Joseph Cruess Callaghan, (4 March 1893 – 2 July 1918) was an Irish

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 ...

of the

First World War 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 ...

, credited with five aerial victories.

Early life and background

Joseph Cruess Callaghan was the eldest of six children of Joseph Patrick Callaghan (of

Blackrock, Dublin Blackrock () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. Location and access Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. ...

) and Croasdella Elizabeth Mary (née Bolger; daughter of James Bolger and Croasdella Elizabeth Cruess); he was educated at Jesuit schools such as Belvedere College (Dublin) and Stonyhurst College (Lancashire, England).

First World War

Callaghan was living in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

when the

broke out; he returned home to be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 7th (Service) Battalion,

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment of Foot (Royal Beng ...

in January 1915. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on 1 September, and trained as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate No. 1829 on 4 October, after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at the Military School, Norwich, and was appointed a flying officer on 25 January 1916. Callaghan was assigned to No. 18 Squadron RFC in April 1916; He piloted an F.E.2b to victory on 26 April, getting credit for destroying a

Fokker Eindecker The Fokker ''Eindecker'' fighters were a series of German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker.Boyne 1988 Developed in April 1915, the first ''Eindecker'' ("Monoplane") was the first purpose ...

(though the Germans recorded no casualties). He crash-landed near Château de la Haie because of damaged controls, to discover his observer dead, shot through the head. He was wounded in action on 31 July. Callaghan was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain and, 4 November 1916, was transferred to the Regular Army. From January 1917 he served as Commandant of No. 2 Auxiliary School of Aerial Gunnery, Turnberry, with the temporary rank of major (graded as a squadron commander), where his aerial stunts earned him the nickname "The Mad Major." For his service in France Callaghan was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

, which was gazetted on 13 February 1917. His citation read: In April 1918, Callaghan returned to combat as commanding officer of

No. 87 Squadron RAF No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War. World War I 87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flyi ...

, flying the

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on th ...

, and gained four more aerial victories between 29 May and 28 June to become a

. On 2 July 1918, Callaghan single-handedly attacked a group of as many as 25 German fighters. He was killed when his Dolphin was shot down in flames by ''Leutnant''

Franz Büchner Franz Büchner PlM (2 January 1898 – 18 March 1920) was one of the most successful German fighter aces of the First World War, shooting down 40 enemy aircraft. He began his military career as a 16-year-old infantryman. His doughty exploits ear ...

of ''

Jasta 13 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 13 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 108 aerial victories during the war, at the exp ...

''. He is buried in the Contay British Cemetery, Contay, France. Two of Callaghan's younger brothers also died during the war. Captain Stanislaus Cruess Callaghan was killed in a flying accident while serving in

Royal Flying Corps Canada The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British Royal Flying Corps located in Canada during the First World War. It began operating in 1917. Background As the war progressed, Great Britain found that i ...

on 27 June 1917, while Second Lieutenant Owen (or Eugene) Cruess Callaghan was killed in action on 26 August 1916 while serving in No. 19 Squadron RFC in France.

List of aerial victories

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Joseph 1893 births 1918 deaths People from Dún Laoghaire People educated at Belvedere College People educated at Stonyhurst College Royal Munster Fusiliers officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Irish World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down