Salter, Ernest James

Survived 1918-09-02

Male Head

Birth Date: unkown date

Born: Reach, Ontario

Theophilus I Salter & Mary Ellen Collins

Home: Oakville, Ontario

Enlistment:

Enlistment Date: Unknown

Decorations: CDGFP, LoH

Croix de Guerre France

Service

RAF

Unit

54 (F) Sqn- Squadron (RAF)
Audax Omnia Perpeti Boldness endures everything

Base

Rank

Captain

Position

Captain

Service Numbers

Ernest James Salter joined the Royal Flying Corps on 1917-06-03. Cadet Salter received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate 7211 on 27 August 1917. In the summer of 1918, he was posted to 54 Squadron in France. The highest scoring ace to serve with this squadron, Salter scored nine victories flying the Sopwith Camel before being badly wounded on 2 September 1918.

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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