Claude Weaver III DFC, DFM &

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(August 18, 1923 – January 28, 1944) was an American pilot who joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was the youngest

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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 ...

of the war and was credited with 12.5 aerial victories. He was shot down and taken as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

for one year before successfully escaping captivity, however he was later shot down a second time and killed.

Early life and training

Claude Weaver was born on August 18, 1923, in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. Weaver dropped out of

Classen High School Classen School of Advanced Studies, often referred to as Classen SAS, CSAS or simply Classen, is a public speciality school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Public Schools program participates in th ...

and travelled to

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, where he enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force on February 13, 1941. On July 27, Weaver completed training at No. 17 Elementary Flying Training School in

Stanley, Nova Scotia Stanley is a community located in the East Hants municipal district, Hants County, Nova Scotia. Stanley is most famous as the birthplace of the acclaimed Canadian poet Alden Nowlan. History Stanley's first settler was New England planter John ...

, graduating at the bottom of his class. He then began attending training at No. 8 Service Flying Training School in Moncton, New Brunswick. On August 6, Weaver made a forced landing and was disciplined for his carelessness. On October 10, Weaver was awarded his flying wings and promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, graduating last in his class of 39.

World War II

Siege of Malta

Sergeant Weaver arrived in 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on November 14. Weaver began attending additional training and was graded to be an above average pilot. From April to May 1942, he was assigned to

412 Squadron No. 412 Transport Squadron is one of three Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) transport squadrons attached to Ottawa, Ontario. The squadron operates with a strength of about 29 out of the ''Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Annex.'' ''The An ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. In late June, Weaver was attached to No. 185 Squadron operating

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s out of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. On July 17, Sergeant Weaver downed his first enemy aircraft, an

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

. On July 22, he downed two more Bf 109s, and then two more the next day. These victories made Weaver, aged 18, the youngest Allied flying ace of the war. On July 24, Weaver shared a sixth victory with a fellow pilot, downing a Junkers Ju88 bomber. Weaver was awarded the

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...

on August 8. On September 9, Sergeant Weaver participated in a combat mission over

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. During the mission, Weaver downed an Italian

MC.202 The Macchi C.202 ''Folgore'' (Italian "thunderbolt") was an Italian fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by Macchi Aeronautica. It was operated mainly by the '' Regia Aeronautica'' (''RA''; Royal (Italian) Air Force) in and around the S ...

, making him a double ace with 10.5 victories. Weaver himself was shot down shortly afterwards and crash landed on a beach in

Scoglitti Scoglitti ( scn, Scugghitti) is a fishing village and hamlet () of Vittoria, a municipality in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, Italy. In 2011 it had a population of 4,175. History Scoglitti found a niche in history after being selected by the All ...

. Before he had a chance to destroy his plane, Weaver was arrested by Carabinieri and listed as missing in action by his squadron.

Prisoner of war

On September 14, Weaver was taken to Camp 50 in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. While he was there, Weaver was put in solitary confinement and interrogated. By the end of the month, he was moved to Camp 21 in

Chieti, Italy Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, where he would spend the next several months. In March 1943, Weaver made his first attempt to escape. He tried to force his way through the

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

on the perimeter of the camp, but he got stuck for half an hour. Upon being discovered, Weaver was severely beaten, with one guard breaking the buttstock of his rifle over him. Soon afterwards, he was moved to Camp 49 in Fontanellato. At Camp 49, Weaver attempted to escape a third time, crawling through a sewer. The sewer was blocked at one end however, and he had to abandon his escape attempt. After three months at Camp 49, Weaver was moved back to Camp 21. In September 1943, as the Allies invaded Italy, many of the Italian guards deserted the POW camp. Weaver and another officer escaped the camp, scaling two wire fences and a 16-foot wall. Using forged papers to fool German guards, the pair travelled about 300 miles to Allied lines. When he was roughly 20 miles from Allied positions, Weaver sprained his ankle, yet he managed to ride a mule to British lines on September 25.

Later war service

Weaver was subsequently questioned by officers in General Montgomery's staff. He was taken back to Malta and rejoined his old squadron for a few days. By mid-October,

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

Weaver had returned to the United Kingdom and joined No. 403 Squadron. On December 30, Pilot Officer Weaver shot down an Me109, his first victory in over a year. On January 21, 1944, Weaver scored his final victory, a

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

. This brought his total number of victories to 12.5 with 3 probables.

Death and legacy

One week later on January 28, Pilot Officer Weaver was shot down over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

by German fighter ace

Heinz-Gerhard Vogt Gerhard Vogt (29 November 1919 – 14 January 1945) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 48 aerial victories, claimed over the Western Front and in Defense of the Reich in 174 combat ...

. While attempting to bail out, Weaver's parachute was caught on the tail of his plane and he was pulled to the ground. Weaver survived the crash, but was critically injured. He was taken by German troops to a hospital in

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, but he succumbed to his injuries a few hours later. Weaver was buried in the Communal Cemetery in Méharicourt. Weaver was reported missing in action a second time. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in March, and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

a few months later. In 1994, Claude Weaver III was inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame.

Relations

Weaver's grandfather, Claude Weaver, was an Oklahoman

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. Additionally, his brother, Corporal David O. Weaver, was a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who was killed in March 1945 during the

battle of Iwo Jima The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJ ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Claude, III 1923 births 1944 deaths American prisoners of war in World War II American Royal Air Force pilots of World War II American World War II flying aces Aviators from Oklahoma Aviators killed by being shot down Canadian military personnel killed in World War II Canadian prisoners of war in World War II Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni Missing in action of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Shot-down aviators World War II prisoners of war held by Italy American escapees Military personnel from Oklahoma Canadian escapees Escapees from Italian detention Royal Canadian Air Force officers American expatriates in Canada