Captain Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams (6 October 1898 – 17 December 1929) was a

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 ...

originating from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He was credited with eleven aerial victories. In 1929, he made two attempts at setting a nonstop flight record.Centennial of Flight websit

Retrieved 27 February 2010.

Early life

Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams was a Welshman born on 16 October 1898.Shores, et al, pp. 217—218.

World War I service

Jones-Williams joined the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

before being assigned to aviation duty. As of 25 January 1917, Second Lieutenant Jones-Williams was seconded from the

to the Royal Flying Corps. Jones-Williams trained with No. 66 Squadron RFC. After transfer, his first victory string was achieved while flying a

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighter for No. 29 Squadron.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved 27 February 2010. He flew as a wingman to D'Arcy Fowlis Hilton; he was also friends with

Charles Cudemore Captain Charles William Cudemore (born 19 November 1897, date of death unknown but possibly 1967) was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. World War I service Cudemore was transferred from the Shropshire Light Infantry as ...

. During May 1917, he was promoted to flight commander and earned a

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. He won a Bar in lieu of a second award in July, then went to hospital. Between 14 April and 23 September 1917, Jones-Williams drove down out of control eight German Albatros fighter planes. Hospitalised and posted back to Britain, he returned to France to serve as a flight commander in No. 65 Squadron. His second victory string came while flying 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 ...

for No. 65 Squadron. Between 5 September and 4 October 1918, he was credited with three more German

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

fighters.Depending on source, they were judged either all out of control, or two destroyed and one out of control.

Post-war service

Second lieutenant Jones-Williams had been brevetted a Temporary Captain when promoted to a flight commander's slot on 25 May 1917. On 1 August 1919, he was granted a permanent commission as a captain. Remaining in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, he was operating an Airco DH.9a in

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages ...

in 1923. On 1 January 1928, he was promoted from Flight Lieutenant to

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 ...

Between 24 and 26 April 1929, Jones-Williams and his co-pilot Flight-Lieutenant Norman Jenkins made the first flight from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, covering 4,130 miles (6,651 kilometers) between

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which tra ...

and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

in 50 hours 48 minutes in a Fairey Long-Range Monoplane,O'Connor, Derek, "Going Long," ''Aviation History'', March 2016, p. 53. falling only 336 miles (541 kilometers) short of the world non-stop flight distance record. Jones-Williams tried to better that record later in the year, and died while attempting a nonstop flight from Cranwell, England to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa. He crashed at Djbel Lit, Zaghaouan,

French Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (french: Protectorat français de Tunisie; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في تونس '), commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial Empire era, ...

, on 17 December 1929. He died an intestate bachelor, leaving an estate worth £202.

Honours and awards

Military Cross (MC) 2nd Lt. Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams, Welsh R. and R.F.C. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has continuously shown the utmost dash and gallantry in attacking superior numbers of hostile machines. On one occasion he attacked twelve hostile scouts and succeeded in destroying one and driving down another. Military Cross (MC) Bar 2nd Lt. (T./Capt.) Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams, M.C., Welsh R. (attd. R.F.C.). For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when engaged in combat with hostile aircraft. On several occasions he attacked enemy formations although they were in superior numbers, fighting them in more than one instance single-handed, and showing the finest offensive spirit. He drove several machines down completely out of control, fighting until his ammunition was expended. Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 September 1917 (30287/9559) French Croix de Guerre with Palme was gazetted 5 April 1919. The Order of the British Empire was awarded in June 1927.History for Sale websit

Retrieved 27 February 2010. The Gold Medal 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 ...

, 1929.

Footnote

Endnotes

Bibliography

* Franks, Norman, and Harry Dempsey (2000), ''Nieuport Aces of World War I (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 33)'', Osprey Publishing. Oxford UK. , . *

External links

Royal Aero Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Williams, Arthur G. 1898 births 1929 deaths British World War I flying aces British aviation record holders