Lloyd Hamilton (aviator)
| Lloyd Andrews Hamilton | |
|---|---|
Lloyd Andrews Hamilton, 1918
|
|
| Born |
13 June 1894 Troy, New York, United States |
| Died | 24 August 1918 (aged 24) Near Lagnicourt-Marcel |
| Buried at | Pittsfield Cemetery, Pittsfield, Massachusetts |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
Royal Air Force (United Kingdom) Air Service, United States Army |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit |
Royal Air Force |
| Battles/wars |
 World War I
|
| Awards | |
Royal Air Force
Air Service, United States Army
First Lieutenant Lloyd Andrews Hamilton (13 June 1894 – 24 August 1918) was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. During five months of 1918 he became an ace with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and then again with the United States Air Service (USAS).Hamilton Air Force Base is named after him.
Lloyd Andrews Hamilton was born in Troy, New York, the only child of Methodist minister Reverend John A. Hamilton and his wife Jennie Andrews Hamilton. He was a bright scholar who took his Baccalaureate Degree magnum cum laude from Syracuse University in 1916 and was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He initiated post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School in September 1916. When America entered World War I, he enlisted in the USAS, on 28 April and in May he reported to Plattsburgh, New York, for officer training.
Hamilton shipped out to England in late 1917 where he trained in early 1918 in an Avro 504, perhaps at RFC Bramham Moor which was then renamed RAF Tadcaster, near Bramham cum Oglethorpe in Yorkshire. Hamilton was temporarily posted as a first lieutenant to United Kingdom No. 3 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, on 2 March 1918 He first scored as a combat pilot on 11 April 1918, flying the Sopwith Camel against his first German opponent, an LVG C.VI observation aircraft. The next day he made his second aerial kill; his third a week later. On 20 April he was flying at the tail end of 'C' flight when his commander Richard Raymond-Barker was attacked and killed by Manfred von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron. From far away Hamilton saw Richthofen shoot down a second aviator (who crashed but lived), then Hamilton was near enough to engage a blue Fokker Dr.I triplane, expending more than 300 rounds at it after which it went into a dive and spin, but Hamilton's own maneuvers prevented him from seeing what happened to it. Hamilton returned to base and claimed a kill but it was never confirmed—all of Richthofen's flight had returned safe from the engagement. On 3 June 1918, Hamilton became an ace, scoring his fifth confirmed victory.
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