Howard Knotts

Howard Clayton Knotts
Howard Clayton Knotts, 1918
Born	25 August 1895 Girard, Illinois, USA
Died	23 November 1942 Springfield, Illinois, USA
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	Air Service, United States Army
Years of service	1917- 1919
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	182nd Aero Squadron, 17th Aero Squadron
Battles/wars	World War I
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross, British Distinguished Flying Cross

Lieutenant Howard Clayton Knotts was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.

Howard Clayton Knotts was the son of district attorney Edward Knotts, and was reared in Carlinville, Illinois.

The younger Knotts joined the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps on 31 July 1917. He was sent to Toronto for training. His first assignment was stateside, in the 182nd Aero Squadron; he joined them in Fort Worth on 5 November 1917. On 4 February 1918, he was commissioned a second lieutenant. On 14 August, he was forwarded to the 17th Aero Squadron in France. Once there, he used a Sopwith Camel to destroy six Fokker D.VIIs in the month from 25 August to 24 September 1918.

He was then shot down by ground fire on 14 October, suffering a wound in his right foot in the process. He landed behind German lines and shot it out with five infantrymen, who finally captured him. Once placed on a train to the POW camp, Knotts managed to set fire to the train, ruining seven Fokker D.VIIs. He narrowly escaped being shot for sabotage. Four days later, he temporarily escaped from the Mons prisoner of war camp; he was then shipped to a camp at Soignies to sit out the war.

Knotts left the military in 1919. He graduated from Yale in 1921. On 25 June 1921, he married Charlotte Ann Sterling, the daughter of John Allen Sterling and niece of Thomas Sterling. He became a noted aviation lawyer and served as general counsel of the American Aeronautical Association.

He died of a heart attack on 23 November 1942.

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Howard Clayton Knotts, Second Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Arieux, France, September 17, 1918. During a patrol flight 5 American planes were attacked by 20 enemy Fokkers. During the combat, when Lieutenant Knotts saw one of his comrades attacked by 7 enemy planes and in imminent danger of being shot down, he, although himself engaged with the enemy, went to the assistance of his comrade and attacked 2 of his immediate pursuers. In the fight which ensued he shot 1 of the enemy down in flames and forced the other out of control. His prompt act enabled his comrade to escape destruction, although his comrade's plane was so disabled that he made the allied lines with difficulty, crashing as he landed. General Orders No. 19, W.D., 1921