Captain D'Urban Victor Armstrong DFC was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 five aerial victories. Born in the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

on 26 July 1897, and educated at Hilton College, Armstrong joined the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in 1915. He was assigned to No. 60 Squadron the following year; while with them, he scored a kill on 9 November 1916. His next posting was to No. 44 Squadron on home defense duties. In 1917, he was transferred to No. 78 Squadron to lead a flight. His final assignment was with No. 151 Squadron. He was one of the first night fighter victors in aerial warfare, as 151 Squadron was the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

's first night fighter squadron, 151 Squadron. Armstrong was credited with four nighttime victories between 29 June and 17 September 1918, including a

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 ...

bomber on 24 August near

Bouvincourt-en-Vermandois Bouvincourt-en-Vermandois is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D268 road, some northwest of Saint-Quentin. Population See also *Communes of the Somme departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.''The Aerodrome''
theaerodrome.com; accessed 9 July 2020. Two days after war's end, Armstrong was killed in a flying accident while flying aerobatics in his

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 ...

References

1897 births 1918 deaths People from Natal South African recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South African World War I flying aces South African people of British descent Alumni of Hilton College (South Africa) Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918 {{SouthAfrica-mil-bio-stub