Captain Thomas Sydney Sharpe (born 24 February 1887; date of death unknown) 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 ...

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 six aerial victories.

Military service

Sharpe was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the 3rd Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, on 17 April 1915. He later trained as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 2471 on 19 February 1916. He was confirmed in his rank on 22 March, and was seconded to the

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

and appointed a flying officer on 21 April. Sharpe flew with No. 24 Squadron from May to July 1916. On 1 February 1917 he was appointed a flight commander with the acting rank of captain. He was later posted to No. 73 Squadron as a flight commander, to fly the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

single-seat fighter. On 11 March 1918 he destroyed a

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplane, then an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

and two

LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. (L.V.G. or LVG) was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin- Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bombe ...

reconnaissance aircraft on 22 March, and a pair of D.Vs two days later. Three days later, on 27 March, he was shot down and wounded. The identity of his conqueror is debatable. It has been credited to

Hans Kirschstein Hans Kirschstein (5 August 1896 – 16 July 1918), winner of the Pour le Merite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, and the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd class, was a German lieutenant and World War I flying ace credited with 27 aerial victories. Early ...

, or as the 71st victory of

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

; Sharpe himself claimed to have been hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire. Sharpe was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1918, while a prisoner of war, and his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted on 20 September 1918. His citation read: :Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Thomas Sydney Sharpe (Gloucestershire Regiment). ::"A gallant officer who has always led his patrol with marked skill and judgment. On one occasion he chased down an Albatross scout and caused it to crash. He afterwards attacked five enemy machines, destroying two. On the following day, encountering four Albatross scouts, he engaged one, which crashed. Proceeding on his patrol, he met a formation of enemy scouts; he chased one and destroyed it." Sharpe was repatriated on 25 December 1918, and transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 5 March 1919. He remained in the army until resigning his commission on 1 April 1920.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Thomas 1887 births Year of death missing People from Gloucester Gloucestershire Regiment officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British World War I prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Germany