Cecil Roy Richards

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Cecil Roy Richards
Born 24 July 1893
Garvoc, Victoria, Australia
Died 28 March 1973
Glenelg, South Australia
Allegiance Australia
Service/branch Aviation
Rank Lieutenant
Unit No. 20 Squadron RFC
Awards Military Cross

Lieutenant Cecil Roy Richards was an Australian flying ace of World War I. He was credited with twelve aerial victories. [1]

Flying ace distinction given to fighter pilots

A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more.

Contents

Early life

Cecil Roy Richards' father was named Alf. The younger Richards enlisted on 16 March 1915. [2] He served on ground duty in both Gallipoli and France before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in late 1916.

Royal Flying Corps former air warfare service of the British Army

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War, until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC supported the British Army by artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance. This work gradually led RFC pilots into aerial battles with German pilots and later in the war included the strafing of enemy infantry and emplacements, the bombing of German military airfields and later the strategic bombing of German industrial and transport facilities.

Aerial service

Details of Richards' training are not recorded. However, he was assigned to No. 20 Squadron RFC as a pilot flying the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d. He drove down an Albatros D.V on 14 June 1917 for his first win. He continued to score for the next two months, through 16 August 1917, including four victories on 17 July. His observer/gunner for nine of these victories was John Cowell. Richards' final tally was four enemy airplanes destroyed, eight driven down out of control. [3]

No. 20 Squadron RAF unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force

No. 20 (R) Squadron of the Royal Air Force was from September 1992 until March 2010, the OCU for the BAE Harrier GR9, and T12, operating from RAF Wittering. A reserve squadron, it could be called upon for combat duties if necessary.

Albatros D.V fighter aircraft

The Albatros D.V was a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the Luftstreitkräfte during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service. Despite its well-known shortcomings and general obsolescence, approximately 900 D.V and 1,612 D.Va aircraft were built before production halted in early 1918. The D.Va continued in operational service until the end of the war.

On 19 August 1917, he was shot down and wounded by Ernst Hess of Jagdstaffel 28, and then captured. [3]

Leutnant Ernst Hess HOH IC was a World War I flying ace credited with 17 confirmed and four unconfirmed aerial victories. Hess was one of a few World War I pilots involved in aviation prewar, as he gained his civil pilot's license on 26 September 1913. He was already enrolled in Die Fliegertruppen of the Imperial German Army when World War I began. He qualified for his military pilot's license on 21 November 1914, and was launched on his flying career as one of Germany's first fighter pilots. He would score his first aerial victory in tandem with Oswald Boelcke on 5 January 1916. He would rotate through four assignments before scoring a dozen victories within July–September 1917 while flying an Albatros D.Va for Jagdstaffel 28. On 19 September 1917, he was promoted to command of Jagdstaffel 19. He had just been appointed to command of a Jagdgruppe being formed by Germany's First Army when he was killed in combat on 23 December 1917.

Jagdstaffel 28 military unit

Royal Württemberg Jagdstaffel 28, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 28, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 100 verified aerial victories. The Jasta would pay a blood price for its success: nine pilots killed in action, three wounded in action, one injured in a collision, and one prisoner of war.

Postwar life

On 26 July 1919, Richards was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force. [4]

As of 2 April 1948, Richards is referred to in Australian government papers as living at 26 Weewanda Street, Glenelg. [5] He subsequently died in Glenelg on 28 March 1973. [1]

Honors and awards

Military Cross (MC)

2nd Lt. Cecil Roy Richards, R.F.C., Spec. Res.

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when on offensive patrols in attacking and shooting down hostile machines. On one occasion he shot down four in one day, displaying great dash and a fine offensive spirit. [6]

Sources of information

  1. 1 2 Pusher Aces of World War 1. p. 80.
  2. National Archives of Australia Retrieved on 17 March 2010.
  3. 1 2 The Aerodrome website Retrieved on 17 March 2010.
  4. (Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 September 1917) Retrieved on 17 March 2010.
  5. (Victoria Government Gazette, 2 April 1948) Retrieved on 17 March 2010.
  6. (The London Gazette, 4 January 1921) Retrieved on 17 March 2010.

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References