Air Commodore Philip Fletcher Fullard, (27 May 1897 – 24 April 1984) was an English

First World War 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 ...

, one of the most successful fighter pilots of the

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

, with a reputation as a superb combat leader. With 40 confirmed victories, he was the top scoring ace of WW1 flying Nieuports, and overall the 6th highest scoring British pilot, and the 2nd highest to survive the war.

Background

Fullard was born in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, Surrey, the son of Thomas Fletcher Fullard. He was educated at

Norwich Grammar School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...

, where he was an accomplished sportsman, captaining the school hockey and football teams. It is claimed that he played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Norwich City Football Club Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

's reserve team while still at school, though the club has stated that they have no record of this.

Military service

First World War

Fullard joined the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps in 1915, and after receiving high marks in his examination was offered a commission in the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

, but was then selected for the Royal Flying Corps. He was commissioned as a probationary temporary second lieutenant for duty with the RFC on 5 August 1916. He trained at the No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics at Oxford, with No. 3/24 Reserve Squadron, and at the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

, and on 26 December was appointed a flying officer and confirmed in his rank as a second lieutenant on the General List. Fullard soloed after only three hours flying time, and on account of his exceptional flying ability, he was retained as an instructor at Upavon, but was eventually sent to serve in

No. 1 Squadron RFC Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, ''I ...

in France in May 1917. 1918 Flying various models of

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

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throughout his combat career, Fullard scored steadily over the next six months. He opened his victory log with two victories in May, followed by five in June. On 19 June, still only a second lieutenant, he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. In this role he scored more victories, with eight in July, and twelve in August. He damaged the blood vessels in one eye while flying in September, resulting in temporary blindness that grounded him for much of the month. Fullard 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 i ...

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in September 1917; both awards were announced in the same edition of the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

''. Fullard recovered to score eleven more wins in October, and two in November, including the 8-kill ace ''Leutnant'' Hans Hoyer. He was also awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

. Two days after his 40th victory he suffered a

compound fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

of the leg during a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match between his squadron and an infantry battalion. He did not return to duty until near the end of the war, when on 24 September 1918 he was appointed acting major. During his period of active service Fullard once brought down four German aircraft in a single day, and he and another pilot once brought down seven enemy aircraft before breakfast, with Fullard accounting for three. Also, during the three months Fullard served as commander, his

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

of six pilots brought down more enemy aircraft than any other in France, without suffering a single casualty. In one combat Fullard's flying goggles were shot away from his eyes and some Verey lights in his aircraft ignited, setting his aircraft partially on fire, but he managed to fly back to the British lines. Besides his three gallantry awards, he had two further recommendations. One of these was for the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. A curious fact is that he scored all of his victories flying other variants of the same

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...

design (the Nieuports 23 and 27) during the war, becoming most successful Nieuport pilot in general.

Inter war years

On 3 June 1919 Fullard was awarded the Air Force Cross, and on 1 August he was granted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of captain. He immediately took a

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...

, being on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

from 1 August until 12 November 1919. On 16 December 1919 he was appointed a flight commander with No. 12 Squadron, attached to the Army of Occupation in Germany. In March 1920 was awarded the Belgian

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. For two months he served as acting-

officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

of No. 12 Squadron, from May 1922 until it was disbanded, before returning to England to serve as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of No. 4 Squadron from 29 July. From 1 May 1924 he attended the 3rd Course at the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park The RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park, was a satellite staff college for the Royal Air Force based at Buls ...

at Andover, and on 1 June 1925 was posted to the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

to serve on the staff of the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence. On 1 March 1929 Fullard was posted to the Headquarters of

RAF Iraq Command Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded British Armed Forces, inter-service Command (military formation), command in charge of United Kingdom, British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Man ...

, to serve on the Operations and Training Staff, and on 13 October he was promoted to squadron leader. Fullard returned to England in May 1931, but in September and October he was again placed on the half-pay list. He then attended the Army's

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment established in 1916 by Brigadier-General R.J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-service cooperation. It was established as part of a ...

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

, then was again on half-pay from January to March 1932, when he was appointed to the staff of the

School of Army Co-operation The School of Land/Air Warfare was a Royal Air Force school based at Old Sarum in Wiltshire. Its purpose was to encourage greater co-operation between officers in the air and those on the ground. History The School was originally established at ...

. Fullard was Officer Commanding, No. 2 (Army Co-operation) Squadron from 7 January to 1 December 1933. He then travelled to India where he attended the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

until July 1935. On 15 July 1935 he was appointed Officer Commanding, No. 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at

Risalpur Risalpur (Pashto/ ur, رسالپور) is a city in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on the Nowshera-Mardan Road. It is nearly 45 km from Peshawar and 18 km from Mardan and is located at 34°4'52N 71°58'21E. In a basin so ...

, to take part in the 2nd Mohmand campaign against rebellious tribes in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

. By October 1935 the squadron was stationed at

Chaklala Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is situated astride the Airport Road, to the east of Grand Trunk Road on the main railway line. The town has its own railway station Chaklala Railway Station w ...

, near

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. On 1 January 1936 Fullard was promoted to wing commander, relinquishing command of No. 5 Squadron on 25 February. On 8 May Fullard received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in recognition of his "gallant and distinguished service rendered in connection with the Mohmand operations on the North West Frontier, India, during the period August 15–16 and October 15–16, 1935". On 10 July 1936 Fullard was appointed Officer Commanding, No. 3 (Apprentices) Wing based at

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World W ...

, then on 20 July 1938 he was posted to the Headquarters of Maintenance Command in London to serve on the staff. From 27 July 1939 he served of the Operations Staff of No. 11 (Fighter) Group, and was promoted to group captain on 1 July.

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Fullard commanded No. 14 (Fighter) Group, part of the British Expeditionary Force in France, from January 1940, until it was disbanded on 22 June, following the

battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. From November he served as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at the headquarters of No. 10 (Fighter) Group. On 1 January 1941 Fullard was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE), and on 1 March was promoted to temporary air commodore. He went on serve as Duty Air Commodore at

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

Headquarters from 2 June 1942, and as Air Officer Commanding, No. 246 (Special Operations) Group from 3 July 1943.

Post military life

Fullard retired from the RAF on 20 November 1946 at the age of 49, and served as chairman of several engineering companies. In 1978, at the age of 81, he was interviewed by

Peter Liddle Peter Liddle is a British historian and author specialising in the study of the First and Second World Wars. In the 1960s he developed the Liddle Collection, a large collection of interviews and memorabilia mainly relating to the First World Wa ...

, and his recollections formed part of a book published in 2011. Fullard died in a hospital at

Broadstairs Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...

, Kent, England, near where he lived on 24 April 1984, month before his 87th birthday. At the time of his death, he was highest scoring living British ace, and after

Donald MacLaren Donald Roderick MacLaren DSO, MC & Bar, DFC (28 May 1893 – 4 July 1988) was a Canadian World War I flying ace. He was credited with 54 victories and, after the war, helped found the Royal Canadian Air Force. Donald MacLaren was born in ...

, who died four years later highest scoring living ace of WW1 overall.

Awards and citations

Fullard's 40 victories consisted of one shared aircraft captured, 15 aircraft destroyed and 22 'out of control', including two shared. He held the

and bar, Air Force Cross, and was made a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. ;Military Cross :Temporary Second Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Philip Fletcher Fullard, General List and RFC. :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when engaged in aerial combat. He has on four occasions attacked and destroyed enemy aircraft, and has in addition engaged in 25 indecisive combats, in which he has shown fine leadership, great dash and determination to close with the enemy. ;Bar to Military Cross :Temporary Captain Philip Fletcher Fullard, MC, General List and RFC. :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has on many occasions displayed the utmost dash and fearlessness in attacking enemy aircraft at close range and in destroying at least eight hostile machines during a period of about ten days. His determination and fine offensive spirit have in almost every instance resulted in disaster to the enemy. ;Distinguished Service Order :Temporary Captain Philip Fletcher Fullard, M.C., General List and RFC. :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. As a patrol leader and scout pilot he is without equal. The moral effect of his presence in a patrol is most marked. He has now accounted for fourteen machines destroyed and eighteen driven down out of control in a little over four months. :Air Force Cross - gazetted on 3 June 1919. :

Croix de Guerre (Belgium) The ''Croix de guerre'' ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' (Dutch), both literally translating as "Cross of War", is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery o ...

- gazetted on 1 April 1920. :Commander of the Order of the British Empire - gazetted on 1st January 1941.