Lieutenant William Henry Brown 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 nine aerial victories.

Early life

William Henry Brown was born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, Canada on 12 March 1894. He joined the 1st Canadian Signal Corps 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 ...

to serve in World War I. After two years with Signals, he transferred to the

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

in early 1917.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/brown7.php Retrieved 30 June 2011.Shores, et al, p. 90.

World War I

By August 1917, Brown was posted to 84 Squadron as a

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 ...

. He scored his first aerial victory with them on 26 November 1917, and would continue to score with them until 3 April 1918. Five days later, he was transferred off combat duty and returned to Home Establishment in England. He won a Military Cross for his valour. As the award citation makes clear, his bravery in

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

s was not the only reason for his medal; ground attacks against enemy troops were also prized. Brown's Military Cross was gazetted on 22 June 1918:

Post World War I

Although Brown survived the war, his subsequent life is a mystery until his death on 28 February 1969 in Steilacoom, Washington, USA.

List of aerial victories

Endnotes

References

* 1894 births 1969 deaths Canadian World War I flying aces Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian recipients of the Military Cross People from Victoria, British Columbia Royal Flying Corps officers {{canada-mil-bio-stub