Sydney Philip Smith

Captain Sydney Philip Smith , (10 May 1896 – 6 April 1918) was a British First World War flying ace, who was credited with five aerial victories, before being shot down and killed, the 76th victory of Manfred von Richthofen.

Military service Smith was born in Aldershot, and educated at King's College School, Wimbledon, where he joined the Officers' Training Corps and was reportedly a crack shot, captaining his school rifle team at the annual schools competition at Bisley. He enlisted at the outbreak of war in the Public Schools Battalion, before being commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant of the Army Service Corps in December 1914. Smith served with the Wessex Divisional Train, going to France in March 1915.

Smith qualified as a pilot on 24 May 1916, and on 14 June was seconded to Royal Flying Corps, and appointed a flying officer. He was posted to No. 6 Squadron to fly the Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2d.

He wrote home to his father in October 1916; "A letter by way of a change this time. Things have been happening with a vengeance since I returned. I daresay you heard from the aunts about some of 'em: my observer getting a "Blighty" in the leg; fellows being blown to pieces by bombs, etc., etc. Well the day after I brought down Captain Duff wounded, I went up in the same machine on a "Shoot" with another observer, and got it in the neck properly from "Archie": my propeller was smashed, petrol tank punctured [emptied itself all over my observer's feet in about 2 seconds!], both main spars of the two top planes split right through, engine cowl pierced and about 27 holes in other parts of the machine. This was all from 2 practically simultaneous bursts dead over the machine, and they sounded like the crack of doom! However, we managed to struggle painfully back to the aerodrome, feeling jolly lucky that there was enough propeller left to drag us back and also that the spare petrol tank was intact [machine is still in the process of rebuilding!!]..." Despite piloting a grossly obsolescent two-seater reconnaissance aircraft, Smith, and his observer Air Mechanic 2nd Class Backhouse, scored his first victory on 17 March 1917, destroying a German Albatros D.II fighter over Becelaere. Recovered from his wound, Smith transferred to No. 46 Squadron flying the Sopwith Camel in March 1918. He shared a pair of claims on 16 March 1918, being aided by George Thomson. After another claim on 24 March, he shared his final victory, an Albatros C, on 2 April with Lieutenants Donald MacLaren and Alexander Vlasto, and Second Lieutenant Roy McConnell. Captain Smith fired 50 rounds at 200 yards range at E.A. who was flying West at 1000 feet above him. E.A. turned East and dived. Captain Smith and the other pilots got on his tail and dived down on him firing about 750 rounds at a range varying from 50 to 100 yards. E.A. then dived vertically as if hit and Captain Smith overshot him, the other pilots, with the exception of Lieutenant McClaren, pulled out. He fired another 100 rounds at 50 yards range and the E.A. went down out of control and crashed S. of Courcelles." After the war Smith's father, determined to find his son's remains, travelled to France with former Camel pilot Donald Gold, who had witnessed the shooting down of Smith's aircraft. Although they were successful in locating and mapping the crash position and found several pieces of the Camel's wreckage, he was unable to discover any trace of his son. As Smith has no known grave he is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.

Smith was later featured in No. 46 Squadron comrade Victor Maslin Yeates' wartime classic novel Winged Victory'' as the character 'Beal'.