Douglas John Bell
Born(1893-09-16)16 September 1893
Johannesburg, Transvaal
Died27 May 1918(1918-05-27) (aged 24)
near Thiepval, France
Commemorated at
AllegianceUnion of South Africa
United Kingdom
Service/branchUnion Defence Force
British Army
Royal Air Force
Years of service1914–1918
RankCaptain
UnitLight Horse Regiment
No. 27 Squadron RFC
No. 78 Squadron RFC
No. 3 Squadron RFC/RAF
Battles/warsWorld War I
  South-West Africa Campaign
  Western Front  
AwardsMilitary Cross & Bar

Captain Douglas John Bell MC* (16 September 1893 – 27 May 1918) was a South African World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He was one of the first fighter pilots to successfully engage an enemy multi-engine bomber.[1] He became the leading ace of the nine in No. 3 Squadron RAF.[2]

Early service

Bell was born in South Africa, the son of Herbert Bell and of Christine (née Williams) of Johannesburg, Transvaal. He first served in the Transvaal Light Horse Regiment during the South-West Africa Campaign of 1914–1915.[3]

Bell enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 1 June 1916. He received his Aviator's Certificate on 22 September 1916.[1] That same day, as a second lieutenant, he was appointed a flying officer.[4] The following month, he was assigned to No. 27 Squadron, to fly the Martinsyde G.100. Despite the poor performance of a bomber so ungainly that it was nicknamed "The Elephant",[5] Bell managed to score three victories flying the Martinsyde.[6] He drove down an Albatros D.III on 1 May 1917; on 4 June, he shared the destruction of another D.III with another pilot, and drove a third down out of control. The performance made him one of the top two scorers with the Martinsyde.[1] On 15 June, he was awarded the Military Cross for his performance of a long-distance bombing mission.[7]

Bell was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 9 April 1917.[8] He was then reassigned to No. 78 Squadron, which was flying Sopwith 1½ Strutters on Home Defence duty back in England. While with No. 78 he engaged a Gotha bomber on 25 September 1917. After nearly fifteen minutes of machine-gunning the Gotha, it crashed into the North Sea. His claim for this victory went unconfirmed; it would have been Home Defence's first victory.[1]

Sopwith Camel ace

On 13 February 1918, Bell was transferred to No. 3 Squadron in France as a flight commander. He used Sopwith Camel no. C1615 to score ten triumphs in March. Most notable was 23 March, when he became a balloon buster by destroying an enemy observation balloon, then driving down out of control two defending Albatros D.Vs, all within five minutes.[1]

In April, he had switched to Camel C6730 as C1615 had been lost in action on 24 March.[6] He scored six times in April, including another balloon on the 8th, which he shared with another pilot.[1]

He was awarded a Bar in lieu of a second award of the Military Cross on 13 May 1918.[9]

Killed in action

On 27 May 1918, Bell drove down an enemy two-seater with two comrades for his twentieth win. He was killed by machine gun fire from observer Leut. Heinzelmann in a two-seater flown by Gefr. Rosenau.[10] Bell's burial site is unknown.[1][6] Ironically, he was killed near Thiepval, which would later become the site of a Memorial for the Missing who had died in the Battle of the Somme.[11][12][13] As one of the many Allied airmen who died on the Western Front, but have no known grave, he is commemorated at the Arras Flying Services Memorial, Pas de Calais, France.[3]

List of aerial victories

His wartime tally of 20 victories consisted of 1 (and 1 shared) balloons destroyed, 7 ( and 4 shared) aircraft destroyed, and 6 (and 1 shared) 'out of control'.[10]

Combat record[1]
No. Date/Time Aircraft/
Serial No.
Opponent Result Location Notes
No. 27 Squadron RFC
11 May 1917Martinsyde G.100Albatros D.IIIOut of controlNear Épinoy
24 June 1917
1415
Martinsyde G.100
(A6262)
Albatros D.IIIDestroyedWest of Sint-Denijs-WestremShared with Lieutenant D. V. D. Marshall
3Albatros D.IIIOut of controlHausbeke
No. 78 Squadron RFC
u/c25 September 1917Sopwith 1½ StrutterGotha G.VDestroyedSouth of Brentwood, EssexNorth SeaShared with observer/gunner Lieutenant G. G. Williams
No. 3 Squadron RFC
411 March 1918
1730
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
Albatros D.VOut of controlQuéantPronville
513 March 1918
1545
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
Albatros D.VDestroyed in flamesVillers
616 March 1918
0915–0930
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
Albatros D.VDestroyedCambrai
7Type CDestroyed
817 March 1918
1330
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
Albatros D.VDestroyed in flamesCagnicourtShared with 2nd Lieutenant A. A. M. Arnot
922 March 1918
1430
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
Albatros D.VDestroyed in flamesHavrincourt Wood
1023 March 1918
1540–1545
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
BalloonDestroyedQuéant
11Albatros D.VOut of control
12Albatros D.VOut of control
1327 March 1918
abt 0700
Sopwith Camel
(C1615)
LVG CDestroyedFricourtShared with Lieutenants George Riley and W. C. Dennett
No. 3 Squadron RAF
141 April 1918
1815
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
Fokker Dr.IDestroyedCombles
158 April 1918
0655
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
BalloonDestroyedNorth of MoryShared with Captain Cyril Ridley
1611 April 1918
1600
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
Albatros CDestroyed in flamesErvillersShared with Lieutenants Lloyd Hamilton,
Adrian Franklyn, and C. E. Mayer
1712 April 1918
1900–1915
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
Albatros D.VDestroyedAlbert
18Albatros D.VOut of controlPozières
1920 April 1918
1750
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
Fokker Dr.IDestroyedNorth-East of Villers-Bretonneux
2027 May 1918
1240
Sopwith Camel
(C6730)
Type COut of controlShared with Lieutenants Lloyd Hamilton and Will Hubbard

Honours and awards

Military Cross
2nd Lt. Douglas John Bell, R.F.C., Spec. Res.
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of a long distance bomb raid. Owing to his good leadership and skill a large ammunition dump was destroyed. Later, he single-handed carried out a difficult mission and succeeded in reaching his objective under extremely adverse weather conditions."[7]
Bar to Military Cross
2nd Lt. (T./Capt.) Douglas John Bell, M.C., R.F.C., Spec. Res.
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has led his formation with great skill and has destroyed three enemy aeroplanes and driven down two others, one of which was seen to be completely out of control. The high state of efficiency which his flight has attained is due to his splendid example and fearless leadership."[9]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Douglas John Bell". The Aerodrome. 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  2. "No. 3 Squadron". The Aerodrome. 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Casualty Details: Bell, Douglas John". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  4. "No. 29783". The London Gazette. 13 October 1916. p. 9863.
  5. "Martinsyde G.100". The Aerodrome. 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Franks (2003), p. 54.
  7. 1 2 "No. 30135". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1917. p. 5985.
  8. "No. 30051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1917. p. 4313.
  9. 1 2 "No. 30681". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 May 1918. p. 5695.
  10. 1 2 Shores, Franks & Guest (1990), p. 72.
  11. "Ruins of Thiepval". ww1battlefields.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  12. "The Western Front Today – Thiepval Memorial to the Missing". First World War.com. 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  13. Reed, Paul (2014). "The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing: The Missing of the Somme". Old Front Line Battlefields of WW1. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
Bibliography
  • Franks, Norman (2003). Sopwith Camel Aces of World War I. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-534-1.
  • Shores, Christopher F.; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell F. (1990). Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.
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