Flight Commander Arnold Jacques Chadwick (August 23, 1893 – July 28, 1917) was a Canadian-born World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with 11 aerial victories. He became an ace twice over; once while flying

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...

s and again while piloting

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

Early life

Arnold Jacques Chadwick was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 23 August 1895. He was the only son of C. W. Chadwick; the elder Chadwick was the manager of Colonial Realty Corporation.

World War I

Chadwick joined the Royal Naval Air Service and was commissioned as a temporary Flight Sub-Lieutenant on 30 December 1915. He originally served in 5 Naval Wing after being trained. On 2 October 1916, while on a bombing raid aimed at

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

hangars, he was shot down. He managed to evade capture and escape to the neutral country of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Once repatriated, Chadwick was assigned to 4 Naval Squadron in

Bloody April Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras (1917), Battle of Arras in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the Germ ...

1917. Using a

dubbed DO-DO, he scored his first aerial victory on 26 April 1917, driving down a German Albatros D.II fighter plane out of control. On 25 May 1917, Chadwick destroyed an Albatros reconnaissance two-seater in the vicinity of Bray Dunes in the early morning. That same evening, he teamed with

Langley Frank Willard Smith Langley Frank Willard Smith (15 August 1897 – 12 June 1917) was a Canadian Flying Ace in World War I credited with 8 victories.O'Connor, M. ''Airfields & Airmen of the Channel Coast''. Pen & Sword Military, 2005. p. 46 . Background Smith was b ...

and two other British pilots to attack and destroy a German

Gotha G ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha (town), Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In W ...

multi-engine bomber north of

Westende Westende is a town in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It lies on the Belgian coast, also called the Flemish coast. It used to be the far west (West-ende: Dutch for west-end) of the is ...

. The following day, he shared in a victory southwest of Furnes, when he and Albert Enstone destroyed a German recon machine. On 3 June 1917, he crashed an Albatros D.V to become an ace on Sopwith Pups. Naval 4 then upgraded to

s. Chadwick would first score with one of them on 25 June, when he flambeed an Albatros recon two-seater over Roulers. On 3 July 1917, he drove down a German recon machine over

Gistel Gistel () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Following local government boundary reforms in 1971 and 1977, the municipality has comprised not only Gistel, but also the towns of Moere, Snaaskerke and Z ...

. Three days later, he would share in the destruction of an Albatros two-seater in the same area. On a 10 July evening patrol, he drove down an Albatros D.V, then aided Ronald M. Keirstead to drive down a second one. Chadwick was now a Camel ace. On 25 July 1917, Chadwick, Enstone, and Keirstead joined to destroy a German seaplane northward of

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

. It was Chadwick's final victory. Three days later, he singlehandedly assaulted a formation of nine German airplanes. Losing the battle, he was forced to ditch in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

off the coastal town of

De Panne De Panne (; ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town destinations within ...

. His drowned corpse would wash ashore near

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

on 17 August 1917 On 11 August 1917, Chadwick was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in an unusual joint citation. He, Albert Enstone, Langley Frank Willard Smith, and Alexander MacDonald Shook were cited for: "...exceptional gallantry and remarkable skill and courage whilst serving with the R.N.A.S. at Dunkirk during May and June, 1917, in repeatedly attacking and destroying hostile aircraft." Arnold Jacques Chadwick is buried in Plot G.1 at

Adinkerke Military Cemetery Adinkerke Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the Western Front of the First and Second World War. It is located near Adinkerke in the municipality of De Panne in western Belgium, close ...

, Adinkerke, Arrondissement Veurne, West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Belgium.Findagrave website at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11977577/arnold-jacques-chadwick He is also memorialized at Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116644916/arnold-jaques-chadwick and Retrieved 30 October 2017.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chadwick, Arnold Jacques 1893 births 1917 deaths Canadian World War I flying aces Royal Naval Air Service aviators People from Old Toronto Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Burials at Adinkerke Military Cemetery