William Durrand Jr.

William Durrand Jr.
Born (1885-05-04)4 May 1885
Wick, Caithness, Scotland
Died 12 October 1939(1939-10-12) (aged 54)
Kenmore, New York, USA
Allegiance George V of the British Empire
Service/branch Aviation
Years of service 1916 - 1919
Rank Lieutenant
Unit No. 20 Squadron RFC
Awards Military Cross

Lieutenant William Durrand Jr. was a Canadian flying ace from World War I. He was credited with eight aerial victories.[1]

Infantry service

Durrand enlisted in the Canadian military on 11 March 1916.[1] On 30 August 1916, Sergeant William Durrand of the 66th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was commissioned a Temporary Second Lieutenant with the Royal Flying Corps.[2]

Aerial service

On 1 March 1917 appointed Flying Officer while still Temporary Second Lieutenant.[3] He was then assigned to No. 20 Squadron RFC to pilot a Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d. He scored his first victory on 8 June 1917, with Edward Sayers manning the observer's guns. Durrand scored three more wins while flying a FE.2, with number four coming on 21 September. He then upgraded to another two-seater fighter, the Bristol F.2, and scored again almost immediately, on the 27th, with observer William Benger as his gunner.[1] His next victory came on the first day he flew as Temporary Captain and Flight Commander on 17 October 1917.[4] Durrand scored twice more with the Bristol, ending his victory string on 8 November 1917. His final tally was two enemy planes driven down out of control, and six destroyed (including one shared with Reginald Makepeace).[1][5]

Postwar

He was transferred to the Royal Air Force unemployed list on 18 May 1919.[6]

Awards

Awarded the Military Cross on 17 December 1917.[7]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "William Durand". The Aerodrome. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "No. 29741". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 September 1916. p. 8878.
  3. ↑ "No. 29994". The London Gazette (Supplement). 21 March 1917. p. 2828.
  4. ↑ "No. 30361". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 November 1916. p. 11277.
  5. ↑ Bristol F 2 Fighter Aces of World War I, p. 146.
  6. ↑ "No. 31458". The London Gazette. 15 July 1919. pp. 9003–4.
  7. ↑ "No. 30431". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 December 1916. pp. 13181–2.

References

  • Shores, Christopher F.; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell F. (1990). Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.
  • Guttman, Jon (2007). Bristol F 2 Fighter Aces of World War I. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-201-1.
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