William George Barker

William George Barker

William George Barker VC , DSO & clasp , MC & two clips (* 3. November 1894 in Dauphin , Province of Manitoba , Canada; † 12. March 1930 in Ottawa , Canada) was a Canadian fighter pilot in the First World War . He ranks twelfth on the list of the most successful fighter pilots of all nations in the First World War . Due to his numerous successes in aerial combat, he was awarded high military awards. He became the most decorated Canadian military person of all time and, according to some sources, the most decorated of the British Empire . At the end of the war, he won the highest military awards in several countries, such as the British Victoria Cross , the French Croix de guerre and two Italian silver medals for bravery (Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare).

Life

Barker grew up in Manitoba as the son of a farming family. As a young man he distinguished himself as an excellent marksman on the hunt.

First deployment to the front in France

When the First World War broke out, Barker enlisted in the military and on September 22nd, 1915, he was a machine gunner for the first frontline deployment in France. From March 1916 he was used as an observer on reconnaissance flights on the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 , where he had to operate one of the machine guns on board. In July and August 1916 he was able to shoot down an enemy machine with his on-board weapon. Also in August, during the Battle of the Somme , he was able to report the deployment of German troops so early that an attack was prevented. For this he was awarded his first Military Cross .

In January 1917, Barker's training as a pilot began in England. On February 24, 1917 he was back at the front in France and now flew a Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 and later a Royal Aircraft Factory RE8 as a reconnaissance pilot. In July 1917, Barker was awarded his second Military Cross for his achievements as a reconnaissance aircraft . Wounded in August 1917, he did not return to the French front until October 8, 1917, now as a fighter pilot on a Sopwith Camel . In October 1917, he shot down German planes of Fighter Squadrons 2 and 18 on this machine for the first time.

Front deployment in Italy

In November 1917, the squadron in which Barker served was relocated to Italy with their aircraft. As early as November 29, 1917, Barker reported that a German machine had been shot down on the Italian front. Barker served in Italy until September 1918, during which time he scored 33 enemy fliers and nine enemy tethered balloons.

Ernest Hemingway's attack on a German airfield in northern Italy on December 25, 1917, was processed in his short story Snow on Kilimanjaro .

When Barker was given command of an aviator squadron in which the Bristol F.2 fighter was flown, he refused to switch to that aircraft and continued to fly his Sopwith Camel , serial number B6313. This aircraft became the most successful single machine in the Royal Air Force . From September 1917 to September 1918, 46 enemy machines and tethered balloons were shot down with it in just over 400 hours of flight.

In January 1918, Barker was awarded the British Distinguished Service Order , in March 1918 he received his third Military Cross . In May 1918 it was the French Croix de guerre awarded in August 1918, the Italian medal for bravery in silver and in the same month his second Distinguished Service Order .

Second front-line deployment in France

Barker before a mission

In September 1918, Barker was transferred to Great Britain, where he should work as a flight instructor. However, he persuaded his superiors to send him back to France to work at the front, at least for a short time. There he was now flying a Sopwith Snipe .

During a mission on October 27, 1918, he was attacked by 15 Fokker D.VIIs of Jagdstaffeln 24 and 44. Although he claimed to have shot down three enemy machines, he was seriously wounded by several hits. He managed to land his machine close to his own troops who saved his life. Barker remained in the hospital until January 1919. It was not until March 1919 that it was made to the point that it could attend a ceremony in Buckingham Palace at which the British King presented him with the Victoria Cross .

post war period

In May 1919, Barker returned to Canada and tried his hand at the aircraft industry for three years. From 1922 he flew with the rank of wing commander for the Canadian Air Force , of which he was commander in chief for two months in 1924. He is credited with introducing the parachute to the Canadian Air Force .

In August 1926 he returned to the aircraft industry. Barker had a fatal accident when a Kreider-Reisner Challenger he had flown himself crashed near Ottawa during a flight demonstration for the Canadian Air Force. He was dead instantly when his machine hit the frozen Ottawa River .

Appreciation

Barker was by no means considered an excellent pilot. He made up for his lack of flying talent with aggressiveness and brilliant use of his on-board weapons, which he paid great attention to.

He was awarded a total of 50 kills of enemy machines or balloons.

Notes and additions

1. ↑ for example the inscription on a plaque of honor outside the mausoleum in Toronto, which houses his grave. Retrieved October 23, 2013 . 
2. ↑ Hemingway mentions Barker by name and calls him a "bloodhound" .
3. ↑ As far as is known, the machine has not been preserved. It was scrapped in October 1918.
4. ↑ awarded on November 30, 1918.

literature

• George A. Drew: Canada's Fighting Airmen . MacLean Publishing, Toronto 1930.
• Charles Enman: Billy Barker: The Deadliest Air Fighter that ever Lived In: Ottawa Citizen. November 12, 2005, p. E6.
• Peter Pigott: Taming the Skies: A Celebration of Canadian Flight . Dundern Press, Toronto 2003, ISBN 1-55002-469-8 .
• Wayne Ralph: Barker VC: The Classic Story of a Legendary First World War Hero . Grub Street, London 1999, ISBN 1-902304-31-4 .
• Wayne Ralph: William Barker VC: The Life, Death & Legend of Canada's Most Decorated War Hero . John Wiley & Sons Canada, Mississauga, Ontario 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-83967-6 .
• Christopher Shores, Norman Franks, Russell Guest: Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915-20 . Grub Street, London 1991, ISBN 0-948817-19-4 .

Web links

Commons : William George Barker  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files