Louis Bennett Jr.

Louis Bennett Jr. (22 September 1894 – 24 August 1918) was an American pursuit pilot and a flying ace in World War I.[1]

Louis Bennett Jr.
Louis Bennett Jr., 1918
Born(1894-09-22)September 22, 1894
Weston, West Virginia
DiedAugust 24, 1918(1918-08-24) (aged 23)
Near Marquillies, France
Buried
Machpelah Cemetery, Weston, West Virginia
Allegiance United States
Service/branchRoyal Air Force (United Kingdom)
UnitRoyal Air Force
Battles/wars World War I

He died near Marquillies, France in combat on 24 August 1918.[2]

Biography

Born in Weston, West Virginia, he was the son of Louis Bennett Sr. and Sallie Maxwell Bennett.[3] Louis Bennett's father, a prominent Lewis county politician, was the Democratic nominee for governor of West Virginia in 1908. Louis Bennett Jr. attended Cutler and St. Luke's preparatory schools in Pennsylvania before enrolling at Yale in 1913.[2]

In October 1917 he went to Canada and joined the Royal Flying Corps at Toronto, Ontario. After training, he was deployed to France where he was assigned to No. 40 Squadron, RAF. Like fellow American Frank Luke, Bennett was fond of shooting down balloons. During his brief but remarkable nine-day career, Bennett flew 25 sorties against the Germans, shooting down nine enemy balloons from an S.E.5a. On 24 August 1918, after destroying his last two balloons, his aircraft burst into flames when it was hit by ground fire. Bennett crashed but was pulled from his plane shortly before he died from his injuries. Bennett received no medals for his actions in combat,[2] but Weston's airport was later named Louis Bennett Field in his honor.

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See also

References
  1. 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), ISBN 0948817542
  2. theaerodrome.com Louis Bennett Jr.
  3. "The Monumental Sallie Maxwell Bennett". wvculture.org. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
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