Edward Mannock

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Edward Mannock
1887-1918
Image:VCEdwardMannock.jpg
Edward Mannock, VC
Nickname "Mick"
Place of birth Ballincollig, Co. Cork, Ireland
Place of death Lillers
Allegiance UK
Years of service 1917-1918
Rank Major
Unit 40,74,85
Awards VC, DSO + 2 bars, MC and bar

Major Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock, VC, DSO and Two Bars, MC and Bar (24 May 1887–26 July 1918) was a British First World War flying ace and posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross. Mannock was a ruthless pilot who is regarded as one of the finest patrol leaders and mentors of novice pilots of the war, though he is not as well known as others like Manfred von Richthofen or Albert Ball.

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[edit] Mannock the tactician

On 22nd July 1917, Mannock was promoted to captain. As flight commander he was able to introduce a new approach to combat flying. Mannock believed that the "days of the lone fighter was past and air fighting was now a matter for co-ordinated and planned fighting units which could inflict maximum damage and minimum losses."

[edit] Mannock's score

Mannock is accepted as the leading British ace during the First World War and is often claimed to be the "ace of aces" of the British Empire, scoring 73 victories, seven behind the leading pilot of the war, the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen and one ahead of Canadian ace Billy Bishop. However, Mannock's position as the leading British Empire ace is disputed and various tallies are associated with him. Mannock is officially credited with only 47, though he personally claimed 51 kills and his VC citation states he had 50. He scored 24 kills in May 1918 alone; however, he frequently did not claim a share in kills to which he had contributed — official policy treated a shared victory as a kill for each pilot involved.

The originator of Mannock's tally of 73 is believed to be fellow ace and author Captain Ira "Taffy" Jones, who had served under Mannock in No. 74 Squadron RFC and supposedly harboured a dislike for Bishop. Like most World War I Allied fighter pilots, Mannock was virtually unknown to the post-war public, and Jones sought to publicise his dead friend's reputation. In 1935, he published a biography, King of the Air Fighters: The Biography of Major "Mick" Mannock, V.C., D.S.O., M.C.. The score of 73 was promoted after the war by Jones and gained wide acceptance. The 1981 biography " Mick" also reinforces the 73 tally, although more recent analysis of combat records arrived at the figure of 61 when unclaimed shared victories were included and mis-dated claims excluded (see Above the Trenches, C. Shores, 1990).

Mannock himself did not appear particularly motivated to accumulate a score, though he is known to have said,

"If I have any luck, I think I may beat old Mac's (James McCudden) 57 victories. Then I shall try and oust old Richthofen..."

Whatever his score, Mannock is still considered one of the best pilots of the war.

[edit] Youth

Edward Mannock was born in Ballincollig, County Cork, Ireland on May 24, 1887 (hence the nickname "Mick"). Some sources dispute this, claiming he was born in Aldershot, England, but an informed email correspondent noted that Mannock's birth certificate clearly referred to his Irish birth. He was the son of a Scots professional soldier and an English mother. His father, a hard-drinking, brutal man, abandoned his family when Mick was twelve. In 1897, Mannock developed amoebic infestation which rendered him temporarily blind. Legend has it that it left him with permanently impaired vision; however accounts written by former comrades discount any such impairment. By age 20, Mannock had joined the Labour Party and burned with a sense of social injustice.[citation needed]

The outbreak of the war caught him working as a telephone engineer in Turkey. The Turks interned him and he rapidly declined in prison. Near death, he was repatriated and, in 1915, joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. By 1916, he had become an officer and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps.

[edit] Career

He was made a flying officer in February, 1917, with the Joyce Green Reserve Squadron. During his first solo in an Airco DH.2 pusher biplane, he got into a spin at 1,000 feet, and recovered, but got in trouble with his CO, Major Keith Caldwell, who suspected Mick of showboating. But he soon got on well with the Major, before transferring to the RFC's Nieuport-equipped 40 Squadron. Caldwell described Mick as "very reserved, inclined towards a strong temper, but very patient and somewhat difficult to arouse." At number 40 Squadron, the reserved Mannock didn't fit in with the well-heeled upper-middle class ex-public schoolboys that made up the majority of his comrades. On his first night, he inadvertently sat down in an empty chair, a chair which a newly fallen flier had occupied until that day. At first, Mick held back in the air, too, to the extent that some pilots thought he was cowardly. He admitted that he was very frightened. Finally, on May 7, he shot down an observation balloon and thought this would gain him the acceptance of the squadron.

He kept flying and conquered his fear. He worked tirelessly at gunnery practice and forced himself to get close to the German airplanes. After one kill, he coldly described it. "I was only ten yards away from him - on top so I couldn't miss. A beautifully coloured insect he was -red, blue, green, and yellow. I let him have 60 rounds, so there wasn't much left of him." He kept downing Germans; by July he had earned the Military Cross. He was grimly determined to bring down the German Empire. His determination, flying skill, and sense of teamwork earned him a promotion to Captain. At the end of the year, the squadron re-equipped with the S.E.5a.

In March, 1918, with 23 kills to his credit, Mannock was appointed flight commander of the new No. 74 Squadron. He continued as always, shooting down Germans, but never hogging credit, letting newer pilots get credit for kills. In three months he claimed 36 more, bringing his total to 59. He was an excellent CO; he took a very protective attitude toward his fliers and lectured them on survival and success. "Sight your own guns," he told them, "The armourer doesn't have to do the fighting."

He became obsessively fearful of one thing - a flaming death. It was a horror he had seen and inflicted often enough. He took to carrying a loaded pistol with him. "They'll never burn me," he resolved.

His hatred of the Germans grew; "I sent one of them to Hell in flames today ... I wish Kaiser Bill could have seen him sizzle." Once he forced a German two-seater to crash. Most pilots would have been satisfied with that, but not Mick. He repeatedly machine-gunned the helpless crew. When his squadron mate questioned this behavior, Mannock explained "The swines are better dead - no prisoners." Another time he pursued a silver Pfalz scout; the two planes rolled, dived, looped and firing. Eventually Mick got the better of his oppponent and the German started twisting and turning as it fell toward a certain crash. Mick stayed on it, firing away, "a really remarkable exhibition of cruel, calculated Hun-strafing" another pilot called it. On this day, Mannock shot down four planes. He delightedly announced to the mess hall, "Flamerinoes - four! Sizzle sizzle wonk!" Van Ira, a South African flier in 74 commented on Mannock's success:

"Four in one day! What is the secret? Undoubtedly the gift of accurate shooting, combined with the determination to get to close quarters before firing. It's an amazing gift, for no pilot in France goes nearer to a Hun before firing than [Mannock], but he only gets one down here and there, in spite of the fact that his tracer bullets appear to be going through his opponent's body." Mannock was awarded the D.S.O. not long after his four-in-a-day feat.

Edward Mannock

[edit] Dealing with war

Mannock was deeply affected by the number of men he was killing. In his diary he recorded visiting the site where one of his victims had crashed near the front-line: "The journey to the trenches was rather nauseating - dead men's legs sticking through the sides with puttees and boots still on - bits of bones and skulls with the hair peeling off, and tons of equipment and clothing lying about. This sort of thing, together with the strong graveyard stench and the dead and mangled body of the pilot combined to upset me for a few days."

Mannock was especially upset when he saw one of his victims catch fire on its way to the ground. His fear of 'flamerinoes' meant that from that date on, Mick Mannock always carried a revolver with him in his cockpit. As he told his friend Lieutenant MacLanachan: "The other fellows all laugh at me for carrying a revolver. They think I'm going to shoot down a machine with it, but they're wrong. The reason I bought it was to finish myself as soon as I see the first signs of flames."

[edit] Mid 1918

By this time, the strain of combat flying and the fear of his own fiery death got to Mannock. But he kept flying, repeatedly scoring multiple kills. He fell sick with influenza, aggravated by tension. By June 1918 he had made 59 kills, and had also earned a home leave. When he left 74 Squadron, he wept publicly. On starting his third tour of duty in July, as CO of 85 Squadron, he confided his mortal fears to a friend, worried that three was an unlucky number. He became obsessed with neatness and order; his hair, his medals, his boots, everything had to be 'just so.'

But he kept going and he kept destroying enemy airplanes. When he shot down an aircraft on July 22, a friend congratulated him. "They'll have the red carpet out for you after the war, Mick." But Mannock glumly replied, "There won't be any 'after the war' for me."

On July 26, on a patrol with New Zealander Lt. Donald Inglis, the duo shot down a German two-seater plane. Inglis described what happened :

"Falling in behind Mick again we made a couple of circles around the burning wreck and then made for home. I saw Mick start to kick his rudder, then I saw a flame come out of his machine; it grew bigger and bigger. Mick was no longer kicking his rudder. His nose dropped slightly and he went into a slow right-hand turn, and hit the ground in a burst of flame. I circled at about twenty feet but could not see him, and as things were getting hot, made for home and managed to reach our outposts with a punctured fuel tank. Poor Mick ...the bloody bastards had shot my Major down in flames. "

The exact cause of Mannock's death remains uncertain. His body was never recovered, presumably burned to ashes in the blazing aircraft. Inglis believed that he probably shot himself as he had often said he would never go down burning. A year later, after intensive lobbying by Ira Jones and many of Mannock's former comrades, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, for his sixty-one kills, his "fearless courage, remarkable skill, devotion to duty, and self-sacrifice."

"This highly distinguished officer, during the whole of his career in the RAF, was an outstanding example of fearless courage, remarkable skill, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice which has never been surpassed."

Mannock is commemorated on the Royal Flying Corps Memorial to the Missing at the Faubourg d'Amiens CWGC Cemetery in Arras. There is also a memorial plaque in honour of Mannock in Canterbury Cathedral.

Mick Mannock's name is listed on the Wellingborough War Memorial with the other fallen men from the town and the local Air Training Corps unit bears his name - 378 (Mannock) Squadron.

[edit] Military Cross (MC)

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. In the course of many combats he has driven off a large number of enemy machines, and has forced down three balloons, showing a very fine offensive spirit and great fearlessness in attacking the enemy at close range and low altitudes under heavy fire from the ground." MC citation, Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 September 1917

[edit] Distinguished Service Order (DSO)

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during recent operations. In seven days, while leading patrols and in general engagements, he destroyed seven enemy machines, bringing his total in all to thirty. His leadership, dash and courage were of the highest order." DSO citation, Supplement to the London Gazette, 16 September 1918

[edit] Distinguished Service Order (DSO) First Bar

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. In company with one other scout this officer attacked eight enemy aeroplanes, shooting down one in flames. The next day, when leading his flight, he engaged eight enemy aeroplanes, destroying three himself. The same week he led his patrol against six enemy aeroplanes, shooting down the rear machine, which broke in pieces in the air. The following day he shot down an Albatross two-seater in flames, but later, meeting five scouts, had great difficulty in getting back, his machine being much shot about, but he destroyed one. Two days later, he shot down another two-seater in flames. Eight machines in five days—a fine feat of marksmanship and determination to get to close quarters. As a patrol leader he is unequalled." DSO Bar citation, Supplement to the London Gazette, 16 September 1918

[edit] Distinguished Service Order (DSO) Second Bar

"This officer has now accounted for 48 enemy machines. His success is due to wonderful shooting and a determination to get to close quarters; to attain this he displays most skilful leadership and unfailing courage. These characteristics were markedly shown on a recent occasion when he attacked six hostile scouts, three of which he brought down. Later on the same day he attacked a two-seater, which crashed into a tree." DSO Second Bar citation, Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 August 1918

[edit] Victoria Cross (VC)

"On the 17th June, 1918, he attacked a Halberstadt machine near Armentières and destroyed it from a height of 8,000 feet. On the 7th July, 1918, near Doulieu, he attacked and destroyed one Fokker (red-bodied) machine, which went vertically into the ground from a height of 1,500 feet. Shortly afterwards he ascended 1,000 feet and attacked another Fokker biplane, firing 60 rounds into it, which produced an immediate spin, resulting, it is believed, in a crash. On the 14th July, 1918, near Merville, he attacked and crashed a Fokker from 7,000 feet, and brought a two-seater down damaged. On the 19th July, 1918, near Merville, he fired 80 rounds into an Albatross two-seater, which went to the ground in flames. On the 20th July, 1918, East of La Bassée, he attacked and crashed an enemy two-seater from a height of 10,000 feet. About an hour afterwards he attacked at 8,000 feet a Fokker biplane near Steenwercke and drove it down out of control, emitting smoke. On the 22nd July, 1918, near Armentières, he destroyed an enemy triplane from a height of 10,000 feet. Major Mannock was awarded the undermentioned distinctions for his previous combats in the air in France and Flanders: Military Cross, gazetted 17th Sept., 1917; Bar to Military Cross, gazetted 18th Oct., 1917; Distinguished Service Order, gazetted 16th Sept., 1918; Bar to Distinguished Service Order (1st), gazetted 16th Sept., 1918; Bar to Distinguished Service Order (2nd), gazetted 3rd Aug., 1918. This highly distinguished officer during the whole of his career in the Royal Air Force, was an outstanding example of fearless courage, remarkable skill, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice, which has never been surpassed. The total number of machines definitely accounted for by Major Mannock up to the date of his death in France (26th July, 1918) is 50 - the total specified in the Gazette of 3rd Aug., 1918, was incorrectly given as 48 instead of 41." VC citation, London Gazette, 18 July 1919

After his death, Mick Mannock was awarded the Victoria Cross for: "an outstanding example of fearless courage, remarkable skill, devotion to duty and self-sacrifice which has never been surpassed". Mannock's Victoria Cross was presented to his father at Buckingham Palace in July 1919. Edward Mannock was also given his son's other medals, even though Mick had stipulated in his will that his father should receive nothing from his estate. Soon afterwards Mannock's medals were sold for £5. They have since been recovered and can be seen at the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon.

[edit] Mannock's rules

Mannock was highly regarded as a tactician, patrol leader and combat pilot and his oft-quoted cardinal rule was "Always above, seldom on the same level, never underneath," by which he meant never engage the enemy without holding the advantage and the greatest advantage in air fighting was height. According to Mannock, tactics should be adjusted according to the situation however, the main principle remained:

"The enemy must be surprised and attacked at a disadvantage, if possible with superior numbers so the initiative was with the patrol. ... The combat must continue until the enemy has admitted his inferiority, by being shot down or running away."

Mannock formulated a set of practical rules for air fighting on the Western Front that, like Oswald Boelcke's Dicta, were passed on to new pilots.

  1. Pilots must dive to attack with zest, and must hold their fire until they get within one hundred yards of their target.
  2. Achieve surprise by approaching from the East. (From the German side of the front.)
  3. Utilise the sun's glare and clouds to achieve surprise.
  4. Pilots must keep physically fit by exercise and the moderate use of stimulants.
  5. Pilots must sight their guns and practise as much as possible as targets are normally fleeting.
  6. Pilots must practise spotting machines in the air and recognising them at long range, and every aeroplane is to be treated as an enemy until it is certain it is not.
  7. Pilots must learn where the enemy's blind spots are.
  8. Scouts must be attacked from above and two-seaters from beneath their tails.
  9. Pilots must practise quick turns, as this manoeuvre is more used than any other in a fight.
  10. Formation flying at 25 yards must be practised.
  11. Pilot must practise judging distances in the air as these are very deceptive.
  12. Decoys must be guarded against — a single enemy is often a decoy — therefore the air above should be searched before attacking.
  13. If the day is sunny, machines should be turned with as little bank as possible, otherwise the sun glistening on the wings will give away their presence at a long range.
  14. Pilots must keep turning in a dog fight and never fly straight except when firing.
  15. Pilots must never, under any circumstances, dive away from an enemy, as he gives his opponent a non-deflection shot — bullets are faster than aeroplanes.
  16. Pilots must keep their eye on their watches during patrols, and on the direction and strength of the wind.

[edit] Quotes about Mannock

(1) Jim Eyles first met Mick Mannock when he was twenty-four.

I first met Mick at a cricket match in Wellingborough. I was impressed with him immediately. He was a clean-cut young man, although not what one would call well dressed; in fact, he was a bit threadbare. I asked him if he would like to move in with my wife and myself, and he was most happy about the idea. After he moved in, our home was never the same again, our normally quiet life gone forever. It was wonderful really. He would talk into the early hours of the morning if you let him - all sorts of subjects: politics, society, you name it and he was interested. It was clear from the outset he was a socialist. He was also deeply patriotic. A kinder, more thoughtful man you could never meet.

(2) Captain Chapman was one of Mick Mannock's teachers at the School of Military Aeronautics. He later described Mick Mannock's early training.

When he arrived he seemed not to have the slightest conception of an aeroplane. The first time we took off the ground, Mannock, unlike many pupils, instead of jamming the rudder and seizing the joystick in a herculean grip, looked over the side of the aeroplane at the earth, which was dropping rapidly away from him, with an expression which betrayed the mildest interest. He made his first solo flight with but a few hours' instruction, for he seemed to master the rudiments of flying with his first hour in the air and from then on threw the machine about how he pleased.

(3) Keith Caldwell was Major Mick Mannock's squadron leader during the First World War. In an interview he gave in 1981, Caldwell explained why Mannock was such a successful pilot.

Mannock was an extraordinarily good shot and a very good strategist, he could place his flight team high against the sun and lead them into a favourable position where they would have the maximum advantage. Then he would go quickly on the enemy, slowing down at the last possible moment to ensure that each of his followers got into a good firing position.

(4) H. G. Clements wrote an account of Major Mick Mannock in 1981.

The fact that I am still alive is due to Mick's high standard of leadership and the strict discipline on which he insisted. We were all expected to follow and cover him as far as possible during an engagement and then to rejoin the formation as soon as that engagement was over. None of Mick's pilots would have dreamed of chasing off alone after the retreating enemy or any other such foolhardy act. He moulded us into a team, and because of his skilled leadership we became a highly efficient team. Our squadron leader said that Mannock was the most skillful patrol leader in World War I, which would account for the relatively few casualties in his flight team compared with the high number of enemy aircraft destroyed.

(5) Lieutenant MacLanachan met Mick Mannock in May 1917. After the war MacLanachan wrote about his experiences in his book Fighter Pilot.

Mick was twenty-eight or twenty-nine when I met him for the first time. He had then been two months in France. Everything about him demonstrated his vitality, a strong, manly man. His alert brain was quick, and an unbroken courage and straightforward character forced him to take action where others would sit down uncomprehending. I was awed by his personality.

(6) Jim Eyles later recalled Mick Mannock's last leave before his death.

I well remember his last leave. Gone was the old sparkle we knew so well; gone was the incessant wit. I could see him wringing his hands together to conceal the shaking and twitching, and then he would leave the room when it became impossible for him to control it. On one occasion we were sitting in the front talking quietly when his eyes fell to the floor, and he started to tremble violently. He cried uncontrollably. His face, when he lifted it, was a terrible sight. Later he told me that it had just been a 'bit of nerves' and that he felt better for a good cry. He was in no condition to return to France, but in those days such things were not taken into account.

(7) An extract from Mick Mannock's last letter to Jim Eyles.

I feel that life is not worth hanging on to. I had hopes of getting married, but not now.

(8) Lieutenant Donald Inglis was with Mick Mannock when he was shot down.

Mick fired at a two-seater. He must have got the observer, as the Hun stopped shooting. I fired and hit the Hun's petrol-tank. Falling in behind Mick again, we did a couple of turns over the burning wreck and then made for home. We were fairly low, then I saw a flame come out of the side of his machine; it grew bigger and bigger. He went into a slow right-hand turn, about twice, and hit the ground in a burst of flame.

(9) Private Naulls was in the front trenches when he saw Mannock's aircraft brought down.

There was a lot of rifle-fire from the Jerry trenches, and a machine-gun near Robecq opened up, using tracers. I saw these strike Mannock's engine. A blueish-white flame appeared and spread rapidly; smoke and flames enveloped the engine and cockpit.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Aviation in World War I

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