Lieutenant Harold Koch Boysen 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 ...
credited with five aerial victories.
Boysen joined the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
in June 1917. After training, he was assigned to 66 Squadron to fly a
Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...
. He would not have any success until the unit re-equipped with
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 ...
s and transferred fronts from France to northern Italy.
[ He scored a victory in December 1917. In January 1918, he crashed while landing in a fog, and was injured.][ Upon recovery, he then scored four more times in May 1918, including one win shared with Lieutenant Christopher McEvoy.][
]
See also
* List of World War I flying aces from the United States
The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I
Overview
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great Bri ...
References
* ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , .
1891 births
1963 deaths
American World War I flying aces
Aviators from Minnesota
People from Lincoln County, Minnesota
{{US-mil-bio-stub