Captain John Gerald Manuel (29 March 1893 – 10 June 1918) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 13 victories. He was the son of George Morton and Edith Juliet Paget Manuel (née Imlach). Manuel originally began service with the

Canadian Field Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

after enlisting on 27 November 1914. His attestation papers offer a few details about him. He was unmarried, a civil engineer, and belonged to a militia unit, the Alberta Dragoons. His next of kin was George M. Manuel, relationship unnoted. Medical records show him with dark hair, gray eyes, medium complexion, and standing five feet six inches tall. Neither his weight nor his build was given. Manuel switched to the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

in March 1917. After training, he spent a short period in 12 Naval Squadron. On 12 August 1917, he was posted to 10 Naval Squadron as a Sopwith Camel pilot. Nine days later, he drove a German

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 out of control, and destroyed another five minutes later. A month later, on 21 September, Manuel destroyed a German reconnaissance two-seater. Another D.V fell under his guns on 15 November 1917. He then received the Distinguished Service Cross on 19 December to close out his year. Manuel scored his fifth victory on 18 February, destroying another D.V to become an ace. He drove another down out of control the next day. He would continue to score until his final two wins on 9 June 1918. Not even a hand wound caused by an exploding

Very pistol A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, blanks and smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal. Types The most common type of flare gun is a Very (som ...

during a patrol on 9 May 1918 seemed to phase him, as he quickly returned from hospital to fly combat. On 10 June 1918, the day after his final victories, Manuel fatally collided with rookie pilot F. C. Dodd. His final tally was ten enemy airplanes destroyed (including one shared with William Stanley Jenkins), and three driven down out of control.

Text of citations

Distinguished Service Cross

Flt. Sub-Lieut. John Gerald Manuel, R.N.A.S. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in air fights and bombing raids, particularly on 26 September 1917, when he attacked alone the Abeele Aerodrome, dropping his bombs from about 1,500 feet with good results. A machine gun then opened fire on him, but he dived down low and silenced it by firing fifty rounds from his machine gun.

Distinguished Flying Cross Mentioned in Despatches 1 January 1919

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, John G. 1893 births 1918 deaths Canadian military personnel killed in World War I Canadian World War I flying aces Canadian military personnel from Manitoba Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)