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William "Billy" Bishop - Pilot Profile - William Bishop

William "Billy" Bishop

Victories : 72
-----------------------------
Country : Canada
Fought in : WW1
Fought for : Allied (Entente) Powers
Died : 11th September 1956

William Avery Bishop. Born 8th February 1894, died September 1956 aged 62. Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, better known as Billy Bishop (his awards being VC, CB, DSO and Bar, MC, DFC, ED ) was the top Canadian Fighter ace of World War One, with 72 Victories which made him the top overall Ace from the British Empire. Billy Bishop joined the Mississauga Horse as an Officer when the war broke out in 1914, but due to illness he did not go with the regiment to Europe. Once he recovered from pneumonia he transferred to the 8th Canadian Mounted Rifles and was stationed in London, Ontario. On the 9th of June 1915 the regiment left for Britain. In July 1915 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as an Observer. After training he was moved to France at Boisdinghem airfield near st Omer on the 1st January 1916 - he was an observer on RE7 reconnaissance aircraft. On one mission he injured his knee and was sent back to Britain. On his recovery he was accepted in for Pilot training. Once he was awarded his wings he requested to be transferred to France and in March 1917 was posted to 60 Squadron at Filescamp Farm near Arras. He flew the Nieuport 17 Fighter aircraft. Billy Bishop's first victory was on the 25th March which was an Albatros D.III. He won his Victoria Cross on the 2nd June 1917 when he flew a solo mission behind enemy lines to attack a German Aerodrome. He claimed to have shot down three German aircraft who were about to take off to engage him and destroyed many others on the ground. His Victoria Cross was the only VC awarded without requiring witnesses. His VC was Gazetted on the 11th August 1917. For most conspicuous bravery, determination, and skill. Captain Bishop, who had been sent out to work independently, flew first of all to an enemy aerodrome; finding no machines about, he flew on to another aerodrome about three miles southeast, which was at least 12 miles the other side of the line. Seven machines, some with their engines running, were on the ground. He attacked these from about fifty feet, and a mechanic, who was starting one of the engines, was seen to fall. One of the machines got off the ground, but at a height of 60 feet, Captain Bishop fired 15 rounds into it at very close range, and it crashed to the ground. A second machine got off the ground, into which he fired 30 rounds at 150 yards range, and it fell into a tree. Two more machines then rose from the aerodrome. One of these he engaged at a height of 1,000 feet, emptying the rest of his drum of ammunition. This machine crashed 300 yards from the aerodrome, after which Captain Bishop emptied a whole drum into the fourth hostile machine, and then flew back to his station. Four hostile scouts were about 1,250 feet above him for about a mile of his return journey, but they would not attack. His machine was very badly shot about by machine gun fire from the ground. He went back to Canada as a hero in 1917 and helped the morale of the Canadian public. He again returned to France in April 1918 and was promoted to the rank of major and given the command of no 85 Squadron (Flying Foxes). The squadron was equipped with SE5a scouts and in this aircraft Bishop scored a further three victories. The Canadian Government was getting concerned if Bishop was killed what effect that may have on the Canadian morale so he was ordered back to Britain, to organise the Canadian Flying Corps. On the 5th August he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and became Officer Commanding-designate of the Canadian Air Force Section of the general Staff. Bishop died in his sleep while in Florida on the 11th September 1956 and is buried in Owen Sound Ontario at greenwood Cemetery.

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Captain William Avery Bishop - Nieuport 17. Captain William Avery Bishop by Ivan Berryman.Click For DetailsB0225
Undoubtedly one of the truly great Aces of the First World War, William Billy Bishop became celebrated for his technique of actively seeking out the enemy and bringing the fight to him, rather than the more usual practice of patrolling in search of enemy activity. An example of this was his single-handed attack on a German airfield in June 1917 when he destroyed not only a number of aircraft on the ground, but then successfully despatched another seven Albatross scouts that took off to engage him. For this action, he was awarded the Victoria Cross in August 1917 and his final tally when the war ended was 72 confirmed victories. He is depicted here in his Nieuport Scout B1566 in combat with a Pfalz D.III. Captain William Billy Bishop by Ivan Berryman.Click For DetailsDHM1608
William Avery Bishop, the top scoring RFC ace of WW I, was born in Ontario Canada on February 8, 1894. He entered the Royal Military College in 1911 and after War broke out in Europe he was assigned to the 14th Battalion of the Canadian Mounted Rifles. Bishop applied for a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. Following a few months of training he was made an observer and was sent to France to fly with No. 21 squadron. He was hospitalized for frostbite and later from injuries sustained in a bad landing. In late 1916 he began pilot training and in March of 1917 Bishop was posted to No. 60 squadron flying Nieuport Scouts. On March 25 he experienced his first air combat, downing an Albatros single-seater. Bishop scored thirteen victories during Bloody April, and another seven-and-a-half in May. He was awarded the DSO at this point. In early June Bishop attacked a German airfield at dawn, and shot down three Albatros aircraft taking off to challenge him. For this fete he received the Victoria Cross. In constant combat during the summer months, Bishops score rose to 45 by mid-August. He was the first to exceed the record of the famous British Ace, Albert Ball. During this period Bishop often flew as many as seven-eight hours each day. He was aggressive in the air and obviously possessed excellent flying instincts and marksmanship skills. Eleven of these 45 victories were achieved in the SE-5 with which No. 60 squadron had been re-equipped. Promoted to Major, Bishop returned to Canada for a recruiting tour. In 1918 he returned to England, first as the Chief Instructor at Aerial Gunnery School, and later as the Commander of No. 85 squadron. Once again Bishop was at his best in the air. Flying SE-5s, Bishop claimed 27 more victories during this final combat tour, including four Pfalz D.IIIs. Bishop received the DFC, and returned to the Air Ministry in England for a short time before returning to Canada in August of 1918. There he played an important role in the formation of the new Canadian Air Force. Bishops official victory total of 72, the highest for any RFC flyer in WW I, approached the official total of von Richtofen who had 80. Some historians have disputed Bishops score, indicating that he received credit for a number of victories when he was flying alone. Following the War, Bishop formed a commercial aviation company with another ace W.G. Barker. He later served with the RCAF during WW II as an Air Marshal responsible for training. Billy Bishop passed away in 1956 at the age of seventy. In Stan Stokes nostalgic painting the top RFC ace is depicted early in his career flying his Nieuport against a German Albatros. Boom Boom Billy by Stan Stokes.Click For DetailsSTK0012

William "Billy" Bishop


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