William C. Lambert

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William C. Lambert

William C. (Bill) Lambert (August 18, 1894 – March 19, 1982) was an American fighter pilot who flew in World War I. He was probably the second-ranking American ace of World War I. He claimed 18 air-to-air victories, 8 fewer than "Ace of Aces" Eddie Rickenbacker and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He was born William Carpenter Lambert in Ironton, Ohio. On August 4, 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Canada, as part of the British Empire, also went to war. American pilots who wanted to join the fight prior to America's entry into the war in April 1917 enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps.

While working in Canada in 1915 he decided to join the Royal Flying Corps and completed his training in Toronto in October 1917. He joined No. 24 Squadron RFC in March 1918 and, between April and August, scored 18 victories (9 destroyed including 2 shared and 5 and 1 shared "out of control"). Suffering from combat fatigue, he was rotated back to England for medical leave but the war ended before he recovered.

After the war, Lambert joined the U. S. Air Service and served with the Army Air Forces in World War II. He retired in 1954 as a lieutenant colonel in the U. S. Air Force.

Lambert's wartime experiences were related in his 1973 memoir, Combat Report.

One of his prized memorabila was a piece of red canvas from Von Richtofen's Fokker DR-1 triplane.

After the war Lambert did some barnstorming in the Ironton, Ohio area and worked as an engineer. He also was the inventor of a rather unusual "pipe rest" which allowed a smoking pipe to be rested upon the smoker's chin.

After the Second World War, he was a frequent attendee at the RAF contingent's Battle of Britain celebration at Wright Patterson AF Base in Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife are buried in the Woodland Cemetery, Ironton, Ohio, in a mausoleum that he designed.