Joseph Cruess Callaghan, (4 March 1893 – 2 July 1918) was an Irish flying ace of the First World War, 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) and Croasdella Elizabeth Mary (née Bolger; daughter of James Bolger and Croasdella Elizabeth Cruess); he was educated at Jesuit schools such as

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

(Dublin) and

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

(Lancashire, England).

First World War

Callaghan was living in Texas when the First World War broke out; he returned home to be commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 7th (Service) Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers in January 1915. He transferred to the

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

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 No. 18 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham. Owing to its heritage as a bomber squadron, it is also known as No. 18 (B) Squadron. History First World War The squadron was formed on 11 May 1915 at Nort ...

in April 1916; He piloted an

F.E.2b Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and ...

to victory on 26 April, getting credit for destroying a Fokker Eindecker (though the Germans recorded no casualties). He crash-landed near

Château de la Haie A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

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, 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 World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

, and gained four more aerial victories between 29 May and 28 June to become a flying ace. 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 of '' Jasta 13''. He is buried in the Contay British Cemetery,

Contay Contay () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Contay is situated on the D23 and D919 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commu ...

, 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 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 Number 19 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF Boulmer. No. 1 ...

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