Lieutenant James McDonald (born 23 July 1899, date of death unknown) 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 eight aerial victories.

Military service

McDonald served as an observer/gunner in

No. 22 Squadron RAF Number 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is an operational testing and evaluation squadron for all the Joint Helicopter Command helicopter types including Chinook, Puma HC2, Merlin HC4, Apache and Wildcat AH1. Formerly the Rotary Wing Op ...

, flying the Bristol F.2b two-seater fighter, and gained his first aerial victory on 31 May 1918 by shooting 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 ...

down in flames over

Neuve-Chapelle Neuve-Chapelle ( vls, Nieuwkappel) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It was the site of a First World War battle in 1915. Geography Neuve-Chapelle is situated some northeast of Béthune and ...

. On 2 June he gained a double victory driving down an Albatros D.V and Albatros C south-east of

La Bassée La Bassée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Personalities La Bassée was the birthplace of the painter and draftsman Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845). Another native was Ignace François ...

. In these victories he was piloted by Second Lieutenant Leslie Walter King. For his next two, on 3 and 23 June, he was piloted by Lieutenant

John Everard Gurdon John Everard Gurdon, (24 May 1898 – 14 April 1973), was a British flying ace in the First World War credited with twenty-eight victories. Early life and background Gurdon was born in Balham, Surrey, the son of John Gurdon and Mary Gray Rat ...

, driving down a Fokker D.VII east of La Bassée on both occasions. With Captain

George William Bulmer Captain George William Bulmer (1 September 1898 – 5 April 1987) was an American-born Canadian flying ace in World War I. He was credited with nine aerial victories. Early life George William Bulmer was born in Dixon, Illinois, USA on 1 Septembe ...

he flamed another Albatros C north of Bois-de-

Phalempin Phalempin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...

on 9 July, then with Lieutenant Frank George Gibbons he drove down two more Fokker D.VIIs over

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

on 27 August and 5 September.

References

1899 births Year of death missing Royal Flying Corps officers People from Renfrew British World War I flying aces Scottish flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Military personnel from Renfrewshire {{RAF-bio-stub