RCAF Aviation History: Air Marshal William Avery"Billy" Bishop VC, CB, DSO and Bar, MC, DFC, ED
Air Marshal William Avery"Billy" Bishop VC, CB, DSO and Bar, MC, DFC, ED
(RAF Photo)
Captain Billy Bishop VC, with Nieuport 17 C.1 Scout, No. 60 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, Filescamp, France, c1918.
Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED (8 February1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 72 victories, making him the top Canadian ace, and according to some sources, the top ace of the British Empire.
Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was the second of three children born to William A. and Margaret Bishop. In 1911,at the age of 17, Billy Bishop entered the Royal Military College of Canada(RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, where his brother Worth had graduated from in 1903. When the First World War broke out in1914, Bishop left RMC and joined the Mississauga Horse cavalry regiment. He was commissioned as an officer but was ill with pneumonia when the regiment was sent overseas. After recovering, he was transferred to the 7thCanadian Mounted Rifles, a mounted infantry unit then stationed in London, Ontario. Bishop showed a natural ability with a gun and excelled on the firing range. His seemingly “super-human” eyesight allowed him to put bullets in a target placed so far away others saw only a dot. They left Canada for England on 6 June 1915 on board the requisitioned battleship Caledonia. On 21 June, off the coast of Ireland, the ships convoy came under attack by U-boats. Two ships were sunk, and 300 Canadians died, but Bishop's ship remained unharmed, arriving in Plymouth Harbour on 23 June.
Asan observer Bishop quickly became frustrated with the mud of the trenches and the lack of action. In July 1915, after watching an RFC aircraft return from a mission, Bishop said “...it's clean up there! I'll bet you don't get any mud or horsesh*t on you up there. If you die, at least it would be a clean death.” He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and, as there were no spots available for pilots in the flight school, he chose tobe an observer. On 1 September, hereported to 21 (Training) Squadron at Netheravon for elementary air instruction. The first aircraft he trained in was the Avro504, flown by Roger Neville. Bishop was adept at taking aerial photographs and was soon in charge of training other observers with the camera. The Squadron was ordered to France in January 1916, it arrived at Boisdinghem airfield, near Saint-Omer equipped with R.E.7 reconnaissance aircraft. Bishop’s first combat mission was as anaerial spotter for British artillery. Atfirst, the aircraft would not get airborne until they had offloaded their bombload and machine guns. Bishop andpilot Neville flew over German lines near Boisdinghem and when the German howitzer was found, they relayed co-ordinates to the British, who then bombarded and destroyed the target. In the following months, Bishop flew on reconnaissance and bombing flights, but never fired his machineguns on an enemy aircraft. During one takeoff in April 1916, Bishop’s plane experienced an engine failure, and he badly injured his knee. The injury was aggravated while on leave in London in May 1916, and Bishop was admitted to the hospital in Bryanston Square, London. While therehe met and befriended socialite Lady St. Helier, who was a friend to both Winston Churchill and Secretary for Air Lord Hugh Cecil. When his father suffered a small stroke, St.Helier arranged for Bishop to recuperate in Canada, thereby missing the Battleof the Somme.
Bishop returned to England in September 1916, and, withthe influence of St. Helier, was accepted for training as a pilot at the CentralFlying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain. His first solo flight was in a Maurice Farman “Shorthorn”.
In November 1916, after receiving his wings, Bishop was attachedto No. 37 Squadron RFC at Sutton's Farm, Essex flying the BE.2c. Bishop disliked the flying, at night overLondon, searching for German Airships, and he soon requested a transfer toFrance. On 17 March 1917, he arrived at 60 Squadron at Filescamp Farmnear Arras, where he would be flying the Nieuport 17 fighter. At that time, the average life expectancy of anew pilot in that sector was 11 days, and German aces were shooting down Britishaircraft 5 to 1. Bishop’s first patrol,on 22 March, was less than successful. Hehad trouble controlling his run-down aircraft, was nearly shot down by anti-aircraftfire, and became separated from his group.
On 24 March, after crash landing his aircraft during a practiceflight in front of General John Higgins, Bishop was ordered to return to flightschool at Upavon. But before he couldleave, Major Alan Scott, new commander of 60 Squadron, convinced Higgins to let him stay until areplacement arrived. The next day Bishopclaimed his first victory, when his was one of four Nieuports that engagedthree Albatros D.III Scouts near StLeger. Bishop shot down and mortallywounded a Lieutenant Theiler, but his engine failed in the process. He landed in No Man's Land, 300 yards fromthe German front line. After running tothe Allied trenches, Bishop spent the night on the ground in a rainstorm. There Bishop wrote a letter home, starting: “Iam writing this from a dugout 300 yards from our front line, after the most excitingadventure of my life.” General Higginspersonally congratulated Bishop and rescinded his order to return to flightschool. On 20 March 1917 Bishop wasnamed a flight commander. The next day hescored his second victory.
Bishop, in addition to the usual patrols with his Squadroncomrades, soon flew many unofficial “lone wolf” missions deep into enemy territory,with the blessing of Major Scott. As a result,his total increased rapidly. On 8 April,he scored his fifth victory and became an ace. To celebrate, Bishop’s mechanic painted the aircraft's nose blue, themark of an ace. Fellow Squadron member CaptainAlbert Ball, at that time the Empire's highest scoring ace, hadhad his spinners painted red.
Bishop’s no-hold-barred style of flying always had him“at the front of the pack,” leading his pilots into battle over hostileterritory. Bishop soon realized thatthis would eventually see him shot down, after one patrol a mechanic counted 210bullet holes in his plane. His newmethod of using the surprise attack proved successful; he claimed 12 aircraftin April alone, winning the Military Cross and a promotion to captain for hisparticipation at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The successes of Bishop and his blue-nosed aircraft were noticed on theGerman side, and they began referring to him as “Hell's Handmaiden”. Ernst Udet called him “the greatest Englishscouting ace” and one Jasta had a bounty on his head.
On 30 April, Bishop survived an encounter with Manfredvon Richthofen, the Red Baron. In May,Bishop won the Distinguished Service Order for shooting down two aircraft whilebeing attacked by four others. On 2 June1917, Bishop flew a solo mission behind enemy lines to attack a German-held aerodrome,where he claimed that he shot down three aircraft that were taking off toattack him and destroyed several more on the ground. For this feat, he was awarded the VictoriaCross (VC), althoughit has been suggested that he may have embellished his success. His VC was one of two awarded in violation ofthe warrant requiring witnesses (the other being the Unknown Soldier), andsince the German records have been lost and the archived papers of his VC werelost as well, there is no way of ever knowing if there were any witnesses ornot. It was, however, common practice atthis time among the RFC and RNAS Squadrons to submit kills claimed withoutrequiring confirmation or verification from other witnesses.
In July 60 Squadron received newRoyal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, a faster more powerful aircraft with bettervisibility for the pilot. In August 1917Bishop passed the late Albert Ball in victories to become (temporarily) the highestscoring ace in the RFC. Soon after he wasinformed he had won the Victoria Cross for his Juneattack on the German aerodrome.
He returned home to Canada in 1917,where he was acclaimed a hero and helped boost the morale of the Canadian public,who were growing tired of the war. On 17October 1917, at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church in Toronto, he married hislong-time fiancée Margaret Burden, a granddaughter of Timothy Eaton. Her brother was the ace Henry John Burden. After the wedding he was assigned to the BritishWar Mission in Washington DC to help the Americans build an air force. While stationed there, he wrote an autobiographyentitled Winged Warfare.
Upon his return to England in April1918, Bishop was promoted to Major and given command of No. 85 Squadron, the “Flying Foxes”. This was a newly formed Squadron and Bishop was given the freedom tochoose many of the pilots. The Squadron was equipped with SE5a scouts and left for Petit Synthe, France on 22 May1918. On 27 May, after familiarizing himself with the area and the opposition, Bishop took a solo flight to theFront. He downed a German observation plane in his first combat since August 1917, and followed with two more thenext day. From 30 May to 1 June Bishop downed 6 more aircraft, including German ace Paul Billik, bringing his score to59 and reclaiming his deadliest RFC/RAF ace title from James McCudden, who had claimed it while Bishop was in Canada, and was now the leading Allied ace.
(Library and Archives CanadaPhoto, MIKAN No. 2266422)
Stamp commemorating AirMarshal William Avery Bishop, VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC, ED.
The Canadian government was becoming increasingly worried about the effect on morale if Bishop were to be killed, so on 18 June he was orderedto return to England, officially to help organize the new Canadian Flying Corps. Bishop was not pleased with the ordercoming so soon after his return to France. He wrote to his wife: “I've never been so furious in my life.” The order specified that he was to leave France by noon on 19 June. On thatmorning, Bishop decided to fly one last solo patrol. In just 15 minutes of combat, he added another five victories to his total. He claimed to have downed two Pfalz D.IIIa scouts, caused another two to collide with eachother, and shot down a German reconnaissance aircraft.
On5 August, Bishop was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and was given the post of “Officer Commanding-designate of the Canadian Air Force Section of the General Staff, Headquarters Overseas Military Forces of Canada.” He was onboard a ship returning from a reporting visit to Canada when news of the armistice arrived. Bishop was discharged from the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 31 December and returned to Canada. By the end of the war, he had claimed some 72 air victories, including two balloons, 52 and two shared “destroyed” with 16 “out of control”.
After the war, Bishop established a short-lived passenger air service with fellow ace William Barker. In 1921, Bishop and his family moved to Britain, where he was quite successful. In 1928, he was the guest of honour at a gathering of German air aces in Berlin and was made an Honorary Member of the Association. However, the family's wealth was wiped out inthe crash of 1929, and they had to move back to Canada.
(Toronto Star Photo Archive)
Lockheed Hudson in the background with Flight Sergeant George Calver of Grandview, Manitoba, with Air Marshal W.A. Bishop at the de Havilland Plant in Toronto in 1943. Flt Sgt Calverlost both his legs in a bombing mission over Cologne, Germany, and told thepress he wanted to fight again. He flew to Toronto from Montreal, for thefirst time since he lost his legs, to address workers at the de Havillandaircraft plant. With new artificial limbs, he was anxious to get backinto the fight.
In 1938, Bishop was made an Honorary Air Marshal of the RCAFand placed in charge of recruitment. Hewas so successful in this role that they had to turn many applicants away. He created a system for training pilots acrossCanada and became instrumental in setting up and promoting the Commonwealth AirTraining Plan, which trained over 167,000 airmen in Canada during the SecondWorld War. In 1942, he appeared ashimself in the film Captains of the Clouds, a Hollywood tribute to theRCAF.
Both of Bishop's children became aviators. He presented his son, Arthur, with his wingsduring the Second World War; Arthur would go on to become a Spitfire pilot andparticipated in the Battle of Britain. Healso presented his daughter, Jackie, with a Wireless Sparks Badge as a radiooperator in 1944.
By 1944, the stress of the war had taken a serious tollon Bishop's health, and he resigned his post in the RCAF to return to privateenterprise in Montréal. His son latercommented that he looked 70 years old on his 50th birthday in1944. Bishop remained active in the aviationrealm however, predicting a phenomenal growth of commercial aviation in the postwarworld. His efforts to bring some organizationto the nascent field led to the formation of the International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO) in Montréal. He wrotea second book at this time, Winged Peace, advocating internationalcontrol of global air power.
With the outbreak of the Korean War, Bishop again offeredto return to his recruitment role, but he was in poor health and was politelyrefused by the RCAF. He died in his sleepon 11 September 1956, while wintering in Palm Beach, Florida. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in OwenSound, Ontario.
Bishop's decorations include theVictoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order & Bar, MilitaryCross, Distinguished Flying Cross, légion d'honneur and the Croix de Guerre withpalm. He was made a Companion of the Orderof the Bath in the King's Birthday Honours List of 1 June 1944.
The citation for his VC, publishedin the London Gazette on 11 August 1917, read: For most conspicuous bravery,determination, and skill. Captain Bishop, who had been sent out to work independently,flew first of all to an enemy aerodrome; finding no machines about, he flew onto another aerodrome about three miles southeast, which was at least 12 milesthe other side of the line. Seven machines, some with their engines running,were on the ground. He attacked thesefrom about fifty feet, and a mechanic, who was starting one of the engines, wasseen to fall. One of the machines gotoff the ground, but at a height of 60 feet, Captain Bishop fired 15 rounds intoit at very close range, and it crashed to the ground. A second machine got off the ground, intowhich he fired 30 rounds at 150 yards range, and it fell into a tree. Two more machines then rose from theaerodrome. One of these he engaged at aheight of 1,000 feet, emptying the rest of his drum of ammunition. This machine crashed 300 yards from theaerodrome, after which Captain Bishop emptied a whole drum into the fourth hostilemachine, and then flew back to his station. Four hostile scouts were about 1,250 feet above him for about a mile ofhis return journey, but they would not attack. His machine was very badly shot about by machine gun fire from the ground.
His citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross read: Amost successful and fearless fighter in the air, whose acts of outstanding braveryhave already been recognised by the awards of the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Bar to the DistinguishedService Order, and Military Cross. Forthe award of the Distinguished Flying Cross now conferred upon him he hasrendered signally valuable services in personally destroying twenty-five enemymachines in twelve days - five of which he destroyed on the last day of hisservice at the front. The total numberof machines destroyed by this distinguished officer is seventy-two, and his valueas a moral factor to the Royal Air Force cannot be over-estimated.
His citation for the Distinguished Service Order read:For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While in a single-seater he attacked three hostile machines, two ofwhich he brought down, although in the meantime he was himself attacked by fourother hostile machines. His courage anddetermination have set a fine example to others.
Hiscitation for the Distinguished Service Order bar read: For conspicuousgallantry and devotion to duty when engaging hostile aircraft. His consistent dash and great fearlessnesshave set a magnificent example to the pilots of his Squadron. He has destroyed no less than 45 hostilemachines within the past 5 months, frequently attacking enemy formationssingle-handed, and on all occasions displaying a fighting spirit anddetermination to get to close quarter with his opponents which have earned theadmiration of all in contact with him. (Wikipedia)
(Guiness323 Photo)
Billy Bishop's decorations (now part of Canadian War Museum collection) include (left to right) Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order with Bar, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, 1914–1915 Star, British War Medal 1914–1920.
