Richard Alexander Hewat (3 May 1896 – 14 August 1918) was an American pursuit pilot who flew with 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 ...
(RFC) in
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 ...
. He joined the RFC in 1917 and was killed in action near Bailleul in France on 14 August 1918. He was a
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 ...
, having shot down six aircraft during the war.
Biography
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, he was the son of R. A. J. and Jessie Bell Hewat. Richard Alexander Hewat's father was co-founder of Strong, Hewat and Company. "Alex" Hewat was one of five brothers from Briggsville, Massachusetts who fought in the Great War. He was a "crack end" on Tad Jones' undefeated football team at Exeter Academy in 1915.
He joined the Royal Flying Corps in June 1917 and was posted to 19 Squadron in September. Scoring his third victory on 26 October 1917, his SPAD VII was hit by ground fire and Hewat received a head wound. When he recovered, he was reassigned to 87 Squadron and returned to France in April 1918. Flying the Sopwith Dolphin, Hewat scored three more victories before he was killed in action, probably shot down by Hermann Leptien.
[Franks (1992) Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918, Grub Street the Basement; First edition (May 1992), ]
See also
*
List of World War I flying aces from the United States
The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I.
Overview
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great B ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewat, Richard Alexander
1896 births
1918 deaths
American World War I flying aces
British military personnel killed in World War I