Birks, Gerald Alfred

Survived 0001-01-01

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Birth Date: unkown date

Born: Montreal, Quebec

William Massey Birks & Miriam Gifford

Home: Toronto, Ontario

Enlistment: Montreal, Quebec: 73 Btn, CEF

Enlistment Date: 1915-08-31

Decorations: MC & Bar

Military Cross Bar

Service

RAF

Unit

66 (F) Sqn- Squadron (RFC)

Base

Italy

Rank

Lieutenant

Position

Lieutenant

Service Numbers

Home
Google MapToronto, Ontario
First Burial
Google MapCimetière Mont-Royal, Outremont, Montreal
Birks joined 66Sqn in Italy in March 1918. Assigned to C Flight, he soon became a favorite wingman of Capt. William Barker, and the aggressive pair cut a wide swath, almost constantly flying air-air and air-ground sorties. On 24 May, in a large dogfight, Birks shot down the Berg flown by Josef Kiss, CO of Flik 55J. Birks, who genuinely mastered the Camel, also was credited with another Austro-Hungarian ace, Karl Patzelt, CO of Flik 68J. By late June Birks was credited with 12 confirmed victories (all destroyed or captured), with 10 positively identified and two more likely. Eight of his victories came in May alone.

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Camel B8101

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Lieutenant Birks, Gerald Alfred (RAF)
pilot
Survived
1918-March
Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Sopwith Camel

By unknown RAF photographer - gallery link image link, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8473883
RAF_Sopwith_Camel.jpg image not found

The Sopwith Camel became the most successful British fighter of the First World War. The Sopwith F.1 and 2F.1 Camel first went into operations on the Western Front in 1917 and then served in virtually every theatre of Royal Flying Corps (RFC), Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and Royal Air Force (RAF) service. Several Canadian aces used the Camel as their mount. The Camel was very manoeuvrable, and it could be tricky to fly in the hands of a novice pilot. For experienced pilots, however, the aircraft proved to be a superb fighter.

The Camel's machine-guns were mounted on the forward fuselage with their breeches enclosed in a faired metal cowling "hump" that gave the Camel its name. Several Camels were also shipped to Canada in the post-war period as part of an Imperial gift. Three registered Sopwith F.1 Camels entered service with the RCAF at Camp Borden in 1924. The following year, the RCAF purchased seven additional aircraft to provide further spares for the active aircraft. These latter aircraft were in fact 2F.1 models that had been "navalized" variants. Used primarily by wartime experienced fighter pilots for refresher training, the Camels lasted another five years before finally being scrapped.Wikipedia

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