Norman Miers MacGregor (29 May 1896 – 1981) 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 ...

credited with seven aerial victories, including over German ace Kurt Wolff.

Military service

MacGregor entered the RNAS as a probationary flight sub-lieutenant (temporary), assigned to , on 12 February 1916, and was commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant, with seniority from 12 February, on 25 July. Assigned to No. 6 (Naval) Squadron in France, flying the

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 ...

, MacGregor gained his first aerial victory on 28 June 1917 when he and Flight Sub-Lieutenant F. C. Winter destroyed a DFW Type C reconnaissance aircraft. On 17 August MacGregor, alongside

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 ...

Bruno De Roeper and Flight Sub-Lieutenant R. E. Carroll, were credited with driving down out of control an

Aviatik Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen (today in France) in 1909 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft. It relocated to Freiburg in 1 ...

Type C reconnaissance aircraft east 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 ...

. MacGregor and De Roeper drove down an Albatros D.V over Moere on 20 August, and on the 22nd MacGregor destroyed an

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...

solo north of St. Pierre Chapelle. MacGregor then transferred to No. 10 (Naval) Squadron, where on 15 September 1917 in a dogfight over

Moorslede Moorslede () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele, Slypskapelle and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total popul ...

with aircraft from '' Jasta 11'' he shot down the first Fokker Dr.I of the war, killing the pilot Kurt Wolff. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 2 October, and on 10 December he and Flight Sub-Lieutenant J. G. Clark destroyed an Albatros D.V over

Oostnieuwkerke Oostnieuwkerke is a Belgium, Belgian village in the province of West Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. There are more than 3400 inhabitants and Oostnieuwkerke lies closer to the town Roeselare than it is to the main village Stade ...

. In February 1918, MacGregor was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His citation read: :Flight Lieutenant (Acting Flight Commander) Norman Miers MacGregor, RNAS. ::"In recognition of his skill and courage in aerial combats. On the 12th December 1917, whilst leading his flight on an offensive sweep, he encountered a body of six Albatross scouts at 14,000 feet. In the general fight which ensued he attacked a scout which was engaging one of our machines and drove it down out of control, and it was seen to crash. Act. Flt.-Cdr. Macgregor has destroyed several enemy machines and has led his flight with great dash and judgment". On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to form the Royal Air Force, and No. 10 (Naval) Squadron became No. 210 Squadron RAF. A few months later, on 12 August, MacGregor gained his seventh and final victory by driving down another Albatros D.V east of

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

. MacGregor was transferred to RAF's unemployed list on 10 January 1919 at the rank of captain. However, he was temporarily restored to the active list as a flight lieutenant on 10 April 1921, serving until 5 June.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macgregor, Norman 1896 births 1981 deaths People from Chiswick Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)