Group Captain Anthony Rex Arnold (26 August 1896 – 25 May 1954) was a British

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 five aerial victories.

Early life

Arnold was born to Mary Delamere Tylor and Charles Lowther Arnold on 26 August 1896, in Fareham, Hampshire, England, a great-great-grandson of Gen. Benedict Arnold.

Early service

Arnold was confirmed in the rank of Flight Sub-Lieutenant, effective from 1 August 1914, when he was assigned to HMS ''Pembroke'' on 5 October 1914. He was granted aviators certificate No. 876 on 28 August 1914. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 31 December 1914. Arnold was elected to membership of the

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

on 5 October 1915.

Aerial victories

Assigned to No. 8 Naval Squadron RNAS, he began his victory string on 8 April 1917 and finished with his fifth win on 13 June 1917. He flew a

Sopwith Triplane The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiori ...

for all five wins. He then was posted to instructor duty and promoted Major in the newly formed RAF. His majority brought him command of No. 79 Squadron.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p. 53. On 26 April 1918 Arnold was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross on 1 January 1919.

Post World War I

He remained in the postwar RAF. On 1 January 1930, he was promoted from

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

, and was promoted to Group Captain on 1 January 1936. By the 1950s, he was working for a bank. He died in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

in 1954.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Anthony 1896 births Royal Naval Air Service aviators People from Fareham British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) 1954 deaths Military personnel from Hampshire