The author of the book (I have not read it), Billy Bishop VC Lone Wolf Hunter: The RAF Ace Re-Examined…believes he can account for 21 kills from the remaining german loss records, and if I recall reading in someones review of same book, around 36 or so tentatively.
Why the VC was awarded I cannot say (the VC standard is 3 eyewitnesses), but nevertheless it was recommended and awarded in spite of the base standards. But that doesn’t mean the aerodrome combat didn’t happen. To me, there is just as much circumstantial evidence for as against.
I have read a lot of Christopher Shores Mediterannean Air War series. And it has daily breakdown of claims vs losses. What I have noticed is that, on average, it seems like actual losses average about 40-50% of kills (regardless of side). Can every one of BB’s kills be accounted for or be accurate? Of course not. But neither will any other pilot’s kill record stand up to close scrutiny IMO. And in all fairness to BB , the Commonwealth had the weakest standards of kill accreditation, so it is not correct to point the finger at just BB.
Abstracted from Wikipedia:
-Up until May, 1918 “out of control”, “driven down” and “forced to land” actions were counted as victories.
-Unlike other air forces of the time, British authorities did not necessarily require independent ground verification of a victory to award credit
-In cases where more than one pilot (or observer) was involved in a British victory, practice was especially inconsistent. Since after all only one enemy aircraft had been destroyed, the victory at unit level (to the squadron or wing for instance) was counted as one. On the other hand, in some cases all pilots concerned might receive a full credit to his personal score, as victories at this time were not divided fractionally, in the way that became common practice later
edit: The 36 notation above is incorrect, the new book says there are 36 claims for which relevant German documentation just simply does not exist, so 36 cannot be corraborated nor denied.
Sign In
