Captain Samuel Frederick Henry "Siffy" Thompson (30 August 1890 – 27 September 1918) was a British

World War I 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 ...

two-seater fighter ace who, in conjunction with his observer-gunners, was credited with thirty aerial victories (18 destroyed, 12 'out of control') before being shot down and killed. Despite having an active fighter career of only five months, he reached the rank of captain and won two British military decorations.

Early life

Thompson was born to Samuel Whitell Thompson, a medical practitioner, and his wife Florence Augusta Jane (née Evans) in Bow, London in 1890. In the 1911 census the family were resident in Blackheath, and the 20-year-old Thompson was studying to become a civil engineer.

Military service

Thompson was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the Army Service Corps on 22 March 1915, and was promoted to lieutenant on 25 August 1915. On 7 June 1917 Thompson was transferred to the General List to serve in the Royal Flying Corps, and appointed a flying officer. After joining No. 20 Squadron in late 1917, Thompson's career started somewhat awkwardly, as he crashed his aircraft on 27 October, after which he was transferred to No. 22 Squadron. Flying the Bristol F.2b, he scored his first victory, an Albatros D.V, east of Merville, France on 22 April 1918. An extremely aggressive pilot, in May 1918 he scored nine victories, including three Pfalz D.III aircraft around 10 a.m. on 16 May, near

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

. Also notable was his downing of two more D.IIIs on 21 May, south-west of

Vitry-en-Artois Vitry-en-Artois (, literally ''Vitry in Artois''; pcd, Vitry-in-Artoé or ''Vitry-la-Gueule'') is a commune and in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vitry-en-Artois is situated some northeast of Ar ...

. June 1918 was also fruitful for Thompson, as he scored eight victories mostly in the aircraft C929 (a Bristol F.2b). At Erquinghem-le-Sec on 1 June, he downed an

Albatros C.III The Albatros C.III was a German two-seat general-purpose biplane of World War I, built by Albatros Flugzeugwerke. The C.III was a refined version of the successful Albatros C.I and was eventually produced in greater numbers than any other C-typ ...

in addition to an Albatros D.V, and the next day (2 June) he got another two victories near Lens, Pas-de-Calais, this time two Pfalz D.IIIs. He scored only one victory in July, a Fokker Dr.I near

Laventie Laventie (; vls, Wentie) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A small farming and light industrial town, situated some northeast of Béthune and west of Lille, at the junction of the ...

on 26 July. In August he scored a further six victories at Dechy, the road connecting Arras and Cambrai,

and Senlemont. He shot down, amongst others, three

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 qui ...

aircraft. He was appointed a flight commander with the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

of captain on 24 August 1918. September started off well for Thompson, with four victories against

s up until 24 September. He 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 ...

on 16 September. On 27 September 1918, in aircraft E2243, he downed a Halberstadt C north of Noyelles, before being shot down east of Cambrai by Oberleutnant

Otto Schmidt Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...

of ''

Jasta 5 History Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 5, was created on January 21, 1916, and mobilized on 21 August 1916, as one of the first fighter units of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Arm ...

''. Thompson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 2 November. Having no known grave, he is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

Observers

Thompson claimed at least 18 of his victories with the front gun, the rest being claimed by his gunners. He flew with Lieutenant Charles George Gass, the highest-scoring

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

ace during the war, for two of his victories, on 22 April and 26 July 1918, as well as with Sergeant L. Kendrick for two victories in May 1918. The observer on his final flight was Second Lieutenant Clifford Tolman, an 'ace' with 8 victories, who was also killed in the crash. However, for most of his time of service he flew with Observer Sergeant Ronald Malcolm Fletcher DFM, who recorded 26 victories during the war, and was crewed with Thompson on no fewer than 25 of the pilot's 30 victories, claiming at least six victories in his own right.

Awards and citations

;Military Cross :Temporary Lieutenant Samuel Frederick Henry Thompson, General List, Royal Air Force. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as a fighting pilot. During recent operations he destroyed five enemy machines. He showed great courage and skill, and by his keenness and dash set a fine example to all. ;Distinguished Flying Cross :Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Samuel Frederick Henry Thompson, MC. ::"This officer has carried out numerous offensive patrols, displaying the most marked bravery and determination. His boldness in attack and utter disregard of personal danger affords a most inspiring example to his brother pilots. Since June last he has destroyed eleven enemy aeroplanes."

References

External links