Lieutenant William Sidebottom (11 October 1893 – 8 December 1920) was a British 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 fourteen aerial victories.

Military service

Sidebottom joined 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 ...

on 11 October 1917, and after completing his flying training was posted the No. 3 (Naval) Squadron 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 1 April 1918, the RNAS was merged with the Army's

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

to form the Royal Air Force, and Sidebottom's unit was renamed No. 203 Squadron RAF. He scored his first win on 16 June 1918, sharing the destruction of a DFW two-seater reconnaissance aircraft with Lieutenant Edwin Hayne and three other pilots. He then accumulated a series of victories between then and 29 October 1918, sharing in the destruction of two reconnaissance aircraft with Captain Leonard Henry Rochford and the mid-air burning of another with Captain

Arthur Whealy Arthur Treloar Whealy DSC & Bar DFC (2 November 1895 – 23 December 1945) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 27 victories. Background Whealy was a medical student at the University of Toronto before Worl ...

. Sidebottom's final toll was the destruction of fourteen enemy aircraft.

Post-war career and death

Sidebottom was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 1 February 1919, and a week later, on 7 February, his Distinguished Flying Cross was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

. His citation read: :Lieutenant William Sidebottom, 203rd Squadron. ::"This officer has carried out numerous offensive and low bombing patrols with courage, skill and judgment. He has also proved himself a bold and resolute fighter in aerial combats, having nine enemy machines to his credit." However, Sidebottom returned to RAF service on being granted a short service commission with the rank of flying officer on 24 October 1919. On 8 December 1920 Sidebottom was serving in No. 30 Squadron, part of the

North Persia Force North Persia Force (Norper force) was a British military force that operated in Northern Persia from 1918–1919. Composition The force was a large brigade which consisted of: * 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers * 1st Battalion, 42nd Deoli Reg ...

. While flying an

Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repl ...

on a bombing mission on

Enzeli Bandar-e Anzali ( fa, بندرانزلی, also Romanized as Bandar-e Anzalī; renamed as Bandar-e Pahlavi during the Pahlavi dynasty) is a city of Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 144,664. Anzali is one of the mo ...

, then part of the

Persian Socialist Soviet Republic The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic ( fa, ), also known as the Soviet Republic of Iran or Socialist Soviet Republic of Gilan, was a short-lived unrecognized state, a Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 ...

, he made a forced landing from Rostamabad, and was shot and killed by Bolsheviks while trying to escape. His observer escaped unhurt. Having no known grave he is commemorated on the Tehran Memorial,

Gholhak Garden Gholhak Garden (alternatively Qolhak Garden or Gulhak Garden; fa, باغ قلهک) is a British overseas diplomatic compound in the northern Tehran neighborhood of Gholhak in Iran, about from the centre of Tehran. The sprawling tree-lined site, bo ...

, Iran.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidebottom, William 1893 births 1920 deaths English aviators Military personnel from Manchester Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British military personnel killed in action