Second Lieutenant John Bernard Russell was a
World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.
Early life and enlistment
Russell was born on 5 June 1894 in
Pictou, Nova Scotia; his mother was Mrs J. S. Russell. When he joined the
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...
on 17 May 1915, he was working as a banker. As his mother was then living in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, and Russell enlisted there, it seems probable Russell was residing with his mother, especially as he was unmarried. He claimed no prior military experience. As was customary for Canadian enlistees, he swore allegiance to
King George V.
First World War aerial service
Russell became the aircrew on
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 (from de Havilland 9) – also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 – was a British single-engined biplane bomber developed and deployed during the First World War.
The DH.9 was a development of Airco's earlier successful ...
bombers of
No. 103 Squadron RAF
No. 103 Squadron was a Royal Air Force bomber squadron during World War I, World War II and the Cold War, switching to helicopters in the late 1950s until it was disbanded for the last time in 1975.
History
Formation in World War I
No. 103 S ...
. His first aerial success came at 2030 hours on 4 July 1918, when he was manning the guns in DH.9 number C6150, piloted by
Roy Dodds. Russell drove a
Pfalz D.III
The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to c ...
down out of control over
La Bassée.
[
On 31 July, while flying with John Stevenson Stubbs as his pilot, Russell was credited with two more victories, as Stubbs drove one enemy aircraft down out of control while Russell similarly accounted for another. Their Distinguished Flying Cross citation noted that the odds against them were ten to two. The DFC was also awarded because they returned to the attack in a single plane low level bombing attack at 1,500 feet and bombed a train and lorries while surviving heavy ground fire.][
Russell was again paired with Stubbs on 25 August 1918. At 1115 hours, while mounted on DH.9 number D3274, they drove down out of control a ]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 ...
fighter south of Armentières
Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille.
The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud).
Geogra ...
, France, and destroyed another one southeast of the city.[
The Distinguished Flying Cross for Russell and Stubbs was gazetted on 2 November 1918.
]
Post War career
Little is known of Russell's postwar career. However, it is known that he was transferred to the Royal Air Force's unemployed list on 24 February 1919.[''The London Gazette'', 14 October 1919, p. 12568.] It is also known that he died in 1960.[
]
List of aerial victories
See also Aerial victory standards of World War I
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.
Sources of information
References
1894 births
1960 deaths
Canadian World War I flying aces
Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
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