Alfred Williams Carter
| Alfred Williams Carter | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Nick |
| Born |
29 April 1894 Fish Creek, Alberta, Canada |
| Died |
17 December 1986 (aged 92) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Allegiance | George V[1] |
| Service/branch | Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | No. 3 Squadron RNAS, No. 10 Squadron RNAS/No. 210 Squadron RAF |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Cross Canada Gazette 01/07/1946 OBE(civil) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (civil) for Civil Aviation in Canada London Gazette 03/06/1919 MBE (military) Member of the Order of the British Empire Captain, RAF |
Alfred Williams Carter DSC (29 April 1894 – 17 December 1986) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 17 victories.[2]
The son of David and Martha Carter, Alfred Carter was born near Calgary and enlisted in December 1915 in Ontario, where he had been a University student. In 1916 he joined the Royal Naval Air Service and attended flight school in Florida.
Serving with 3 Wing, in June 1917 he was posted to No. 3 Naval Squadron and claimed 5 victories flying the Sopwith Pup. In June 1917 he was transferred to No. 10 Naval Squadron as a flight commander and he scored 4 more victories, now flying the Sopwith Triplane.
By November 1918, he had scored another 8 victories with the Sopwith Camel. His war time tally included 1 balloon, 1 aircraft captured, 4 and 1 shared destroyed, 9 and 1 shared 'out of control'.[3]
After the war he worked for the Air Board until April 1922 and in 1923 he owned and operated an automobile dealership in Victoria, British Columbia.
He rejoined the RAF and served until 1953, becoming an Air Marshal and winning the OBE and MBE. He died on 17 December 1986.
Text of citations
Distinguished Service Cross
"Flt. Sub-Lieut. (act. Flt. Lieut.) Alfred Williams Carter, R.N.A.S.
This officer has at all times led his patrols with great courage, skill and pertinacity, often engaging superior numbers of hostile aircraft.
On 22 July 1917, he engaged, single-handed for half an hour, five enemy scouts which he prevented from carrying out a reconnaissance.
On 24 July 1917, with one other pilot, he attacked four enemy aircraft, one of which he drove down completely out of control."
References
Notes
- ↑ Canadian airmen were required to complete an Attestation Paper in which they declared an oath of allegiance to King George the Fifth and agreed to serve in any arm of the service for the duration of the war between Great Britain and Germany. aerodrome.com
- ↑ http://www.theaerodrome.com
- ↑ Above the Trenches, Shores, 1990 page 100
Websites
"WWI Aces of Canada: Alfred Williams Carter". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
"Calgary Aero Space Museum pdf on Nick Carter" (PDF). www.asmac.ab.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2006. Retrieved 2009-09-04.