Arthur Rhys-Davids, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Arthur Rhys-Davids

British flying ace

Date of Birth: 26-Sep-1897

Place of Birth: Forest Hill, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 27-Oct-1917

Profession: military personnel

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Arthur Rhys-Davids

  • Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was a British flying ace during the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family.
  • His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolific author, which afforded the young Rhys-Davids thorough schooling.
  • He showed considerable potential in all subjects and was an excellent student.
  • At the age of 14 Rhys-Davids joined Eton College as a King's Scholar.
  • He gained his School Certificate in July 1913 with higher marks than any other student.
  • In 1914 war had broken out and in mid-1916 Rhys-Davids applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps.
  • On 28 August 1916 he reported for training.
  • Rhys-Davids completed his training in the spring of 1917 and was assigned to No.
  • 56 Squadron RFC on 7 March 1917. Rhys-Davids gained his first victory on 23 May 1917 and began a steady run of success.
  • Only two days later he gained his fifth air victory and became an ace.
  • It was during the Third Battle of Ypres (July–November 1917) that Rhys-Davids scored the majority of his successes, gaining 22 more victories by the time of his death.
  • On 23 September Rhys-Davids shot down the German ace Werner Voss (48 victories), who was killed; and possibly also Carl Menckhoff (39 victories).
  • By 11 October 1917, Rhys-Davids had shot down five more enemy aircraft for an official total of 27 aerial victories – 23 of them individual kills.Rhys-Davids had earned a reputation as a "fighter", and pursued enemy aircraft wherever and whenever he spotted them.
  • On 27 October 1917 he pursued a group of German aircraft over Roeselare, Belgium.
  • He was never seen or heard from again.
  • Post-war analysis suggests Rhys-Davids may have been shot down by German ace Karl Gallwitz.
  • Despite disappearing less than five miles from the crash site of Werner Voss, shot down by Rhys-Davids one month earlier, his remains have never been found.

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