Captain D'Urban Victor Armstrong DFC was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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. Born in the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to ...

on 26 July 1897, and educated at Hilton College, Armstrong joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 1915. He was assigned to No. 60 Squadron the following year; while with them, he scored a kill on 9 November 1916. His next posting was to No. 44 Squadron on home defense duties. In 1917, he was transferred to No. 78 Squadron to lead a flight. His final assignment was with No. 151 Squadron. He was one of the first night fighter victors in aerial warfare, as 151 Squadron was 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 ...

's first night fighter squadron, 151 Squadron. Armstrong was credited with four nighttime victories between 29 June and 17 September 1918, including 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, G ...

bomber on 24 August near Bouvincourt-en-Vermandois,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

.''The Aerodrome''
theaerodrome.com; accessed 9 July 2020. Two days after war's end, Armstrong was killed in a flying accident while flying aerobatics in his

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 be ...

References

1897 births 1918 deaths People from Natal South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South African World War I flying aces South African people of British descent Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa) Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918 {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub