Edward Mannock

Name:	Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock
Country:	England
Rank:	Major
Service:	Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force
Squadrons:	40, 74, 85
Victories:	61
Born:	24 May 1887
Place of Birth:	Aldershot
Died:	26 July 1918
Place of Death:	Near Lestrem

Notes

By the time Mannock was twelve years old, his Scots father had abandoned his English wife and children, leaving them destitute. Mannock dropped out of school to take various jobs in order to help with the family finances.When the war began, he was interned in Turkey while working as an inspector for a British telephone company. After an unsuccessful escape attempt, he became deathly ill and was repatriated by the Turks in 1915. When he recovered, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps before transferring to the Royal Engineers. Despite a congenital defect that left him virtually blind in his left eye, Mannock was accepted by the Royal Flying Corps in 1917, training under the scrutiny of James McCudden. In April, he was assigned to 40 Squadron where he got off to a slow start with his peers and his Nieuport scout. To the other flying officers, he seemed aloof and perhaps overly cautious in the air. It was not until a month later that he scored his first victory by flaming an enemy balloon. Eventually, Mannock earned the respect and friendship of men like Keith Caldwell. In February 1918, he was reassigned to 74 Squadron as a flight commander, scoring thirty six victories with an S.E.5a before replacing William Bishop as the commanding officer of 85 Squadron on 3 July 1918. Mannock never achieved the public notoriety of Albert Ball, but he was revered by his men and proved to be one of the greatest flight leaders of the war. Often physically ill before going on patrol, Mannock routinely shared victories with other pilots or didn't bother submitting claims for enemy aircraft he'd downed in combat. After selflessly sharing his 61st victory with Donald Inglis, a newcomer from New Zealand who had yet to score, Mannock was killed when his aircraft was shot down in flames by machine gun fire from the ground. Inglis was also brought down by ground fire but survived.

	On 12 August 1917, Mannock shot down and captured Joachim von Bertrab of Jasta 30.
	Mannock was credited with 46 victories while flying the S.E.5a.
	On 18 July 1919, it was announced that Mannock had won the Victoria Cross.

Quotes

"If I have any luck, I think I may beat old Mac's [James McCudden] fifty seven victories. Then I shall try and oust old Richthofen . . ." Edward Mannock

"I sent one of them down to hell in flames today . . . I wish Kaiser Bill could have seen him sizzle." Edward Mannock

"I'll put a bullet through my head if the machine catches fire . . . they'll never burn me." Edward Mannock

"The scrap took place at 2000 feet up, well within view of the whole front. And the cheers! It took me five minutes to get him to go down, and I had to shoot him before he would land. I was very pleased that I did not kill him. Right arm broken by a bullet, left arm and left leg deep flesh wounds." Edward Mannock, describing his encounter with Joachim von Bertrab

Books

King of the Air Fighters: The biography of Major "Mick" Mannock; Ira Jones / Paperback / Presidio Pr 1989
Mick: The Story of Major Edward Mannock, VC, DSO, MC Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force; James M. Dudgeon / Unknown Binding / Hale


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