Name: Thomas Sydney Sharpe Country: England Rank: Captain Service: Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force Squadrons: 24, 73 Victories: 6 Born: 24 February 1889 Place of Birth: Gloucester Died: Place of Death: Notes On 27 March 1918, Sharpe was wounded and captured when his Sopwith Camel was shot down by Manfred von Richthofen in a Fokker DR.I. While in captivity, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, becoming one of the first British pilots to receive this medal. He recovered from his wounds and was repatriated in December 1918. Although he reported he had been shot down by ground fire, Sharpe was the Red Baron's 71st victim. Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) "A gallant officer who has always led his patrol with marked skill and judgement. On one occasion he chased down an Albatros scout and caused it to crash. He afterwards attacked five enemy machines destroying two. On the following day, encountering four Albatros scouts, he engaged one, which crashed. Proceeding on his patrol, he met a formation of enemy scouts; he chased one and destroyed it." DFC citation, London Gazette, 21 September 1918 Manfred von Richthofen's Combat Report "With five machines of Jasta 11, I attacked at low height an English one-seater plane and brought him down from a very close range, with 150 bullets. The plane fell into the flooded part of the Ancre." Manfred von Richthofen Aces ╖ Aircraft ╖ Books ╖ Chat ╖ Forum ╖ Guests ╖ Links ╖ Medals ╖ News ╖ Search ╖ Vote Copyright ⌐ 1997,1998 The Aerodrome Page revised on 18 Nov 1997