Lieutenant Gavin Lynedoch Graham (18 October 1894—17 June 1963) DFC, LdH,

CdG CDG may refer to: Transport * Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA code), Paris, France * Chandigarh railway station * ComfortDelGro, a Singaporean multinational land transport company * Shandong Airlines (ICAO code), based in Shandong, China * French ...

was a South African 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 ...

credited with thirteen confirmed aerial victories.

Aerial service

Graham served with the

18th Hussars The 18th Royal Hussars (Queen Mary's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first formed in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War before being amalgamated with the 13th Hussars to form the 13th/18th Royal ...

from April 1915 through August 1916 before transferring to the

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

. He put in 200 hours flight time as an observer in

No. 70 Squadron RFC No.70 or LXX Squadron RAF provides strategic transport. History First World War The squadron was formed on 22 April 1916 at Farnborough, and was equipped with the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. The squadron was posted to France, and in 1917 re-equipp ...

before being sent to pilot's training in March 1917. On 14 December, he was assigned to No. 73 Squadron RFC as 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 b ...

pilot. He scored his first win on 3 May 1918, scored steadily, and on 19 July he became an ace. His next victory, two days later, came during a squadron patrol that destroyed a

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplane, and was shared with Major

Maurice Le Blanc-Smith Major Maurice Le Blanc-Smith (23 February 1896 – 29 October 1986) was a British World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. Biography Background and education Le Blanc-Smith's great-grandfather was Henry Le Blanc (1776� ...

, Lieutenant William Sidebottom, Lieutenant William Stephenson, Second Lieutenant Robert Chandler, and two other pilots, with every pilot credited with a win. He would not share a triumph again until his eleventh on 8 August; then he teamed with Chandler and Captain

Emile John Lussier Captain Emile John Lussier was an American flying ace during World War I. He was credited with eleven confirmed aerial victories while flying with the Royal Air Force. Early life Emile John Lussier was the son of Joseph Emile and Louise Swalwell L ...

to destroy an enemy two-seater reconnaissance plane, for his sole win over a two-seater. On the 25th, he destroyed a

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 qu ...

and teamed with another British pilot to drive down another one out of control. Graham finished his war with over 250 flight hours as a pilot, nine destroyed enemy machines to his credit, three enemy fighters driven down out of control, and one enemy plane captured. On 2 November 1918, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, being lauded as:Supplement to the London Gazett

Retrieved 18 November 2017.

Aerial victory list

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Gavin L. 1894 births 1963 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South African World War I flying aces South African people of British descent White South African people Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Makhanda, Eastern Cape