Charles Dawson Booker facts for kids

Charles Dawson Booker, a brave pilot from World War I.

Charles Dawson Booker DSC was a brave English pilot during World War I. He was born on April 21, 1897, and sadly passed away on August 13, 1918. He became a "flying ace," which means he shot down many enemy aircraft. Charles was credited with 29 victories. He rose to a high rank at a young age because he was very courageous and dedicated to his country.

Early Life and Joining the War

Charles Dawson Booker was born in a place called Speldhurst, Kent, England. He spent some of his childhood in Australia, going to school in Melbourne from 1908 to 1911. After that, he returned to England and continued his schooling until May 1915.

When he was 18, on September 8, 1915, Charles joined the Royal Naval Air Service. This was a part of the British Navy that used airplanes. He started as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant, which is a junior officer rank.

First Time in Combat

Charles began his service on the Belgian Coast. He flew with different squadrons, including 5 Naval Wing and then 8 Naval Squadron. He didn't get his first victory until January 23, 1917. He was flying a Sopwith Pup plane and managed to make an enemy Albatros D.III aircraft go out of control.

After a few months, he started flying a Sopwith Triplane. This plane had three wings! In April, he scored four more victories. On April 30, he officially became a flying ace. Even though he was young, he was already leading a group of planes called C Flight.

One of his fellow pilots described him as a "silent" but fearless person who loved air fighting. He hoped the war would continue because he enjoyed flying and fighting in the sky.

May was a very successful month for Charles. He achieved nine victories, including three on May 24 alone.

Awards and Famous Fights

On June 22, after his 17th victory, Charles was given the Distinguished Service Cross. This is a special award for bravery. The award mentioned his three victories on May 24.

In July, he scored three more wins. Then, on August 11, 1917, he had a very important fight. He shot down and badly injured a German ace named Hauptmann Adolf Ritter von Tutschek. Tutschek was the leader of a German squadron called Jasta 12. He took half a year to recover from his injuries.

In the same fight, Charles's plane was hit so badly that a German ace thought he had shot Charles down. But Charles, even with his damaged Sopwith Triplane (which he called 'Maude'), managed to land safely in friendly territory. 'Maude' had been his plane for at least 14 of his victories, but it was too damaged to fly again after this crash. By this time, he had 23 victories.

On September 27, he got his first victory while flying a new plane, a Sopwith Camel. He shot down German ace Oberleutnant Hans Waldhausen, who was captured as a prisoner.

In November, Charles and his squadron were sent back to England. He was one of the top pilots in his squadron, ranking fourth among 25 aces.

Second Time in Combat

After some time in England, Charles returned to France. He was promoted to Major and became the commander of 201 Squadron. This was part of the new Royal Air Force, which had just been formed. He was given this important command in March, just before his 21st birthday. Again, he would be flying a Sopwith Camel.

Charles led his squadron by example. He scored two victories in May and one in July. On May 27, he sadly identified the body of his friend, Australian ace Robert A. Little, who had been shot down nearby.

His Final Flight

On August 13, 1918, Charles was leading a new pilot on a flight to show him around the battlefield. They met at least six expert German pilots from Jagdgeschwader 2. Charles bravely attacked them alone to protect the new pilot, allowing him to escape. The new pilot later confirmed Charles's last three victories. However, a German ace named Leutnant Ulrich Neckel from Jasta 12 eventually shot Charles down.

Charles Dawson Booker was buried in Vignacourt British Cemetery in France.

He was credited with 29 victories in total. This included helping to capture two enemy planes, destroying ten planes (six of which he shared with other pilots), and forcing 17 planes to go "out of control" (five of which were shared wins).

Awards

Distinguished Service Cross

Flt. Lieut, (act. Flt. Cdr.) Charles Dawson Booker.

"For special gallantry in the field on numerous occasions, especially the following:

On 26 April 1917, he went to the assistance of some of our photographic machines, which were about to be attacked by twelve Albatross scouts. One of-these he fired on at close range, and brought it down out of control. On 24 May 1917, whilst on patrol, he went to the assistance of a formation of our machines, which was being attacked by nine hostile scouts. He attacked one of the latter, which was driven down-in flames and crashed. Later in the same day he attacked and drove down out of control another hostile machine. On numerous other occasions he has attacked enemy machines and driven them down out of control."

—Supplement to the London Gazette, 22 June 1917 (30147/6256)

Charles Dawson Booker also received the Croix de guerre from France on July 14, 1917.