Gilbert W. M. Green
| Gilbert Ware Murlis Green | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 January 1895 London, England |
| Died | 26 August 1958 (aged 63) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914–1942 |
| Rank | Group Captain |
| Unit |
No. 5 Squadron RFC No. 17 Squadron RFC |
| Commands held |
No. 44 Squadron RFC No. 151 Squadron RAF No. 70 Squadron RAF |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order & Bar Military Cross & Two Bars Mentioned in Despatches (3) Legion d'Honneur (France) Croix de guerre (France) Croix de guerre (Belgium) Order of the White Eagle (Serbia) |
Group Captain Gilbert Ware Murlis Green DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (24 January 1895 – 26 August 1958) was a Royal Air Force career officer credited with eight aerial victories. He was a pioneer among fighter aces, and his victories were scored in a variety of theatres and flying environments. He was successful on both the Western Front, in Greece, and on his home soil. He also commanded two of the original night fighter squadrons.
Green's military career started humbly; on 9 September 1914, just after World War I began, he was promoted from rifleman to temporary second lieutenant in the 16th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles). By 22 November 1915, he was a flying officer observer. He was assigned to No. 5 Squadron on the Western Front. Manning the guns in a two-seater aircraft piloted by Frederick Powell, Green brought down a DFW two-seater on 29 February 1916. He was then transferred from Flying Officer Observer to the Royal Flying Corps's General List on 19 June 1916 and sent for pilot training. On 13 December 1916 he scored his second victory, destroying another DFW while flying a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 with 17 Squadron in Salonika, Greece.
On 4 January 1917, he captured an Albatros D.V fighter despite being overmatched; the German craft was faster, more agile, and had two guns instead of one. Ten days later, he would repeat the feat, although his victim this time was an Albatros two-seater reconnaissance plane, and Green had help from fellow ace Franklin Saunders. On 18 February 1917, Green battled German ace Rudolf von Eschwege in a dogfight during which Green's gun jammed, and wingman J. C. F. Owen was shot down. Green returned to form on 18 and 19 March, destroying a Friedrichshafen G seaplane and driving another down out of control on the 18th, and setting fire to an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft on the 19th. Green thus became the only pilot to become an ace flying the B.E. 12. These three successes earned him the Distinguished Service Order.
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