Sergeant Jack Mason (1896–1968) was a British

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. In 1917, Mason was a Corporal in the

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

, serving as an observer/gunner in No. 11 Squadron, flying the

Bristol F.2b The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit ...

two-seater fighter. His first aerial victory came on 8 June, with Captain

Richard Raymond-Barker Richard Raymond-Barker, MC (6 May 1894 – 20 April 1918) was a British aviator and flying ace, credited with six aerial victories in the First World War. He was Manfred von Richthofen's penultimate victim. Family background and education Richa ...

as his pilot, when he drove down out of control an

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (''Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). T ...

over

Bohain Bohain-en-Vermandois ( pcd, Bohain-in-Vérmindos) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is the place where the painter Henri Matisse grew up. Etymology Form ...

. On 14 August, he drove down 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 ...

over

Brebières Brebières is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography This farming and light industrial town is located 12 miles (19 km) east of Arras on the N50 road, at the junction with th ...

, and on 21 October accounted for three D.Vs over Boiry–

Lécluse Lécluse () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée flows through Lécluse. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department ...

, with pilot Lieutenant Ronald Mauduit on both occasions. He gained his own flying licence and was credited with 5 aerial victories. In November 1917, he was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

. During WW2, he again served at the Naval base in Londonderry, was involved in

Operation Deadlight Operation Deadlight was the code name for the Royal Navy operation of November 1945 – February 1946 to scuttle German U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II. Operation Of the 156 U-boats ...

, and was awarded the Atlantic Star.

References

1896 births 1968 deaths British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Medal Royal Air Force airmen Royal Flying Corps soldiers Royal Navy personnel of World War II {{British-Army-bio-stub