Captain Henry Robinson Clay, Jr. was a 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 eight confirmed aerial victories.

Early life

Though born in

Plattsburg, Missouri Plattsburg is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area in the western part of the state, within the United States. It developed along the Little Platte River. As of the 2020 cen ...

on 27 November 1895, Clay later lived in Fort Worth, Texas.

Aviation service

He was one of the first contingent of American fliers shipped to England to gain seasoning with the

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

. While assigned to 43 Squadron, he claimed a win, but it went unverified. He then transferred to the 148th Aero Squadron. He scored eight times between 16 August and 27 September 1918; on the latter date, he shared in the destruction of a

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

reconnaissance plane with

Elliott White Springs Elliott White Springs (July 31, 1896 – October 15, 1959), was a South Carolina businessman and an American flying ace of World War I, credited with shooting down 16 enemy aircraft. Early life Springs was born to Col. Leroy Springs and Grac ...

. In total, Clay destroyed five

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 ...

s, and drove another down out of control; he shared in the destruction of two German reconnaissance planes. Clay was promoted to command of

41st Aero Squadron The 41st Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron as part of the 5th Pursuit Group, Second United States Army. I ...

, but the war ended before it could see action. He died in

Coblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name ...

, Germany during the great influenza epidemic, on 17 February 1919.

Honors and awards

Text of citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) :On 16 August, while leading his patrol, they were attacked by six Fokker biplanes over Noyon. Lt. Clay shot down one in flames and with his flight drove the others east. On 27 August, with another of his flight, he attacked a two-seater over Rémy. After a short burst the wing came off and the EA was seen to crash by three other pilots. On 4 September, while two flights of his squadron, led by Lt. Clay, were patrolling with two flights of No. 60 Squadron, RAF, they were engaged by ten Fokker biplanes. In the fight which ensued, he shot an EA off the tail of an SE5. It was seen to crash and burn up on the ground by a pilot of No. 60 Squadron. A moment later Lt. Clay attacked two EA on the tail of one of his patrol, one of which was seen to crash. This fight started at 4,000 feet and ended at 800 feet. Lt. Clay's flight accounted for three EA crashed and one out of control. This officer has been on active service since 17 March 1918. He has destroyed five EA (one two-seater shared with Lt. T.L. Moore) and driven down out of control one. He has exhibited on all occasions, admirable qualities of leadership and has moulded his flight into a most effective fighting unit. Citation for posthumous award of the Distinguished Service Cross :The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Henry Robinson Clay, Jr., First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Sains-les-Marquion, France, September 4, 1918. In an action wherein Lieutenant Clay's patrol was outnumbered two-to-one, he attacked the group and shot down the enemy aircraft in flames. He continued in the combat and later attacked two enemy aircraft which were pursuing a plane of his patrol and succeeded in shooting one enemy aircraft down. Again, on September 27, 1918, near Cambrai, France, with one other pilot, Lieutenant Clay observed five enemy planes approaching our lines and, although hopelessly outnumbered, immediately attacked and singled out a plane which was seen to crash to the ground. He was immediately attacked by the other enemy planes and compelled to fight his way back to our lines. (General Orders No. 60, W.D., 1920)

References

Bibliography

* ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'' (1992). Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street. , . * ''American Aces of World War I'' (2001) Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing. .

External links