Major Alexander MacDonald Shook was a Canadian 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 ...

. During his stint with the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

, he was credited with 12 official aerial victories.

Early life

Shook was born in Ontario, Canada on 2 December 1888; the exact town is given as either Erindale or Tioga. He joined the Royal Naval Air Service. At 28 years of age when he reported for duty, he was somewhat older than the majority of his fellow pilots.

World War I

On 15 November 1915, Shook was awarded Aviator's Certificate number 2056 at the completion of his pilot's training on a

Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decad ...

biplane earned at their school in Toronto. He first flew Sopwith two-seater airplanes for No. 5 Naval Wing after his training. "A" Squadron of 5 Wing became No. 4 Squadron RNAS in December 1916, being equipped with Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters and

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characte ...

s. Shook was transferred to 4 Naval as a founding member and Flight Commander. Flying one of their Pups, serial numbered N6200 but dubbed "Bobs", he scored his first aerial victory during

Bloody April Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the German ''Luftstreitkräfte' ...

, 1917, driving an

Albatros D.II The Albatros D.II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. After a successful combat career in the early ''Jagdstaffeln'', it was gradually superseded by the Albatros D.III. Design and development Albatros designers Robert Thelen, ...

down out of control on the 24th. On 9 May, he would use the same Pup to share a victory over a German reconnaissance plane; Langley Frank Willard Smith was the other victorious pilot. Three days later, Shook scored his third and last win in "Bobs", downing a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

offshore of

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zee ...

. He then upgraded to a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

. On 5 June 1917, Shook became the first pilot from Naval 4 to score a victory in one of the new Camels; he destroyed a German

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service ('' Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

and drove down a two-seater reconnaissance plane above

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

to become an ace. A month later, on 4 July, he was credited with destroying a

Gotha G ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In World War I, Got ...

bomber although the German records do not acknowledge the loss. His efforts earned him a ''Croix de guerre'' from a grateful French government on 20 July 1917. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on 11 August 1917; the accompanying citation read:

For exceptional gallantry and remarkable skill and courage whilst serving with the R.N.A.S. at Dunkirk during May and June, 1917, in repeatedly attacking and destroying hostile aircraft.

On 18 August 1917, he was credited with a win over an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros ...

. He would score once more in 1917, being credited with victory over an Albatros D.III on 21 October, he was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

during this dogfight. He would not return to action until January 1918. On 1 January 1918,

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

appointed Shook as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order "in recognition of...services in the prosecution of the war." In March 1918, Shook resumed his winning ways. On the 11th, he was credited with an Albatros D.V; on the 22nd, he downed three more over

Slype The term slype is a variant of slip in the sense of a narrow passage; in architecture, the name for the covered passage usually found in monasteries or cathedrals between the transept and the chapter house, as at St Andrews, Winchester, Gloucester ...

, including German ace Bertram Heinrich. This ended his victory tally; it included seven enemy airplanes destroyed and five driven down out of control. Shook added an Air Force Cross to his awards after the RNAS was subsumed into the new Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. Shook emerged from the war as a

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

Post World War I

Shook died in Bala, Canada on 30 May 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shook, Alexander Macdonald 1888 births 1966 deaths Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian World War I flying aces Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian military personnel of World War I