Lieutenant Howard Burdick (12 December 1891—20 January 1975)

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

DFC was an American 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 eight confirmed aerial victories. He and his son, Clinton D. Burdick, are the only known pair of father-son flying aces.

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, Howard Burdick joined the

Air Service, United States Army The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

in 1917 and was deployed to France. He was assigned to the

17th Aero Squadron The 17th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front during World War I. As a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron. its mission was to engage and clear enemy aircraft from the skies and provide escort to ...

, and flew British

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 ...

s while attached to 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 ...

. For his actions in combat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for eight aerial victories, often flying in company with George Vaughn, his flight commander. Burdick forced down an enemy

Fokker Fokker (; ) was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer that operated from 1912 to 1996. The company was founded by the Dutch aviator Anthony Fokker and became famous during World War I for its fighter aircraft. During its most successful period in the 19 ...

biplane with Vaughn on 14 October 1918. Burdick was excited with worry about the fate of his friend Howard Knotts, who had fallen behind enemy lines, and took his revenge on the downed German, shooting him to death on the ground.Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918, p. 27.The Aerodrome http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/burdick.php Retrieved on 17 November 2017. Eventually settling in California, Burdick died in Los Angeles in January 1975.

Aerial victory list

Howard Burdick achieved all his victories while flying a

for the

Honors and awards

Distinguished Service Cross

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Howard Burdick, Second Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action northwest of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

, France, September 28, 1918. Attacked by two Fokker biplanes, Lieutenant Burdick outmaneuvered both machines, shot one into flames and routed the other one. Later, seeing three Fokkers attacking an American aviator, he at once dove into the combat to his assistance, shooting down one and driving off the other two. His quick and unhesitating attack, single-handed, on the three Fokkers save the life of his fellow pilot. General Orders No. 38, W.D., 1921 Sopwith Camel F

Distinguished Flying Cross

For skill and gallantry. On 25 October, while on an offensive patrol, this officer attacked a formation of five Fokker biplanes over the forest of Mormal and succeeded in shooting down one in flames. On another occasion he dived on an enemy two-seater but was in turn attacked by two Fokkers, one of which he succeeded in shooting down in flames. Later he attacked three enemy aircraft who were attacking one of our machines and shot down one which dived straight into the ground and crashed. This officer has now destroyed five EA (three in flames) and has at all times displayed the greatest gallantry, skill and disregard of danger.

References

Bibliography

* ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'' (1992). Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street. , . * ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , .

External links

Harold Burdick at the aerodrome forum
American World War I flying aces Aviators from New York (state) 1891 births 1975 deaths Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Military personnel from New York (state) Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) {{wwi-air