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Bell, Ralph William (Captain)

Prisoner of War Died 1918-May-17

Birth Date: unkown date (age 27)

Mrs. Ralph W. Bell

Service
RAF
Unit
98 (B) Sqn- Squadron (RFC)
Base
France
Rank
Captain
Marshal
Air Chief MarshalA/C/M
Air MarshalA/M
Air Vice MarshalA/V/M
Air CommodoreA/C
Group CaptainG/C
Wing CommanderW/C
Squadron LeaderS/L
Flight LieutenantF/L
Flying OfficerF/O
Pilot OfficerP/O
Warrant Officer 1st ClassWO1
Warrant Officer 2nd ClassWO2
Flight SergeantFS
SergeantSGT
CorporalCPL
Senior AircraftmanSAC
Leading AircraftmanLAC
Aircraftman 1st ClassAC1
Aircraftman 2nd ClassAC2
Position
Pilot
Service Numbers
Shot down over the Somme. The observer, Lt. Alan Alexander Malcolm (British) was KIA. Bell was wounded and further injured in the crash and was captured and died later that day of his wounds/injuries. FAG has DOB listed as 18896-05-17

Canada Source Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Find-A-Grave.com Finadagrave.com

Captain Ralph William Bell has no known grave.


Google MapArras Flying Services Memorial

DH.9 D5630

Airco (pre de Havilland) DH 9 DH 9a

Airco DH.9 (Source Wikipedia

The Airco DH.9 (from de Havilland 9) also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 was a British single-engined biplane bomber developed and deployed during the First World War.

The DH.9 was a development of Airco's earlier successful DH.4, with which it shared many components. These were mated to an all-new fuselage and the BHP/Galloway Adriatic engine, which promised increased performance. Anticipating its usefulness, the type was ordered in very large numbers for Britain's Royal Flying Corps (RFC).

Upon entering service, the DH.9's performance was found to be unsatisfactory. The Adriatic engine was unreliable and failed to provide the expected power, which gave the DH.9 poorer performance than the aircraft it had been meant to replace. The performance deficit was blamed for the heavy losses they suffered over the Western Front. The redesigned DH.9A was fitted with a more powerful and reliable American Liberty L-12 engine which rectified the shortcomings of the original DH.9 model. Wikipedia

YouTube DH-9

Wkikpedia Wikipedia DH-9

General Harold A Skaarup Web Page

last update: 2023-09-19 12:23:24

DH.9 D5630



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