Captain Robert E. Dodds (11 March 1893–8 October 1980) was a Canadian World War I
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 ...
credited with 11 aerial victories. Postwar, he would remain involved in civil aviation. By 1957, he had risen to become the Director of Civil Aviation for Canada.
Early life and infantry service
Robert Dodds was born in Stoney Creek, Canada on 11 March 1893, to Margaret Dodds. He enrolled in the
129th Battalion of 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 3 January 1916 at
Dundas Dundas may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Dundas, New South Wales
* Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region
* Dundas, Tasmania
* Dundas, Western Australia
* Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828
* Shire of ...
, Canada. On his enlistment papers, he gave his occupation as fruit grower, stated he was single and lived on
Rural Route
Rural delivery service refers to services for the delivery of mail to rural areas.
In many countries, rural mail delivery follows different rules and practices from that in urban areas. For example, in some areas rural delivery may require homeow ...
5 with his mother. Though he claimed no prior military experience, he belonged to the 77th Regiment of militia. He signed his enrollment form "R. Dodds, Lieut".
World War I
On 27 March 1917, Dodds was appointed a
Flying Officer.
Dodds was posted to 48 Squadron as a
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Bif ...
pilot on 12 July 1917. Nine days later, Dodds shared in a victory with fellow aces
Brian Edmund Baker
Air Marshal Sir Brian Edmund Baker (31 August 1896 – 8 October 1979), was an officer of the Royal Air Force who served in both World Wars. He was a flying ace in World War I credited, in conjunction with his gunners, with twelve victories, c ...
and Robert Coath. Dodds scored his fifth victory on 21 October 1917 and closed out the year as an ace. A double victory on 9 January 1918, followed by three wins on 8 March, brought his total to ten.
On 10 February 1918, after his sixth and seventh wins,
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Dodds was appointed
Flight Commander and temporary captain.
His valor was not confined to air-to-air combat; on 19 March 1918, he led a bombing attack through heavy ground fire to bomb a German hangar from low level. He then circled the German airfield in his riddled plane as his squadron also bombed the enemy.
Both of these feats were cited when Military Cross (MC) was published in ''The London Gazette'':
Lieutenant (Temporary/Captain) Robert Dodds, 1st Central Ontario Regiment
The 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Service history
The battalion was composed of volunteers from militia units in central Ontario. Much of the unit was drawn from the 12th ...
and Royal Flying Corps
...He has destroyed or driven down eleven enemy machines. On one occasion while on a one-machine patrol he attacked three enemy scouts, but owing to his gun jamming he was forced to withdraw from the attack. Though under heavy fire from the pursuing enemy he succeeded in remedying the defect, and then turned and attacked the enemy again. He destroyed one of them and drove down another out of control. Later, he led a bombing raid on an enemy aerodrome, and under intense machine gun fire from the ground dived to within 100 feet of the hangars before releasing his bombs. Though his machine was damaged, he remained at a height of 200 feet until the rest of his formation had dropped their bombs. His magnificent example of pluck and determination was of the greatest value to the squadron.
List of victories
Post World War I
On 4 May 1919, Dodds was seconded from
1st Central Ontario Regiment
The 20th Battalion (Central Ontario), CEF was a unit of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force.
Service history
The battalion was composed of volunteers from militia units in central Ontario. Much of the unit was drawn from the 12th ...
to the Royal Air Force as an acting captain; simultaneously, he relinquished his RAF commission and went on the unemployed list.
Dodds then returned to Canada and helped found the Hamilton Ontario Aero Club. He managed International Airways and supervised airmail operations in eastern Canada.
Dodds joined the Canadian Civil Aeronautics Division in 1930; he would become heavily involved in development of Canada's airways system, especially as it affected
Trans-Canada Air Lines
Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...
.
There was a Trans-Canada Airlines landing crash of a
Lockheed Electra 14 (Registration CF-TCP) at
Armstrong, Thunder Bay District, Ontario
Armstrong is a compact rural community, unincorporated place, and divisional point on the Canadian National Railway transcontinental railway main line in the unorganized portion of Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The White ...
on 6 February 1941, killing 12; Chief Airline Inspector Dodds as chairman of the Federal
Board of Inquiry
A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that ...
arranged for removal of the crash debris to Winnipeg to aid in the accident investigation. This crash investigation was in addition to his ongoing administrative duties during World War II, providing airfields for use under the
Empire Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Z ...
. He won the Order of the British Empire for this World War II service.
In 1950, he was promoted to Controller of Civil Aviation, putting him effectively in charge of Canada's civil aviation infrastructure.
On 11 August 1957, a
DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
crash found Dodds as Director of the Civil Aviation Branch of Canada's
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
.
He retired in 1958.
He died on 8 October 1980.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, Robert
1893 births
1980 deaths
Canadian World War I flying aces
Canadian people of World War II
People from Hamilton, Ontario
Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Royal Flying Corps officers
Canadian Expeditionary Force officers