Bishop, William Avery

Bishop, William Avery (1894-1956), known as Billy Bishop, Canadian airman and authority on aerial warfare, one of the leading fighter aces of World War I. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Bishop was educated at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. He entered World War I as a cavalryman in 1914, but became an aerial observer in the Royal Flying Corps (forerunner of the Royal Air Force) the following year and completed his training as a pilot in 1917. He quickly established himself as one of the greatest pilots of the war, and is officially credited with shooting down 72 German planes. Bishop received numerous decorations, including the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, and the Military Cross on the same day. The VC was awarded for his action on June 2, 1917, when, flying deep into enemy territory, he destroyed a squadron of German planes on the ground. On his last day of active service a year later, he shot down five aircraft in aerial combat within 12 minutes.

Bishop went into the oil-prospecting and gold-mining business in Canada after the end of the war, but resumed flying in 1934. He became an air vice marshal in 1936, an air marshal in 1938, and was director of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He wrote Winged Warfare (1918) and Winged Peace (1944).