Captain Andrew Cameron Kiddie (1889 – 1964) was a World War I

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

credited with 15 aerial victories.

Early service

After serving with the 18th South African Mounted Rifles, Kiddie betook himself to England to join the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

. Kiddie was appointed second lieutenant on probation as of 1 August 1916. He was confirmed as second lieutenant on 31 October 1916. He was assigned to No. 32 Squadron RFC in early 1917; while flying an

Airco DH.5 The Airco DH.5 was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was designed and manufactured at British aviation company Airco. Development was led by aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland as a replacement for the obs ...

, he scored his first victory on 20 July 1917. Later that year, he was transferred to Home Establishment as an instructor. One of the students he trained was

Ira Jones Ira Jones (July 10, 1923 – July 11, 2004) was an author, best known as the first sergeant in charge of Elvis Presley for a portion of the time Elvis served in the army. Early life and family Ira Jones was born in Johnson county, Arkansas the ...

Service as a fighter pilot

Kiddie was transferred back to combat duty with

No. 74 Squadron RAF Number 74 Squadron, also known as "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainers until its disbandment in 2000. It was the Royal Air Forc ...

in early 1918; the squadron moved its

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fas ...

s to France in March 1918. His squadron mates included Ira Jones and "Mick" Mannock; the three of them started their careers as aces at roughly the same time. Kiddie scored his second victory on 3 May 1918, sharing it with Mannock,

Henry Dolan Lieutenant Henry Eric Dolan (20 January 1896 – 12 May 1918) was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. Biography Henry Eric Dolan was born in England, a son of Alfred Archer Dolan, a mining engineer and Violet Eliza ...

, and Harris Clements. Five days later, he was the only survivor from his flight of six when they engaged ten

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplanes. Kiddie then became a balloon buster on 19 May 1918. Thereafter, he reeled off an even dozen triumphs over enemy planes; all but one were over enemy fighters. His final tally was a balloon and ten airplanes destroyed, four of which were shared, and four enemy airplanes driven down out of control.

Honors and awards

Distinguished Flying Cross Lieut. (A. Capt.) Andrew Cameron Kiddie. (France.)—A gallant officer, who has proved himself resolute and courageous in aerial combats. He has to his credit six enemy machines and one balloon shot down in flames. Belgian ''Croix de guerre'' awarded 15 July 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiddie, Andrew 1889 births 1964 deaths Royal Flying Corps officers South African World War I flying aces South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I White South African people People from Kimberley, Northern Cape Military personnel from the Northern Cape