Frank Lucien Hale

Last updated
Frank Lucien Hale
Frank Lucien Hale.jpg
Frank Lucien Hale, 1918
Nickname(s)Bud
Born6 August 1895
Syracuse, New York, USA
Died7 June 1944
Buffalo, New York, USA
AllegianceFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Service/branch Royal Air Force (United Kingdom)
Years of service1914 - 1918
RankCaptain
UnitRoyal Air Force
Battles/wars World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg   World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg
World War I
World War II
AwardsBritish Distinguished Flying Cross

Captain Frank Lucien Hale was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He later accompanied Charles Lindbergh in a transcontinental flight. [1]

Contents

Early life and World War I service

Hale was native to Syracuse, New York, although he later lived in Arkansas. [2] He dropped out of Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, New York because of disciplinary problems. [3] In 1914, he joined D Troop, 4th Cavalry, New York National Guard. He served on the Mexican border during 1916, with the Ambulance Corps. He was rejected by the U. S. air service, so he joined the Royal Flying Corps [4] at Toronto in June 1917. Between 25 August and 27 September 1918, he used a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a to destroy four Fokker D.VIIs and drive down three others out of control. [5]

Postwar

He remained in Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. [6]

He then came home to become general manager of Curtiss Flying Service. He accompanied Charles Lindberg on a transcontinental flight. [7]

In 1940, he opened an auto dealership in Syracuse. [8] As World War II loomed, Hale joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. By 1943, he was in England serving with the 8th Air Force, but a heart condition invalided him out. He then went to work with the Bell Aircraft Corporation. He died of a heart attack on 7 June 1944. [9]

Honors and awards

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

Lieut. Frank Lucien Hale. (FRANCE)

A brilliant and very gallant officer who never hesitates to attack the enemy however superior in numbers. On 27 September, Lieut. Hale, single-handed, attacked a formation of ten Fokker biplanes who were manoeuvring to attack one of our bombing formations; engaging one of the Fokkers, he drove it down out of control, and it was seen to break up in the air. By this gallant action the enemy were diverted from their objective. In the combat Lieut. Hale's machine and engine were badly damaged; despite this, he, on his return journey, attacked a solitary Fokker and drove it down out of control. This officer has accounted for eight enemy aircraft. (Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 February 1919) (31170/2040)

See also

Related Research Articles

William Gordon Claxton DSO, DFC & Bar was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 37 victories. He became the leading ace in his squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Büchner</span>

Franz Büchner PlM was one of the most successful German fighter aces of the First World War, shooting down 40 enemy aircraft. He began his military career as a 16-year-old infantryman. His doughty exploits earned him a battlefield commission just after his 18th birthday, in early 1916. After being wounded and invalided from the infantry, he joined the Imperial German Air Service. Once he progressed to become a fighter pilot flying a Fokker D.VII, he initially struggled to gain his first aerial victories. Something clicked after his fifth victory, and he began to regularly shoot down enemy airplanes, scoring 35 victories between 1 July and 22 October 1918. Most notably, he shot down four SPADs on 26 September. He survived the war, but died in action in 1920 while combating communist revolutionaries near Leipzig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Frank Wehner</span> American fighter pilot

Joseph Frank Wehner, also known as Fritz Wehner, was an American fighter pilot and wingman to Frank Luke.

William Ernest Shields DFC & Bar was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 24 victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef Mai</span>

Major Josef Mai Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter pilot credited with 30 victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Willard Furlow</span>

Lieutenant George Willard Furlow (1893–1959) was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.

John Harry McNeaney was a Canadian First World War flying ace, flying with both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. He was credited with five aerial victories. John McNeaney was the only Canadian Sopwith Dolphin Ace.

Lieutenant Harold Arthur Sydney Molyneux was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. During World War II, he returned to service in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orville Alfred Ralston</span> American World War I flying ace

Lieutenant Orville Alfred Ralston was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He returned to service for World War II, only to die in a B-17 crash.

Lieutenant Archibald Buchanan was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Orin Creech</span>

Lieutenant Jesse Orin Creech was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He shot down the final victory of the war for his squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clinton Leonard Jones</span> American World War I flying ace

Lieutenant Clinton Leonard Jones, Jr. was an American World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.

Lieutenant Eugene Seeley Coler (1896-1953) was an American World War I flying ace who served in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. He was credited with 16 aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oren John Rose</span>

Captain Oren John Rose, usually referred to as O. J. Rose was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James William Pearson</span>

Captain James William Pearson was an American World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories while flying for the British Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Russell Unger</span>

Lieutenant Kenneth Russell Unger was an American World War I flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories. His candidacy rejected by his own nation, Unger applied to the British Royal Flying Corps for military pilot training in June 1917. Once trained, he was assigned to the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). As the RNAS was merged into the Royal Air Force, Unger scored his aerial victories between 26 June and 1 November 1918. In later life, Unger remained involved in aviation and served again during World War II. He also joined the U.S. Navy Reserves, rising to the rank of rear admiral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emile John Lussier</span>

Captain Emile John Lussier was an American flying ace during World War I. He was credited with eleven confirmed aerial victories while flying with the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Burdick</span> American World War I flying ace

Lieutenant Howard Burdick DSC DFC was an American World War I flying ace credited with eight confirmed aerial victories. He and his son, Clinton D. Burdick, are the only known pair of father-son flying aces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Robinson Clay</span>

Captain Henry Robinson Clay, Jr. was a World War I flying ace credited with eight confirmed aerial victories.

Oberst Paul Aue was a World War I flying ace from the Kingdom of Saxony in the German Empire. Partial records of his early aviation career credit him with 10 aerial victories. He would join the nascent Luftwaffe during the 1930s and serve Germany through World War II. He died in a Russian prison camp in 1945.

References

  1. "Frank Lucien Hale". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  2. American Aces of World War 1. pp. 34–35.
  3. "Frank Lucien Hale". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  4. American Aces of World War 1. pp. 34–35.
  5. "Frank Lucien Hale". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  6. American Aces of World War 1. p. 35.
  7. "Frank Lucien Hale". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  8. "Frank Lucien Hale". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  9. American Aces of World War 1. p. 35.

Bibliography

American Aces of World War 1 Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN   1-84176-375-6, ISBN   978-1-84176-375-0.