James Francis Edwards, CM, DFC & Bar, DFM, CD (5 June 1921 – 14 May 2022), later known as Stocky Edwards, was a Canadian

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

during World War II. With 19 confirmed aerial victories, Edwards is Canada's highest scoring

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

in the Western Desert Campaign.

Early life

Born in

Nokomis, Saskatchewan Nokomis is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Nokomis had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 po ...

, Edwards grew up in

Battleford, Saskatchewan Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" by S ...

. After graduating from St Thomas College in 1940 he volunteered for the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF).

World War II

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other un ...

Edwards was posted to 94 Squadron RAF of 223 Wing in January 1942 flying the

P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

"Kittyhawk". On 23 March, he flew his first operational trip, during which he shot down his first enemy aircraft, a

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

. In May, he was posted to 260 Squadron, and saw intensive action for the rest of 1942. By September, he had 6 "kills" and was commissioned, jumping four grades to the rank of

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

. He was awarded a

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional val ...

and Distinguished Flying Cross by the start of 1943, by which time Edwards was a flight commander. His tour finished in May 1943, total claims made being 17 aircraft shot down and several ground kills; in fact, German records show Edwards underclaimed - 22 victories had been confirmed by German records. One of Edwards' victims during the North African campaign was famous

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegera ...

''experten'' Otto Schulz (51 victories), who was shot down by the Canadian ace on 17 June 1942. On 3 September 1942, Edwards likely damaged

Hans-Joachim Marseille Hans-Joachim Marseille (; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One o ...

's Bf 109 in combat. Marseille was the highest scoring pilot in North Africa, and shot down more Western Allied aircraft than any other German pilot. Three days later, Edwards was the pilot who was believed to have shot down and killed Günter Steinhausen. Though Edwards claimed only a damaged enemy aircraft, it appears this is another victory for which he did not receive full credit. In November 1943, Edwards was posted to No. 417 Squadron RCAF, then

No. 92 Squadron RAF Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 (East India) Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Ro ...

, flying the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

VIII; while serving on the Italian front with 92 Squadron, he added three

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' ("Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, t ...

s and a Bf 109 to his score, all shot down over the

Anzio beachhead The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

, three of them on a single day. At the beginning of March 1944, he was posted to the UK, flying operations over Europe with 274 Squadron, a fighter unit equipped, at the end of Edwards' tour, with the

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

. After leave in Canada, Edwards returned to the Western Front, flying Spitfire XVIs as the commanding officer of 127 RCAF Wing in 1945. On 3 May, he shared in the destruction of a

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fas ...

, just a few days before

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

. He finished the war with a total of 373 operational sorties without being shot down by the enemy. According to Shores and Williams' ''Aces High'', his final wartime score was 15 + 3 shared destroyed, with 9 more destroyed on the ground. Brown and Lavigne's ''Canadian Wing Commander'' credits him with 19 victories, 2 shared, 6.5 probable, 17 damaged and 12 destroyed on the ground. During an interview, Edwards himself specified that he had 19 confirmed victories during the war. Many who flew with him have said that he only reported those "kills" he was certain of and that his real number of aerial victories was probably much higher than officially reported. Eighteen of Edwards' 19 victories, according to Brown and Lavigne, were enemy fighters (14 Bf 109s, 3 Fw 190s and one Macchi 202).

Post-war

Edwards stayed in the RCAF until after amalgamation and retired from the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

in 1972 as a lieutenant colonel. In that time, he flew

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

, Sabres and

CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to en ...

s both in Canada and overseas. Edwards was a key player in the post-war air force as his experience and leadership were used to train new pilots. In 1983, Edwards and Michel Lavigne published a book about his wartime experiences entitled ''Kittyhawk pilot: Wing Commander J.F. (Stocky) Edwards''. Also in 2009, Edwards was honoured as one of the 100 most influential Canadians in aviation and had his name included with the others on the 2009

CF-18 The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...

Centennial of Flight demonstration Hornet. Edwards died on 14 May 2022, at the age of 100.

Vintage Wings of Canada

As part of their continued effort to honour and commemorate his achievements (along with those of all veterans),

Vintage Wings of Canada Vintage Wings of Canada is a not for profit, charitable organization, with a collection of historically significant aircraft. The facility is located at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by former Cognos C ...

has decorated their P-40N in the markings flown by "Stocky" in Africa. On 19 September 2009, Vintage Wings took him for a flight over Ottawa in this P-40 giving him a chance to fly it as well. Vintage Wings has also published stories on Stocky Edwards including the following: *A Visit From A Living Legend. *Flying With The Ace

Decorations

Distinguished Flying Cross (UK) The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 to other ranks, of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countrie ...

and Bar *

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

Canadian Forces Decoration The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to ...

and Two Clasps *Member of

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

10 December 2004 * Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal March 2012 * Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame member. May 2013 Canada Aviation Hall of Fame, , Members List
Legion of Honour
France. Chevalier (Knight). 28 November 2014

References

*Ralph, Wayne (2005). ''Aces, warriors and wingmen: the firsthand accounts of Canada's fighter pilots in the Second World War''. John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.. . *Tate, Robert. ''Hans-Joachim Marseille: An Illustrated Tribute to the Luftwaffe's "Star of Africa"''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2008. . *Heaton, Colin and Lewis, Anne-Marie Lewis. ''The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace''. Zenith Press, London. 2012. *Hehner, Barbara. ''The Desert Hawk''. Harper-Collins Books, Canada, 2005.

External links

A biography of Edwards at acesofww2.com

* ttps://globalnews.ca/news/8836872/stocky-edwards-ace-dies/ Stocky Edwards Ace Dies {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, James Francis 1921 births 2022 deaths Canadian World War II flying aces Royal Canadian Air Force officers Members of the Order of Canada Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II People from Rural Municipality Wreford No. 280, Saskatchewan People from Battleford Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame inductees Canadian centenarians Men centenarians