Lieutenant Robert McLaughlin (b. 23 July 1896) was a British 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 six aerial victories.

Military service

McLaughlin was commissioned from cadet to temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on the General List of 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 2 August 1917, and was confirmed in his rank on 15 November. He was posted to No. 201 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 ...

single-seat fighter. He gained his first aerial victory on 9 May 1918 by destroying an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft of the German aircraft manufacturer ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service with the (Imperial German A ...

over

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

. On 15 May he repeated the feat, which he shared with Major

Charles Dawson Booker Major Charles Dawson Booker (sometimes hyphenated into Dawson-Booker) (21 April 1897 – 13 August 1918) was an English World War I fighter ace credited with 29 victories. He was promoted to high rank while relatively young as a result of his ...

, Captain

Samuel Kinkead Samuel Marcus Kinkead DSO, DSC & Bar, DFC & Bar (25 February 1897 – 12 March 1928) was a South African fighter ace with 33 victories during the First World War. He went on to serve in southern Russia and the Middle East postwar. Early lif ...

, Lieutenants

Maxwell Findlay Captain Maxwell Hutcheon Findlay (17 February 1898 – 1 October 1936) was a Scottish World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. He remained in the RAF postwar for several years before going on to a civilian aviation career that e ...

, R. Hemmens,

James Henry Forman Captain James Henry Forman DFC (1 February 1896 - 4 October 1972) was a World War I Canadian flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. He was personally decorated by his king for his valor. After leaving military service in the 1920s, he ...

, Hazel LeRoy Wallace,

Reginald Brading Captain Reginald Carey Brenton Brading (14 May 1899 – 26 July 1926) was a British World War I flying ace credited with thirteen confirmed aerial victories. Early life Reginald Carey Brenton Brading was born in Croydon on 4 May 1899. Career ...

, and R. S. S. Orr. On 30 May he drove another D.V down out of control over

Achiet-le-Grand Achiet-le-Grand () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography A farming village located 12 miles (19 km) south of Arras, at the D7 and D9 road junction. The SNCF railway has a station here. History Achiet ...

. On the morning of 8 August, he was shot down in flames, and although slightly injured, insisted on flying another combat patrol that afternoon.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p. 277. For his actions on that day he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 1 November 1918. His citation read: : Lieutenant Robert McLaughlin. ::"On the morning of 8th August this officer successfully bombed enemy transport and engaged three machine-gun sections, killing and scattering these detachments. Later on, while bombing a dump, he was attacked by eight Fokkers, who shot him down in flames. Except for slight burns he escaped injury, and, returning to his squadron, he was once more flying in the afternoon, having specially requested to be allowed to do so. A splendid example of courage and determination." On 12 August McLaughlin shared with Captain H. R. de Wilde and Lieutenant

Ronald Sykes Captain Ronald Sykes (1899-1977) was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. World War I service Sykes joined the Royal Naval Air Service in April 1917. In September, he joined 9 Naval Squadron to fly a Sopwith Camel in Ro ...

in the destruction of two

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

s over St. Christ. He 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 on 27 August. His sixth and final victory was on 16 September when he drove down another Fokker D.VII south-east 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 ...

. McLaughlin was transferred to RAF's unemployed list on 8 March 1919, and relinquished his commission on the 14th.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Robert 1896 births Year of death missing Military personnel from Belfast Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)