, contrasted markedly with the reactions of fellow pilots who tested the prototype about this time. Ball was to maintain his opinion of the S.E. as a "dud", at least until he had scored several victories on the type after his return to France.Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I. pp. 141–44.
On 19 February 1917, in a tribute from his native city, Ball became an Honorary Freeman of Nottingham. Around this time he met James McCudden, also on leave, who later reported his impressions in most favourable terms. In London, Ball also encountered Canadian pilot Billy Bishop, who had not as yet seen combat. He immediately liked Bishop, and may have helped the latter secure a posting to No. 60 Squadron. On 25 March, while off-duty, Ball met 18-year-old Flora Young. He invited her to fly with him, and she accepted, wearing a leather flying coat that they had borrowed. On 5 April, they became engaged; she wore his silver identification wrist bracelet in lieu of an engagement ring.
The latest type from the Royal Aircraft Factory, the S.E.5, had been selected to equip the new squadron. This choice was viewed with some trepidation by the RFC high command,Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I., pp. 143–45. and Ball himself was personally far from happy with the S.E.5. After some intense lobbying he was allowed to retain his Nieuport 17 no. B1522 when the unit went to France; the Nieuport was for his solo missions, and he would fly an S.E.5 on patrols with the rest of the squadron. This arrangement had the personal approval of General Hugh Trenchard, who went on to become the first Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force. No. 56 Squadron moved to the Western Front on 7 April 1917. On arrival Ball wrote to his parents, "Cheero, am just about to start the great game again".
S.E.5 no. A4850, fresh from its packing crate, was extensively modified for Ball: in particular he had the synchronised Vickers machine gun removed, to be replaced with a second Lewis gun fitted to fire downwards through the floor of the cockpit. He also had a slightly larger fuel tank installed. On 9 April, A4850 was refitted, and the downward-firing Lewis gun removed and replaced by the normal Vickers gun mounting. In a letter to Flora Young on 18 April, Ball mentioned getting his own hut on the flight line, and installing the members of his flight nearby.
On 23 April 1917, Ball was under strict orders to stay over British lines, but still engaged the Germans five times in his Nieuport. In his first combat that day, using his preferred belly shot, he sent an Albatros into a spin, following it down and continuing to fire at it until it struck the ground. It was No. 56 Squadron's first victory. Regaining an altitude of , he tried to dive underneath an Albatros two-seater and pop up under its belly as usual, but he overshot, and the German rear gunner put a burst of 15 bullets through the Nieuport's wings and spars. Ball coaxed the Nieuport home for repairs, returning to battle in an S.E.5. In his third combat of the day, he fired five rounds before his machine gun jammed. After landing to clear the gun, he took off once more, surprising five Albatros fighters and sending one down in flames. His fifth battle, shortly thereafter, appeared inconclusive, as the enemy plane managed to land safely. However, its observer had been mortally wounded.
Three days later, on 26 April, Ball scored another double victory, flying S.E.5 no. A4850, and one more on 28 April. This last day's fighting left the S.E.5 so battered by enemy action that it was dismantled and sent away for repair. The following month, despite continual problems with jamming guns in the S.E.5s, Ball shot down seven Albatroses in five days, including two reconnaissance models on 1 May, a reconnaissance plane and an Albatros D.III fighter on 2 May; a D.III on 4 May, and two D.IIIs the next day, 5 May. The second of these victims nearly rammed Ball as they shot it out in a head-on firing pass. As they sped past one another, Ball was left temporarily blinded by oil spraying from the holed oil tank of his craft. Clearing the oil from his eyes, he flew his S.E.5 home with zero oil pressure in an engine on the brink of seizure. He was so overwrought that it was some time after landing before he could finish thanking God, then dictating his combat report.
While squadron armourers and mechanics repaired the faulty machine-gun synchroniser on his most recent S.E.5 mount, A8898, Ball had been sporadically flying the Nieuport again, and was successful with it on 6 May, destroying one more Albatros D.III in an evening flight to raise his tally to 44. He had continued to undertake his habitual lone patrols, but had of late been fortunate to survive. The heavier battle damage that Ball's aircraft were now suffering bore witness to the improved team tactics being developed by his German opponents. Some time on 6 May, Ball had visited his friend Billy Bishop at the latter's aerodrome. He proposed that the pair attack the Red Baron's squadron at its airfield at dawn, catching the German pilots off guard. Bishop agreed to take part in the daring scheme at the end of the month, after he returned from his forthcoming leave. That night, in his last letter to his father, Ball wrote "I do get tired of always living to kill, and am really beginning to feel like a murderer. Shall be so pleased when I have finished".
Brothers Franz and Carl Hailer and the other two men in their party were from a German reconnaissance unit, Flieger-Abteilung A292. Franz Hailer noted, "It was leaving a cloud of black smoke ... caused by oil leaking into the cylinders." The engine had to be inverted for this to happen. The Hispano engine was known to flood its inlet manifold with fuel when upside down and then stop running. Franz Hailer and his three companions hurried to the crash site. Ball was already dead when they arrived. The four German airmen agreed that the crashed craft had suffered no battle damage. No bullet wounds were found on Ball's body, even though Hailer went through Ball's clothing to find identification. Hailer also took Ball to a field hospital.Pengelly. Albert Ball VC: The Fighter Pilot Hero of World War I. pp. 196–97. A German doctor subsequently described a broken back and a crushed chest, along with fractured limbs, as the cause of death.
The Germans credited Richthofen with shooting down Ball, but there is some doubt as to what happened, especially as Richthofen's claim was for a Sopwith Triplane, not an S.E.5, which is a biplane. Given the amount of propaganda the German High Command generated touting the younger Richthofen, a high-level decision may have been taken to attribute Ball's death to him. It is probable that Ball was not shot down at all, but had become disorientated and lost control during his final combat, the victim of a form of temporary vertigo that has claimed other pilots. Ball's squadron harboured hopes that he was a prisoner of war, and the British government officially listed him as "missing" on 18 May. There was much speculation in the press; in France, the Havas news agency reported: "Albert Ball, the star of aviators ... has been missing since the 7th May. Is he a prisoner or has he been killed? If he is dead, he died fighting for his forty-fifth victory." It was only at the end of the month that the Germans dropped messages behind Allied lines announcing that Ball was dead, and had been buried in Annoeullin with full military honours two days after he crashed. Over the grave of the man they dubbed "the English Richthofen", the Germans erected a cross bearing the inscription Im Luftkampf gefallen für sein Vaterland Engl. Flieger-Hauptmann Albert Ball, Royal Flying Corps ("Fallen in air combat for his fatherland English pilot Captain Albert Ball").
Ball's death was reported worldwide in the press. He was lauded as the "wonder boy of the Flying Corps" in Britain's Sunday Dispatch, the "Ace of English Aces" in Portugal, the " héroe aviador" in South America, and the "super-airman" in France. On 7 June 1917, the London Gazette announced that he had received the Croix de Chevalier, Legion d'Honneur from the French government. The following day, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his "most conspicuous and consistent bravery" in action from 25 April to 6 May 1917. On 10 June 1917, a memorial service was held for Ball in the centre of Nottingham at St Mary's Church, with large crowds paying tribute as the procession of mourners passed by. Among those attending were Ball's father Albert, Sr. and brother Cyril, now also a pilot in the RFC; his mother Harriett, overwhelmed with grief, was not present. Ball was posthumously promoted to captain on 15 June. His Victoria Cross was presented to his parents by King George V on 22 July 1917. The following year he was awarded a special medal by the Aero Club of America.
In the book proper, Briscoe and Stannard quote Ball's most notable opponent, Manfred von Richthofen. The Red Baron, who believed in his younger brother's victory award, considered Ball "by far the best English flying man". Elsewhere in the book, an unidentified Royal Flying Corps pilot who flew with Ball in his last engagement was quoted as saying, "I see they have given him the V.C. Of course he won it a dozen times over—the whole squadron knows that." The authors themselves described the story of Ball's life as that of "a young knight of gentle manner who learnt to fly and to kill at a time when all the world was killing ... saddened by the great tragedy that had come into the world and made him a terrible instrument of Death".
Linda Raine Robertson, in The Dream of Civilised Warfare, noted that Briscoe and Stannard emphasised "the portrait of a boy of energy, pluck, and humility, a loner who placed his skill in the service of his nation, fought—indeed, invited—a personal war, and paid the ultimate sacrifice as a result", and that they "struggle to paste the mask of cheerful boyishness over the signs of the toll taken on him by the stress of air combat and the loss of friends".
Alan Clark, in Aces High: The War in the Air Over the Western Front, found Ball the "perfect public schoolboy" with "the enthusiasms and all the eager intelligence of that breed" and that these characteristics, coupled with a lack of worldly maturity, were "the ingredients of a perfect killer, where a smooth transition can be made between the motives that drive a boy to 'play hard' at school and then to 'fight hard' against the King's enemies". Biographer Chaz Bowyer considered that "to label Albert Ball a 'killer' would be to do him a grave injustice", as his "sensitive nature suffered in immediate retrospect whenever he succeeded in combat".
Memorials to Ball in his native Nottingham include a monument and statue in the grounds of Nottingham Castle. The monument, which was commissioned by the city council and funded by public subscription, consists of a bronze group on a carved pedestal of Portland stone and granite. The bronze group, by the sculptor Henry Poole, shows a life-size figure of Ball with an allegorical female figure at his shoulder. The monument was unveiled on 8 September 1921 by Air Marshal Trenchard, with military honours including a flypast by a squadron of RAF aircraft. In 1929 the bronze model for Ball's statue was presented by his father to the National Portrait Gallery in London, where it is on display. In further remembrance of his son, Albert Ball, Sr. commissioned the building of the Albert Ball Memorial Homes in Lenton to house the families of local servicemen killed in action. The Lenton War Memorial, located in front of the homes, includes Ball's name and was also paid for by the Ball family. The homes were Listed building listed for historic preservation in 1995.
A memorial to Ball, along with his parents, and a sister who died in infancy, appears on the exterior wall of the southwest corner of Holy Trinity Church in Lenton. Another memorial tablet is present inside the same church, mounted on the north wall and bearing the RFC and RAF motto Per Ardua ad Astra, along with decorations of medals and royal arms. In 1967, the Albert Ball VC Scholarships were instituted at his alma mater, Trent College. A propeller from one of Ball's aircraft and the original cross from his grave in France are displayed at the college's library and chapel, respectively. One of the houses at Nottingham High's Junior School is also named after Ball.
In 2006, Ball was one of six recipients of the Victoria Cross to be featured on a special commemorative edition of Royal Mail stamps marking the 150th anniversary of the award. In 2015, Ball was featured on a £5 coin (issued in silver and gold) in a six-coin set commemorating the Centenary of the First World War by the Royal Mint. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Nottingham Castle Museum along with his other medals and memorabilia, including a bullet-holed Avro windshield, a section of engine piping from one of his damaged Nieuports, his Freedom of Nottingham Scroll and Casket, and various letters and other papers. A portrait study by Noel Denholm Davis is in the collection of Nottingham City Museums and Galleries.
Second fighter posting
Inaction chafed Ball, and he began agitating for a return to combat duty. He finally managed to obtain a posting as a flight commander with No. 56 Squadron RFC, considered to be as close to an elite unit as any established by the RFC. Ball was still first among Britain's aces, and some documents hint that his attachment to No. 56 Squadron was planned to be temporary. According to one account he had been slated to serve with the unit for only a month to mentor novice pilots.
Final flight and aftermath
On the evening of 7 May 1917, near Douai, 11 British aircraft from No. 56 Squadron led by Ball in an S.E.5 encountered German fighters from Jasta 11. A running dogfight in deteriorating visibility resulted, and the aircraft became scattered. Cecil Arthur Lewis, a participant in this fight, described it in his memoir Sagittarius Rising. Ball was last seen by fellow pilots pursuing the red Albatros D.III of the Red Baron's younger brother, Lothar von Richthofen, who eventually landed near Annœullin with a punctured fuel tank. Cyril Crowe observed Ball flying into a dark thundercloud. A German pilot officer on the ground, Lieutenant Hailer, then saw Ball's plane falling upside-down from the bottom of the cloud, at an altitude of , with a dead prop.
Posthumous tributes
In 1918, Walter A. Briscoe and H. Russell Stannard released a seminal biography, Captain Ball VC, reprinting many of Ball's letters and prefaced with by Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, and Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard. Lloyd George wrote that "What he says in one of his letters, 'I hate this game, but it is the only thing one must do just now', represents, I believe, the conviction of those vast armies who, realising what is at stake, have risked all and endured all that liberty may be saved". Haig spoke of Ball's "unrivalled courage" and his "example and incentive to those who have taken up his work". In Trenchard's opinion, Ball had "a wonderfully well-balanced brain, and his loss to the Flying Corps was the greatest loss it could sustain at that time".
Post-war legacy
After the war the British discovered Ball's grave, which had been behind enemy lines, in the Annoeullin Cemetery. In December 1918, personnel of No. 207 Squadron RAF erected a new cross in place of the one left by the Germans. The Imperial War Graves Commission (now Commonwealth War Graves Commission) were working at the time to consolidate the British war graves into fewer cemeteries; 23 British bodies in graves in the location where Ball was buried were moved to the Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, but at his father's request Ball's grave was allowed to remain. Albert Sr. paid for a private memorial to be erected over Ball's grave, No. 643, in what later became the Annoeullin Communal Cemetery and German Extension. Ball's is the only British grave from the First World War in this extension, the rest being German. Ball's father also bought the French field where his son had died and erected a memorial stone on the crash site.
Award citations
List of victories
Confirmed victories numbered; unconfirmed victories marked "u/c". Except where noted, data from Shores et al.
u/c 29 March 1916 Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c German reconnaissance plane Inconclusive Ball's observer/gunner was S. A. Villiers 1 16 May 1916 @ 0845 hours Bristol Scout serial number 5312 Albatros reconnaissance plane Driven down out of control Givenchy-Beaumont German observer wounded in action 2 29 May 1916 @ 0800 hours Nieuport s/n 5173 LVG reconnaissance plane Driven down out of control Beaumont Last seen in a vertical dive 3 29 May 1916 @ 0830 hours Nieuport s/n 5173 LVG reconnaissance plane Forced to land Oppy 4 1 June 1916 @ 1010 hours Nieuport s/n 5173 Fokker Eindecker Forced to land A mile west of Douai Aerodrome 5 25 June 1916 @ 1600 hours Nieuport s/n 5173 Observation balloon Destroyed Unknown 6 2 July 1916 @ 1730 hours Nieuport s/n A134 Roland C.II Destroyed Along the Mercatel-Arras road 7 2 July 1916 @ 1800 hours Nieuport s/n A134 Aviatik reconnaissance plane Destroyed Vicinity of Lens 8 16 August 1916 @ 0910 hours Nieuport A201 Roland C.II Forced to land Southeast of Saint-Léger 9 22 August 1916 c. 1900 hours Nieuport A201 Roland C.II Destroyed West of Bapaume 10 22 August 1916 c. 1930 hours Nieuport A201 Roland C.II Set afire in midair; destroyed Vaux 11 22 August 1916 @ c. 1945 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Destroyed Vaux-Maurepas Wilhelm Cymera WIA and his observer died of wounds 12 25 August 1916 @ 1100 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Driven down out of control South of Arras 13 28 August 1916 @ 0700 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Forced to land Southeast of Bapaume 14 28 August 1916 c. 1900 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Destroyed East of Ayette 15 28 August 1916 @ 1900 hours Nieuport s/n A201 German reconnaissance plane Forced to land North of Grévillers 16 31 August 1916 @ 1830 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Destroyed Southeast of Bapaume 17 31 August 1916 @ 1830 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Roland C.II Forced to land Southeast of Bapaume 18 15 September 1916 @ 0955 hours Nieuport s/n A200 Fokker D.II Destroyed East of Beugny 19 15 September 1916 @ 1900 hours Nieuport s/n A212 Roland C.II Destroyed Northeast of Bertincourt 20 21 September 1916 c. 1600 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland fighter Forced to land North of Bapaume 21 21 September 1916 c. 1605 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland fighter Destroyed Saint-Léger 22 21 September 1916 c. 1800 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland C.II Destroyed Bucquoy 23 22 September 1916 c. 1700 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Fokker fighter Destroyed East of Bapaume Winard Grafe of Jasta 2 KIA 24 23 September 1916 @ 1800 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland C.II Set afire in midair; destroyed Mory 25 25 September 1916 @ 1830 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Albatros reconnaissance plane Set afire in midair; destroyed Bapaume-Cambrai Pilot WIA, observer KIA 26 28 September 1916 @ 1745 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Albatros reconnaissance plane Destroyed Southeast of Saint-Léger 27 28 September 1916 c. 1915 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Albatros reconnaissance plane Forced to land Bapaume 28 28 September 1916 c. 1930 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Albatros reconnaissance plane Forced to land Northeast of Bapaume 29 30 September 1916 @ 1055 hours Nieuport s/n A201 Albatros reconnaissance plane Set afire in midair; destroyed Vélu Shared victory 30 30 September 1916 @ 1830 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland reconnaissance plane Driven down out of control Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt 31 30 September 1916 @ 1845 hours Nieuport s/n A213 Roland reconnaissance plane Driven down out of control Cambrai u/c 1 October 1916 Forced to land u/c 1 October 1916 Forced to land u/c 1 October 1916 Forced to land 33 23 April 1917 @ 1145 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4850 Albatros D.III Set afire in midair; destroyed Cambrai-Selvigny 34 26 April 1917 between 1920 and 2000 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4850 Albatros D.III Destroyed Northeast of Cambrai 35 26 April 1917 between 1920 and 2000 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4850 Siemens-Schuckert D.I Destroyed East of Cambrai 36 28 April 1917 between 1650 and 1745 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4850 Albatros reconnaissance plane Destroyed Fontaine 37 1 May 1917 @ 1700 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A8898 Albatros reconnaissance plane Destroyed Marquoin 38 1 May 1917 @ 1950 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A8898 Albatros reconnaissance plane Driven down out of control Southwest of Cambrai 39 2 May 1917 @ 0740 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4855 Albatros D.III Destroyed Halte-Vitry 40 2 May 1917 @ 0810 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A4855 Albatros reconnaissance plane Destroyed Sailly 41 4 May 1917 between 1850 and 2000 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A8898 Albatros D.III Destroyed Graincourt 42 5 May 1917 between 1830 and 1900 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A8898 Albatros D.III Destroyed Lens-Carvin 43 5 May 1917 between 1830 and 1900 hours Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 s/n A8898 Albatros D.III Destroyed Lens-Carvin 44 6 May 1917 @ 1930 hours Nieuport s/n B1522 Albatros D.III Destroyed Sancourt u/c 7 May 1917 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 Albatros D.III Forced to land Vicinity of Annoeullin Lothar von Richthofen shot down but unwounded
Notes
Chaz Bowyer (1978). 071830425X, William Kimber & Co. 071830425X
Alan Clark (1999). 030435225X, Cassell. 030435225X
James M. Dudgeon (1981). 070919143X, Robert Hale. 070919143X
(1989). 9780117726086, Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 9780117726086
(2025). 9781846034282, Osprey. ISBN 9781846034282
(1990). 9780948817199, Grub Street. ISBN 9780948817199
Further reading
External links
Categories: Featured Article, 1896 Births, 1917 Deaths, Aviators Killed In Aviation Accidents Or Incidents In France, British Army Personnel Of World War I, British Army Recipients Of The Victoria Cross, British Military Personnel Killed In World War I, British World War I Flying Aces, British World War I Recipients Of The Victoria Cross, Companions Of The Distinguished Service Order, English Aviators, Knights Of The Legion Of Honour, Military Personnel From Nottingham, People Educated At Nottingham High School, People Educated At The King's School, Grantham, People Educated At Trent College, People From Lenton, Nottingham, Recipients Of The Military Cross, Recipients Of The Order Of St. George Of The Fourth Degree, Royal Flying Corps Officers, Royal Flying Corps Recipients Of The Victoria Cross, Sherwood Foresters Officers, Victims Of Aviation Accidents Or Incidents In 1917
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