Ralph Curtis
| Ralph Luxmore Curtis | |
|---|---|
Ralph Luxmore Curtis
|
|
| Born |
19 March 1898 Rainham, Essex, England |
| Died | 21 September 1917 (aged 19) West Flanders, Belgium |
| Buried | Harlebeke New British Cemetery, Harelbeke, West Flanders, Belgium (50°51′33″N 3°19′27″E / 50.85917°N 3.32417°ECoordinates: 50°51′33″N 3°19′27″E / 50.85917°N 3.32417°E) |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 48 Squadron Royal Flying Corps |
Second Lieutenant Ralph Luxmore Curtis (19 March 1898 – 21 September 1917) was a World War I British flying ace credited with fifteen aerial victories. He died from wounds sustained when he engaged in aerial combat with Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27. The aviator was interred twice in Belgian cemeteries, and was also commemorated on the Rainham War Memorial.
Ralph Luxmore Curtis, son of William Curtis and his wife Amy Augusta (May) Curtis, was born on 19 March 1898 in Rainham, Essex, England. His father was a farmer, and the family lived at Berwick Pond/Berwick Manor in Rainham.
Ralph Curtis received his aviator's certificate on 17 February 1917 at the London and Provincial School in Hendon, Greater London, England. However, he did so by falsifying his date of birth, claiming to have been born on 19 March 1896 and, therefore, two years older than his actual age of eighteen. He served with No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps as a second lieutenant.
Ralph Luxmore Curtis is credited with fifteen aerial victories. All of them occurred while he piloted a Bristol F.2b (also known as a Bristol Fighter). In addition, most of them (thirteen) were in conjunction with one observer, Second Lieutenant Desmond Percival Fitzgerald Uniacke. Curtis experienced his first aerial triumph on 16 June 1917, with Second Lieutenant Laurence W. Allen as observer. It was the tenth and final victory for Allen. They destroyed an Albatros D.III from Bristol F.2b with serial number A7107.
Curtis scored his second aerial victory from his Bristol F.2b (A7149). He and his observer Uniacke sent a two-seater out of control over Quéant, Pas-de-Calais, France on 3 Jul 1917. Two days later, from Bristol F.2b (A7153), Curtis and Uniacke sent an Albatros D.V out of control over Bapaume, Pas-de-Calais. Curtis scored his fourth aerial victory from his Bristol F.2b (A7107) when he and his observer Uniacke destroyed an Albatros D.V over Vitry, France on 7 July 1917. That same month, on 28 July 1917, the team of Curtis and Uniacke in Bristol F.2b (A7121) sent an Albatros D.III out of control over Ghistelles. Second Lieutenants Curtis and Uniacke scored a double victory (sixth and seventh for Curtis) on 16 August 1917 from their Bristol F.2b (A7151). During aerial combat with two Albatros D.V aircraft, one was destroyed in flames and the other sent out of control, both over St. Pierre and Capelle, Nord, France.
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