Cyril Crowe
Cyril Marconi Crowe | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Billy |
Born |
Oakengates, Shropshire, England | 6 January 1894
Died |
31 May 1974 80) Swindon, Wiltshire, England | (aged
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch |
British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service |
1914–1919 1937–1954 |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Unit |
No. 4 Squadron RFC No. 8 Squadron RFC No. 16 Squadron RFC No. 56 Squadron RAF |
Commands held |
No. 60 Squadron RAF No. 85 Squadron RAF |
Awards |
Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross |
Wing Commander Cyril Marconi Crowe MC, DFC (6 January 1894 – 31 May 1974) was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 victories.[1]
Early life
Crowe was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Crowe of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Yorkshire,[2] He was educated at Mill Hill School from 1907 until 1911.[3]
World War I service
Crowe was granted Aviator's Certificate No. 898 on 8 September 1914 after flying at the Grahame-White Flying School at Hendon Aerodrome.[4] On 1 October, he was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps as a probationary second lieutenant,[5] was appointed a flying officer on 22 December,[6] and confirmed in his rank on 6 January 1915.[7]
On 24 April 1915, he was promoted to lieutenant.[8] Crowe was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 14 October,[9] and 1 December was promoted from temporary captain to captain.[10]
When the founding Officer Commanding of No. 56 Squadron, Major Richard Blomfield, went recruiting pilots for the new unit, Crowe was chosen on the basis of his skills to be a flight commander.[11] He came aboard as leader of "B" Flight on 19 April 1917.[12] He scored his first victory on 24 April 1917; by 30 April, his count stood at four.[1] Crowe was involved in Albert Ball's last dogfight on 7 May, and was the last British pilot to see Ball still alive.[3] Crowe reported that Ball was last seen flying into a thunderhead.[13] Between 23 May and 16 June, Crowe increased his number of aerial victories by five, to bring his total to nine.[1]
On 26 October 1917 Crowe was appointed a squadron commander, with the temporary rank of major,[14] to serve as an instructor at the Central Flying School,[15] remaining in that post until 21 February 1918,[16] when he also relinquished his temporary rank.[17]
Crowe returned to No. 56 Squadron, accounting for five more enemy aircraft between 18 March and 1 July.[1] Upon James McCudden's death on 9 July,[18] Crowe took over as commander of No. 60 Squadron, with another appointment to the temporary rank of major.[19] By then, his tally stood at 14 victories.[1] On 29 July, he crashed a car into a tree while returning from a party in Dieppe. The accident killed his old schoolmate Owen Scholte, as well as Major Foggin. The resultant court-martial reduced Crowe to the rank of captain for a month.[3] He was then reinstated in the rank of major and given command of No. 85 Squadron. He scored his fifteenth and last victory for them on 16 September 1918.[1]
Crowe's talents as a fighter pilot were described by Arthur Rhys-Davids, one of the pilots in "B" Flight, 56 Squadron: "Crowe is not afraid of anything and goes after old Huns like a rocket and yet he is extraordinarily prudent."[1]
Crowe eventually left the RAF, being transferred to the Unemployed List on 25 September 1919.[20]
Between the wars
Crowe married Elena Temperley at Saint John's Anglican church in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 21 September 1929.[2] They went on to have four children: Robin, Peter, Sally Eyrielle, and Bettina Frederica.[21]
Crowe was granted a commission as a flight lieutenant (and honorary squadron leader) in the Reserve of Air Force Officers on 20 November 1937.[22]
World War II
On 1 September 1939 Crowe relinquished his reserve commission[23] and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a flight lieutenant, with seniority from 13 March.[24] He rose to the rank of wing commander.[3]
On 24 September 1947 he returned to the Reserve of Air Force Officers with the rank of flight lieutenant,[25] until finally relinquishing his commission on 27 May 1954.[26]
Honours and awards
- Military Cross (MC)
- Captain Cyril Marconi Crowe, Royal Flying Corps (Special Reserve)
- For conspicuous gallantry and skill as a leader of offensive patrols, many times attacking hostile formations single-handed, and descending to low altitudes under heavy anti-aircraft fire. He has been responsible for the destruction of several enemy machines.[27]
- Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
- Captain Cyril Marconi Crowe, MC.
- This officer has been engaged on active operations over the lines for over twelve months, and has accounted for ten enemy aeroplanes. He is a most successful leader, distinguished for skill and bravery. On a recent occasion he, accompanied by two other machines, attacked an enemy formation consisting of four biplanes and one triplane. Having destroyed a biplane he engaged the triplane at close range and destroyed that also.[28]
References
- Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cyril Marconi Crowe". The Aerodrome. 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- 1 2 "Personals". Flight. XXI (1080): 993. 6 September 1929. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 "Crowe, Cyril Marconi". Mill Hill at War 1914-1919. 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ "Aviator's Certificates". Flight. VI (299): 956. 18 September 1914. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28921. p. 7791. 29 September 1914.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29038. p. 382. 12 January 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29031. p. 248. 5 January 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29174. p. 5093. 25 May 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29343. p. 10650. 29 October 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 29431. p. 346. 7 January 1916.
- ↑ Guttman, Jon (11 August 2001). "Book Review: High in the Empty Blue: The History of 56 Squadron by Alex Revell". historynet.com. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ Bowyer (1977), p.164.
- ↑ "Capt. Albert Ball". century-of-flight.net. 2006. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30407. p. 12528. 27 November 1917.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30425. p. 13031. 11 December 1917.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30647. p. 4955. 23 April 1918.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30715. p. 6434. 31 May 1918.
- ↑ "James Thomas Byford McCudden". The Aerodrome. 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 30808. p. 8626. 23 July 1918.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 31986. p. 7668. 20 July 1920.
- ↑ "Major Cyril Marconi Crowe". Coke-Smyth Connections. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34497. p. 2091. 29 March 1938.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34713. p. 7041. 20 October 1939.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34713. pp. 7043–7044. 20 October 1939.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 38102. p. 4963. 17 October 1947.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 40831. p. 4141. 13 July 1956.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30188. p. 7225. 17 July 1917.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30913. p. 11250. 20 September 1918.
- Bibliography
- Franks, Norman (2007). SE 5/5a Aces of World War I. London, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781846031809.
- Revell, Alex. High in the empty blue: the history of 56 Squadron, RFC/RAF 1916-1920. ISBN 978-0-9637110-3-8.
- Bowyer, Chaz (1977). Albert Ball, VC. W. Kimber. ISBN 978-0-7183-0045-6.