[[British Army]]
[[Royal Air Force]]"},"serviceyears":{"wt":"1914–1919"},"servicenumber":{"wt":""},"rank":{"wt":"[[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|Captain]]"},"unit":{"wt":"[[No. 42 Squadron RAF|No. 42 Squadron RFC]]
[[No. 87 Squadron RAF]]"},"commands":{"wt":""},"battles":{"wt":"[[First World War]]"},"awards":{"wt":"[[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]"},"relations":{"wt":""},"laterwork":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBw">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}
Henry Biziou | |
---|---|
![]() Henry Arthur Richard Biziou | |
Nickname(s) | "Weegee" |
Born | Farnborough, Hampshire, England | 18 September 1894
Died | 14 July 1919 24) Farnborough, Hampshire, England | (aged
Buried | Aldershot Military Cemetery, Hampshire, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1914–1919 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | No. 42 Squadron RFC No. 87 Squadron RAF |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Captain Henry Arthur Richard Biziou, DFC (18 September 1894 – 14 July 1919) was a British flying ace of the First World War, credited with eight aerial victories. After serving successively in the Royal Navy and the British Army, he transferred to the Royal Air Force. After service as an observer, he trained as a fighter pilot and subsequently won his victories. He survived the war, only to die in a midair collision.
Biziou was born on 18 September 1894. [1] He would become known as "Weegee" in later life. [2]
Biziou joined the Royal Navy as a mechanic on 29 October 1914. [3] He was later commissioned and transferred to the infantry; Petty Officer Biziou, formerly of the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division, was promoted to temporary second lieutenant in the Infantry on 24 February 1916. [4]
Biziou served in the 6th (Service) Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment at Gallipoli, Egypt and France. [2] He was still with the regiment when, on 31 May 1916, he was posted to the army's General List as a temporary second lieutenant to meet wartime needs. [5]
Biziou began duty as an aerial observer, [6] probably with No. 42 Squadron, [2] on 6 October 1916, and was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps General List on 23 November 1916. [6] On 1 April 1917, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant. [7]
Biziou then trained as a pilot, including the course at the School of Special Flying at Gosport. He was then posted to No. 87 Squadron and landed in France in April 1918. He flew a Sopwith Dolphin, and scored the squadron's first victory on 6 May. Over time, he ran off a tally of two reconnaissance planes and five fighters destroyed, and another fighter driven down out of control by 22 September. [8] In the midst of this string of victories, Biziou was promoted to temporary captain on 2 July. [9]
The Distinguished Flying Cross he had won for his exploits was gazetted on 3 December 1918, reading:
Lieutenant (Acting-Captain) Henry Arthur Richard Biziou. A most successful leader of marked gallantry. During recent operations he has destroyed four enemy aeroplanes and driven down one out of control; two of these he accounted for in one engagement on 15 September with a number of Fokker biplanes. In addition he has driven down a hostile balloon. [10]
Biziou remained in the Royal Air Force after the war, and was stationed at RAF Farnborough. He was killed on 14 July 1919 in a flying accident at Farnborough, when his S.E.5 collided in mid-air with an Avro 504 killing him and the pilot and mechanic of the other aircraft. [11] He is buried in Aldershot Military Cemetery. [12]
Group Captain Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman, was a British First World War fighter ace credited with 32 victories. After attaining the rank of major in the Royal Flying Corps, he later became a group captain in the Royal Air Force.
Leonard Henry Rochford, was a British flying ace of the First World War, credited with 29 aerial victories. He returned to military service in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
Flight Lieutenant James Anderson Slater was a British First World War flying ace, credited with 24 aerial victories. He served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an instructor after the war until killed in a flying accident.
Edward Gribben was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He became a lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Army between the wars, returning to the RAF in World War II, and rising to the rank of squadron leader.
Flight Lieutenant Edward Robert Pennell (1894–1974) was a British World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He returned to military service during World War II.
Captain Frank Douglas Stevens was a British First World War flying ace credited with five aerial victories.
Herbert Gardner Travers, was a British flying ace of the First World War, credited with five aerial victories. He later worked in civil aviation and returned to service during the Second World War.
Squadron Leader Charles Robert Davidson MC was a Scottish World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.
Major Victor Henry Huston was a First World War flying ace credited with six aerial victories. He was the only ace in his squadron.
Wing Commander Edward Duncan Crundall was an officer of the British Royal Air Force, who served in World War I, becoming flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, and also in World War II.
Flight Lieutenant David Arthur Stewart, was a British First World War flying ace credited with sixteen aerial victories. Remarkably, they were all scored while he was flying bombers instead of fighters.
Group Captain Frederick Sowrey, was a British aviator, military officer, and a flying ace of the First World War credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was most noted for his first victory, when he shot down Zeppelin L32 during its bombing raid on England. Having risen rapidly in rank during the war, he remained in service until 1940.
Captain Finlay McQuistan was a Scottish World War I flying ace who was credited with 11 aerial victories.
Group Captain Campbell Alexander Hoy was a British flying ace during the First World War, credited with eleven aerial victories. He remained in the Royal Air Force post-war and served through the end of the Second World War.
Group Captain Geoffrey Hornblower Cock was a British World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was the highest scoring ace to fly the Sopwith 1½ Strutter.
Captain John Herbert Towne Letts was a British First World War flying ace credited with thirteen confirmed victories.
Captain Thomas Laurence Purdom was a Scottish World War I flying ace credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories.
Captain Adrian James Boswell Tonks was a British First World War flying ace. He was officially credited with twelve aerial victories, and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Air Commodore Roy Williamson Chappell began his military aviation career as a British World War I flying ace credited with 11 official aerial victories. He remained in service post-war, becoming an intelligence specialist on Japan and the Japanese military. He served through the end of World War II.
Wing Commander William Hastings Farrow was a British World War I flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories. He would pursue a military career well into the 1920s before resigning in 1926. Like many World War I aces, he returned to the military for World War II, and was honoured by induction into the Order of the British Empire.