Austin Lloyd Fleming, MC (7 August 1894 – 26 January 1969) was a Canadian flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with eight aerial victories.

Early life

Austin Lloyd Fleming was born on 7 August 1894 in Toronto, Ontario. His parents were Lydia Jane Orford and Robert John Fleming. He was a

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before the First World War.

First World War

After joining military service on 10 November 1916, Fleming transferred from the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

of the

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on 13 May 1917. He was appointed as a flying officer, with the rank of

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on probation on 16 May 1917, signifying that he had completed pilot's training. On 8 June 1917, he was assigned to

No. 46 Squadron RFC No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both Aviation in World War I, World War I and World War II. World War ...

. He was reassigned to No. 111 Squadron RFC in

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later that year, following a "friendly fire" incident in which an aircraft from

No. 1 Squadron RFC Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, ''I ...

was shot down and the pilot, Second Lieutenant Tom Littler, was killed. Between 17 January and 12 April 1918, Fleming scored eight aerial victories (listed below). His exploits gained him the Military Cross, although the award citation did not recognize all his feats. The award was gazetted on 13 May 1918, reading: On 11 September 1918, Fleming was injured.

List of aerial victories

Second World War, retirement and death

On 1 June 1919, Fleming was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force, ending his service. He subsequently spent some years in the United States before moving to Britain. With the advent of the Second World War, Fleming returned to military service in the Royal Air Force. On 1 September 1939, he appointed as a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

. He served until 1 August 1942, when he once again gave up his commission and left the RAF. In 1959, Fleming presented No. 111 Squadron a souvenir machine gun taken from the reconnaissance craft he captured on 29 January 1918. Fleming died in

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, Spain, on 26 January 1969. He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, and survived by his wife, Helen Hyde Fleming, and twin children, Bob and Louis.

Notes

References

* ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . * ''Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I: Volume 79 of Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 79 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces''. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2007. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Austin Lloyd 1894 births 1969 deaths Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto British Army personnel of World War I Canadian stockbrokers Canadian World War I flying aces Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers People from Old Toronto Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from Toronto