14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917
Portrait of Captain Albert Ball V.C. Oil on canvas Artist Noel Denholm (1876-1950) (Nottingham City Museums and Galleries NCM_1990-624)
25 April – 6 May, 1917, over France
On the ground, fighting on the Western Front had been static since late 1914, with set piece battles by each side achieving gains measured in yards against casualties counted in the tens of thousands. In 1914, air power was virtually non-existent – aircraft barely able to support the weight of their pilots.
As the aircraft slowly evolved, so did their military use. First use was for reconnaissance – ‘what is over the next hill?’ – by the pilot taking paper notes. And artillery spotting, dropping target corrections to the artillery. Then they began to evolve. Reconnaissance aircraft with cameras.
But you don’t want to let the enemy see what you are doing. So scout aircraft (now called fighters) to prevent them. And ground attack, with the development of role-specific design: scouts, reconnaissance and ground-support, then finally bombers. By 1917, air power was a tangible part of the fighting forces on both sides.
Albert Ball’s medals (Nottingham City Museums & Galleries NCM 1954-77/1=8)
Albert Ball was awarded his RFC ‘wings’ brevet on 22 January 1916 and rapidly developed into a very dedicated and proficient fighter pilot, and perhaps amongst the best known and publicly admired. For a full description of his career and successes, see Bowyer’s ‘For Valour, the Air VCs’, a copy of which may be seen in the Reading Room of the RAF Museum, Hendon.
On 25 February 1917, Ball was appointed to 56 Squadron at London Colney as commander of A flight, then re-equipping with Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5a scouts, and on 7 April, the squadron moved to its war station, Vert Galand airfield, near Amiens.
At 6 pm on the evening of 7 May, 1917, Ball flew his personal SE 5a, serial A4850, on a ‘fighting patrol’ hunting for German aircraft. He encountered Jadgstaffel [fighter squadron] 11, commanded by the famous ace Baron Rittmeister Manfred von Richtofen but that day led by his younger brother, Lothar. The exact events that evening remain uncertain.
Ball’s personal SE 5a, in which he won his VC and died. (RAFM P012329)
Lothar crashed with a defective engine and three German infantry officers saw Ball’s aircraft emerge from low cloud, inverted and emitting a thin plume of smoke. Ball was killed in the crash but examination of the aircraft showed no combat damage and Ball’s only injuries were from the impact.
The London Gazette Friday 8 June 1917
‘Lt. (temp. Capt.) Albert Ball, D.S.O., M.C., late Notts, and Derby. R., and R.F.C. For most conspicuous and consistent bravery from the 25th of April to the 6th of May, 1917, during which period Capt. Ball took part in twenty-six combats in the air and destroyed eleven hostile aeroplanes, drove down two out of control, and forced several others to land.
In these combats Capt. Ball, flying alone, on one occasion fought six hostile machines, twice he fought five and once four. When leading two other British aeroplanes he attacked an enemy formation of eight. On each of these occasions he brought down at least one enemy.
Ball with squadron colleagues 17 April 1917: he died just 20 days later.
(RAFM X004-7598)
Several times his aeroplane was badly damaged, once so seriously that but for the most delicate handling his machine would have collapsed, as nearly all the control wires had been shot away. On returning with a damaged machine he had always to be restrained from immediately going out on another.
In all, Capt. Ball has destroyed forty-three German aeroplanes and one balloon, and has always displayed most exceptional courage, determination and skill.’
Memorial and grave (© The War Graves Photographic Project www.twgpp.org)
He is buried in Annoeullin Communal Cemetery And German Extension, the only British casualty there.
His VC is held by City Museum and Art Gallery, Nottingham
Credits:
- Citation: The London Gazette Friday 8 June 1917
- Additional biographical details: For Valour: The Air VCs Chaz Bowyer, Grub Street Publishing.
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