Captain Dennis Latimer (31 August 1895 – 12 January 1976) was a British

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 ...

notable for achieving twenty-eight aerial victories, all against enemy

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

Early life

Latimer was born in

Withington Withington is a suburb of Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies from Manchester city centre, south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington had a population at the 2011 ce ...

, Shropshire, to James Davies and Ida Lottie Latimer. By 1901 the family was residing in

Towyn Towyn () is a seaside resort in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is also an electoral ward to the town and county councils. Location It is located between Rhyl, in Denbighshire, and Abergele in Conwy. Demography According to the 2001 ...

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

, Wales, where his father was a hotel proprietor.

World War I

Latimer was commissioned from cadet to temporary second lieutenant (on probation) for duty in 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 ...

on 26 January 1917, and was appointed a flying officer on 27 April. In early 1918 he was posted to No. 20 Squadron RFC to fly a Bristol F.2b two-seater fighter. Latimer scored his first victory on 13 March with Lieutenant

James Scaramanga Lieutenant James John Scaramanga (25 July 1898 – 10 July 1918) was a First World War British ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He scored his last victory after he had already received the wound which would soon prove fatal. The o ...

as his observer/gunner, the only one he scored in the Royal Flying Corps. On 1 April 1918, the Army's Royal Flying Corps was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force. Latimer was then paired with Lieutenant Tom Noel, gaining his second victory on 21 April. Latimer and Noel gained another 13 victories between 8 and 20 May, and on 25 May Latimer was appointed a

flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

with the temporary rank of captain. Latimer and Noel gained nine more victories in June and July, and in August Latimer and Sergeant Arthur Newland gained five more. However, on 22 August, Latimer was again flying with Noel, when they were shot down by ''Leutnant'' Willi Nebgen of ''

Jasta 7 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 7 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 126 aerial victories (130 claimed) during the war, at the exp ...

''. Noel was killed and Latimer captured. Latimer's final total claimed in conjunction with his gunners was one aircraft captured, seventeen destroyed (including one shared), and ten 'out of control' wins (two shared), making him the highest-scoring ace of No. 20 Squadron. Latimer was subsequently awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

which was gazetted on 13 September. His citation read: :Temporary Lieutenant Dennis Latimer, RAF. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on offensive patrol. He and his observer in four days' fighting destroyed seven enemy machines and drove down three. They did magnificent service." A week later his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross was published, the citation reading: :Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Dennis Latimer, MC. ::"When leading an offensive patrol this officer displayed great skill and bravery. Having shot down a scout in flames, he immediately engaged a second, which he destroyed after a short combat. In addition, he has accounted for four other machines." Latimer was eventually repatriated following the armistice, and was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 10 April 1919.

List of aerial victories

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Latimer, Dennis 1895 births 1976 deaths Royal Air Force officers Military personnel from Shropshire People from Telford and Wrekin Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British World War I prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Germany