Do you know who holds the record for most air victories by a British Empire pilot? That person is William Avery “Billy” Bishop. He is famous for Shooting down 72 enemy planes, the second most by an Allies pilot during WWI. He did not want to become a pilot but later joined because WWI started.

Early Life

Billy Bishop was born on February 8, 1894 in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was the second child of William and Margaret Bishop. During Billy’s childhood, he seemed to enjoy individual sports more than team sports. When Billy Bishop was 17, he entered the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. His parents didn’t choose this college for a military reason but instead because his poor marks didn’t allow him to enter the University of Toronto and They wanted Billy to learn some discipline. During Billy’s first year, he failed due to bad grades, unwillingness to participate in team sports and the lack of ability to follow instructions without question. He did well in his second year though and passed, but in the next year he was caught using cheat notes. He would have been expelled if WWI had not started.

Military Career

In 1914, Billy left the Royal Military College and joined the Mississauga Horse of Toronto (a cavalry unit). He left for England on June 9th, 1915. Later that year, he left the ground unit and joined the air force as an observer due to lack of action in the trenches. The first aircraft he flew was the Avro 504. In 1916, his squadron got sent to France where he flew the RE7 renaissance aircraft. Billy received his first and only injury, which was at his knee. Around a year later, he received his flying wings, which meant he was an official pilot.

In 1917, Billy got sent to France to join another squadron. From then on, he flew the Nieuport 17 plane. When he became a flying ace (achieving 5 air victories), he painted his plane’s propellers blue. He received the nickname “the blue nosed devil.” Billy flew many “lone-wolf” missions, which helped him increase his victory count.

Scary Encounter

One of Billy’s most memorable and scary flights was when he had an encounter with the best German flying ace of WWI, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen. Nicknamed “The Red Baron” and credited with 80 victories, Billy had a tough time battling against him. They turned and flipped in the air trying to get into an angle to be able to fire. Due to their air skill the result of he battle was a draw. Billy described it as, “a lightning fight and I have never been in anything just like it.”

The Red Baron’s Triplane

An article in the March 30, 1919 edition of the Dallas News by W.D. Mathieson read: “The . . . experiences of the morning had put me in good humor for fighting…. I was up in the air again, with my squadron commander, to see if there were any Huns about looking for a bit of trouble…. Presently, to the south of us, we saw five Albatross Scouts. We went after them, but before we had come within firing distance we discovered four red Albatrosses, just to our right. This latter quartet, I believe, was made up of Baron Von Richthofen and three of his best men….

In my turn I opened fire on the Baron, and in another half minute found myself in the midst of what seemed to be a stampede of bloodthirsty animals.

Everywhere I turned smoking bullets were jumping at me; and although I got in two or three good bursts at the Baron’s “red devil,” I was rather bewildered for two or three minutes, as I could not see what was happening to the Major, and was not at all certain as to what was going to happen to me.

Around we went in cyclonic circles for several minutes, here a flash of the Hun machines, then a flash of silver as my squadron commander would whiz by. All the time I would be in the same mix-up myself, every now and then finding a red machine in front of me, and letting in a round or two of quick shots. I was glad the Germans were scarlet and we were silver. There was no need to hesitate about firing when the right color flitted by your nose.

It was a lightning fight, and I have never been in anything just like it. Firing one moment, you would have to concentrate all your mind and muscle on the next in doing a quick turn to avoid a collision….

… I saw up above me four more machines coming down to join in the fight. Being far inside the German lines, I at once decided they were additional Huns, so I “zoomed” up and out of the fight to be free for a moment and have a look around. The moment I did this I saw the approaching machines were triplanes belonging to one of our naval squadrons, and they were coming up for all they were worth to help us against the Albatrosses. The latter, however, had had enough of the fight by now, and at the moment I “zoomed” they dived, and flew away toward the earth.”

VC Action

Just over a month later, Billy received the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for the British. He claimed to have flown to a German aerodrome and shot down three planes just taking off while encountering ground attacks. Several more planes also got destroyed on the ground. For winning the Victoria Cross, the London Gazette wrote an article about Billy’s adventure. Here is a section: “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.”

Billy’s 16 Awards

Back to Canada

Near the end of 1917, Billy went back to Canada and was recognized as a hero. He also helped boost the morale of the Canadians getting tired of the war. He returned to France and added a few more victories but got ordered by the Canadian government to go back to Canada because of the effect on Canadian morale if he was killed. Billy was furious to have to stop and return while the war was still going.

At the end of WWI, Billy Bishop was credited with 72 victories, the most by a British pilot and second most by an Allie during WWI. He also receive 16 awards. Billy Bishop did not end his career here. When the second World War broke out, he helped train many pilots in Canada for the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force). Even during the Korean War, Billy wanted to help recruit pilots but was in poor health so he was politely refused by the RCAF. He died in his sleep on September 11th, 1956.

Historical Signifigance

Billy Bishop helped keeps hopes of winning WWI alive. Many peoples including Canadians were loosing hope of the Allies winning the war. When Billy went back to Canada in late 1917, hope returned to many people. They thought, “if we have such skilled soldiers on our side, how can he loose the war?” Many people in the military looked up to Billy as a hero.

Billy Bishop’s Stamp

Billy Bishop’s life has been made into a play and a movie. Billy Bishop Goes to War was a play that premiered in 1978 in Vancouver. Later it was made into a TV movie. In 1994, a stamp of Billy was made to honour him. Even in Owen Sound a regional airport was named after Billy. Billy Bishop was a true hero in Canadian history and should be remembered forever.

Bibliography

Billy Bishop Heritage Museum writers. Billy Bishop Heritage Museum. http://www.billybishop.org/. 2000.

Unknown Author. William Avery “Billy” Bishop World War I Fighter Ace. http://www.constable.ca/bbishop.htm. Unknown date. Pictures from this website.

Unknown Author. Billy Bishop. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bishop. February 29, 2008 last modified.

Unknown Author. William “Billy” Avery Bishop. http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/ManitobaCrafts/famousnamesquilt/billybishop.html. 2003.

Unknown Author. Article about Billy’s VC. 1917.

W.D. Mathieson. Article about Billy and The Red Baron. 1919