James Thomas Byford McCudden was an ace in the Royal Air Force, born March 28, 1895 in Gillingham, Kent, died in an accident on July 9, 1918.
Pre-war
In 1908, he joined his father in the Royal Engineers Regiment as a Trumpet. On May 13, 1913 his request for incorporation as a volunteer in the Royal Flying Corps was accepted.
He is one of three McCudden brothers to serve in the R.F.C. Initially a fitter-assembler, he was promoted to Aircraft Mechanic First Class in April 1914. On the eve of the war, he had already worked on an incredible variety of aircraft.
Progress
Arrived in France in August 1914, promoted corporal in November of the same year, McCudden further increased his abilities as a mechanic during this period. It was finally at the beginning of 1915 that he took to the air as a gunner/observer aboard a Morane Parasols biplane and was appointed sergeant (April). During the same year, he notes the steady increase in dogfights following the attempts of both sides to fire on reconnaissance aircraft.
Obtaining the Croix de Guerre in January 1916, he was selected the same month to undergo flight training in England where he showed extraordinary talent, although he only flew irregularly, so much so that he becomes an instructor a few days before obtaining his airman's certificate!
In July 1916, however, he returned to France where he was first assigned to the 20th Squadron then to the 29th the following month. He won his very first victory there on September 6 at the controls of a D.H. 2's, a victory he only learned 3 days later by making the connection between his combat report and that of an agent reporting a crash. He obtained the Military Medal (October) and was promoted to officer (January 1917) but, after being hit by a Fokker, he returned to England where he spent most of the spring as an instructor, first at Joyce Green then to Dover where among his students is a certain "Mick" Mannock.
During the same period, at the controls of a Sopwith Pup, he took part in combat missions against the German Gotha bombers during their daytime raids on London. At the end of July, McCudden reaches almost the goal of any English pilot:he is temporarily assigned to 56th Squadron, the most prestigious British air unit.
Consecration
On his first flight he shot down an Albatros DV! Because of his training, McCudden was particularly impressed by the skill of the Squadron mechanics assigned to the latest addition to British aviation, the S.E.5a, itself served by excellent pilots such as Maxwell, Rhys-Davids and Barlow. In mid-August, supreme consecration of his qualities as a pilot, he became the effective commander of the famous Squadron and celebrated his appointment by shooting down his sixth opponent on August 18.
On September 23, McCudden and five of his comrades rescued another S.E.5a battling a Fokker Triplane Dr1 and fought one of the most famous dogfights of the Great War against the 48-victory German ace Werner Voss who, alone against seven and after 10 minutes ends up being shot by Arthur Rhys-Davids. McCudden, the right wing holed, was the only one to witness the crash of the German pilot and as he was to write later:"[...] As long as I live I will never forget the admiration I have for to this pilot who fought alone 7 of us during 10 minutes and touched all our machines. His flight was wonderful, his courage magnificent, and he is, in my opinion, the bravest German pilot I have had the privilege of seeing fight.
"Old Mac" as he was nicknamed then chained the victories, 5 in September, 3 in October, 5 in November, 14 in December (out of the 17 obtained by his unit), 9 in January and 11 in February. The month of March 1918 is full of contrasts:his younger brother John, holder of 8 victories, is killed in action on February 11. Assigned to England, James received the prestigious Victoria Cross there on the 29th of the same month. He was then the most decorated Royal Air Force pilot.
McCudden was neither a boaster nor a hothead. As proof, wishing like many pilots to recover a piece of the aircraft from one of his victims, a relatively dangerous exercise, he was exposed to such a deluge of fire from the enemy troops on the ground that he preferred definitely refrain from repeating such an experience. He had the qualities to be an excellent pilot - good eyesight, very good reflexes, strength and instinct to handle a combat aircraft, ability to hit a moving target from a moving unit - and did not engage in combat if he did not have a prior advantage. In addition, his experience as an observer on board biplanes was invaluable to him as to the psychology of the enemy. Finally, his training as a mechanic allowed him to always maintain his aircraft and his machine guns in optimal condition.
Betrayed by the mechanics
Like the two previous years, it was in July that he received his new assignment. He had to go to Boffles, in France, where his new unit, Squadron 60, was stationed. Also on the 9th, at the beginning of the afternoon, he took off from the Hounslow aviation school despite a bad weather. In these difficult conditions, the major landed prematurely at Auxi-le-Château but, as soon as he realized his error, he turned around at the end of the runway and, despite a strong headwind, began to take off again. About thirty meters above the ground, a technical failure, probably an engine failure, delivered the aircraft to the elements which threw it violently to the ground. McCudden, unconscious, is pulled from the remains of his device with a major skull fracture. He died the same evening, around 8 p.m., without having regained consciousness.