Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

William Lancelot Jordan

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

& Bar, DFC (3 December 1896 – 20 August 1925) was a South African

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 39 victories.

Early life

William Lancelot Jordan was born in Georgetown (now

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, the youngest son of Mrs. J. E. Jordan.Rootsweb.ancestry.com
Pg. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2009. Jordan later moved to London.

Military service

Jordan enlisted in the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

(RNAS) as a mechanic in September 1916, and subsequently volunteered to fly as a gunner. He received his pilot's training in 1917 and was posted to RNAS 8 Naval Squadron to fly

Sopwith Triplane The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service. The ...

s. Shortly after his arrival, Naval 8 upgraded to

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 ...

s. Jordan scored all 39 of his victories flying a

. He became the leading ace of the 25 who served with Naval 8, and the third highest scoring ace ever on

s. Jordan scored his first victory on 13 July 1917, driving a German Rumpler down out of control. His third through seventh victories were triumphs shared with other squadron members. One of these victories, his fourth, was achieved over German ace Adolf Ritter von Tutschek on 11 August 1917. His string of victories was interrupted after five by his suffering a leg wound in September 1917. He continued his success after recovering, resuming scoring on 6 December 1917. It was only with his tenth victory that Jordan was credited with an actual destruction of an enemy, as opposed to driving them down out of control. From then onwards, he tended to score his triumphs singlehandedly, and to destroy about a third of his opponents. He had nine victories in both January and July 1918, with scattered wins in other months. His 39th and last victory came on 12 August 1918. RNAS 8 became No. 208 Squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

when the latter was founded by amalgamation of the RNAS and the

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

on 1 April 1918. Jordan thus scored 18 victories for the RNAS and 21 for the RAF without changing squadrons. His official score totaled 6 aircraft destroyed (with a further 5 shared destroyed), and 14 'out of control' (with a further 14 shared 'out of control'). Jordan was removed from operations before the end of the war, and thus survived.

Postwar

Jordan was married 30 November 1920 to Hazel Thorne in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

The wedding announcement mentions his mother's residence in Demerara as well as London, offering a clue to Jordan's postwar residence. He died after a car accident near Guildford, Surrey on 20 August 1925.The British Newspaper Archive
''The Scotsman'', Monday 24 August 1925: DISASTROUS SKID. DYING AIRMAN'S CONCERN FOR WIFE.

Citations for Decorations

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

(DSC)

Flt. Sub-Lieut. William Lancelot Jordan, R.N.A.S.
In recognition of the courage and initiative displayed by him in aerial combats.
On the 13th July, 1917, in company with another pilot, he attacked an enemy two-seater machine. After bursts of fire from both of our machines, the enemy observer was seen to collapse in the cock-pit, and the enemy aircraft was last seen disappearing among some houses. On the 6th December, 1917, whilst patrolling at 15,000 feet, he saw a two-seater enemy aircraft at 10,500 feet, aud dived on him, firing about thirty rounds. After falling over to the left, enemy aircraft went down vertically. He has also been instrumental in bringing down other enemy machines.

(DSC) Bar

Flt. Lieut. William Lancelot Jordan, D.S.C., R.N.A.S.
For skill and determination when leading offensive patrols.
On the 6th January, 1918, when on offensive patrol he observed ten Albatross scouts. The enemy dived and spread out, and Flt. Lieut. Jordan, in conjunction with another pilot, attacked one, into which he fired at close range, sending it down in a side-slipping dive.

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

Lieut. (Hon. Capt.) William Lancelot Jordan, D.S.C. (late R.N.A.S.).
A brilliant and most gallant leader who has already been awarded the D.S.C. and Bar for distinguished services and devotion to duty. He has led numerous offensive patrols into action, displaying at all times marked ability, determination and dash. He is an ideal Squadron Commander who has personally accounted for twenty-five enemy machines.

References

Bibliography

* ''Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1''. Denes Bernad, Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2003. , {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, William Lancelot 1896 births 1931 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Emigrants from Cape Colony to the United Kingdom Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I People from George, South Africa