Air Vice Marshal George Roberts Howsam, CB, MC (29 January 1895 –16 April 1988) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

First World War 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 ...

, officially credited with 13 victories. Serving in the newly formed Royal Canadian Air Force in the inter-war years, Howsam served as the RCAF's Director of Training 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 ...

Early life and service

George Roberts Howsam's parents were George and Ida Cutting Howsam. The younger George Howsam joined the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

right out of high school, on 23 March 1916. He gave his home address as Rural Route 4, Port Perry, Ontario. He is described as being a Methodist, five feet six inches tall, blue eyed, with fair complexion. He served successively with the 116th (Ontario County) Battalion, CEF and the 182nd (Ontario County) Battalion, CEF. He transferred to the

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

in Spring 1917, while he was still in Canada; he trained at Deseronto and Camp Borden.

World War I aerial service

Howsam joined 70 Squadron in Autumn 1917 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 barely made the 1917 scoring lists, destroying an Albatros two-seater over

Zarren Zarren is a town in Kortemark, West Flanders province, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, ...

, Belgium on 28 December 1917 for his first win. He repeated on 19 January 1918, sending the Albatros down out of control at

Moorslede Moorslede () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele, Slypskapelle and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total population of 10,618. The total area is ...

, Belgium. Three days later, he flew three sorties, and scored every time. He destroyed 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 Albatro ...

at 1245; his next sortie set an observation plane aflame at 1315; on his last sortie, he and Captain

Frank Granger Quigley Francis Granger Quigley, (10 July 1894 – 20 October 1918) was a Canadian aviator and flying ace of the First World War, who was credited with 33 aerial victories. He was notable for scoring the majority of his victories against German fighter ...

cooperated in flaming one Albatros D.V and putting another down out of control. A victory apiece on the 24th and 25th, and Howsam ended January 1918 with eight wins. Another followed on 27 February. Howsam won a Military Cross, awarded 4 March. Within a week, he downed three more planes. On 24 March, he was wounded in action and withdrawn to

Home Establishment A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

. He would return to the front as a Flight Commander in 43 Squadron in October. Flying a Sopwith Snipe, he set 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 ...

afire on 30 October to cap his career as an ace. His final total was eight German planes destroyed and five driven down out of control.

Post World War I

Howsam did not return to Canada until May 1921. He attended the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park (active: 1941 to 1948) *RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air ...

in 1930. During World War II, he served as Director of Training for the RCAF. He retired in 1945.

Text of citations

Military Cross

T./2nd Lt. George Robert Howsam, Gen. List and R.F.C. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial combats. He has destroyed five enemy machines and driven down others out of control, showing splendid courage and initiative on all occasions.(''Supplement to the London Gazette'', 16 August 1918) http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/30845/supplements/9565 contains text of citation. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.

References

* ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920'' Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . ----

Notes

Websites

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howsam, George R. Royal Canadian Air Force air marshals of World War II Canadian aviators Canadian World War I flying aces Canadian recipients of the Military Cross 1895 births 1988 deaths Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Legion of Merit Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian military personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)