Stanley Vincent Air Vice Marshal Sir Stanley Flamank Vincent CB , DFC , AFC , DL , RAF ( 7 April 1897 – 13 March 1976 ) was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and later a senior commander in the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) . He was the only RFC / RAF pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in both world wars . Stanley Vincent was born in Hampstead North London , on 7 April 1897 , the son of Dr Charles Vincent , and Hannah Phillips . He was educated at Lancing College . Flying career . He was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) after the completion of his training in 1915 at the Central Flying School , Upavon . His first posting was to No . 60 Squadron RAF in France in April 1916 , equipped with Morane single seat and two seaters . Vincent was appointed to ‘ A ’ Flight equipped with the Morane Bullet scout . He claimed an LVG two - seater in July ( the Squadron ' s first victory ) , another two seater in September and an Albatros two seater ' Out of control ' in early 1917 , by now flying the Nieuport 17 . In March 1917 he returned to England with his CO , Major Smith - Barry , in order to open and establish the School of Special Flying at Gosport . In April 1917 Vincent crashed - landed and spent 7 months in hospital . In November 1917 Vincent was given command of the newly formed No . 110 Squadron RAF . After handing command to the Squadron ' s first CO ( Major H R Nicholl ) , he was posted to Shoreham and formed a Special Instructors ' Flight at Shoreham . He was one of the first to be awarded the Air Force Cross in late 1918 and promoted Flight Lieutenant in 1920 . After the war , he was sent to France to bring back captured German machines and joined No 24 Squadron where he gave refresher courses to repatriated prisoners - of - war . He was also involved in the training of the Prince of Wales at this time . In August 1919 he was transferred to the Unemployed List but soon afterwards re - joined the RAF . Inter - war years . In 1921 he was appointed flight commander at the newly opened Royal Air Force College Cranwell . In 1923 he returned to operations in Iraq with No . 30 Squadron RAF . His overseas posting finished in 1928 and he travelled home in order to join No . 1 Squadron RAF at Tangmere . Promoted Squadron Leader in 1931 , Vincent took command of No . 41 Squadron RAF at RAF Northolt and it was here that he was involved in the early experiments with Radio Telephony . However he soon returned to Iraq to replace the CO of No . 80 Squadron RAF who was taken ill and returned home . It was during this time that Vincent took part in the first reinforcement flight to Singapore . He too was taken ill at the end of 1934 and returned home . In June 1936 he was appointed as Commanding Officer of the Air Fighting Development Unit . In late 1936 he was promoted Wing Commander and was made Officer Commanding RAF Northolt . Second World War . After a brief period with the Air Ministry , followed by attendance at the Royal Naval College , Greenwich , he was promoted to Group Captain and in March 1940 returned to RAF Northolt where he commanded the station during the Battle of Britain . Vincent often accompanied his station squadrons ( usually 229 and 257 Squadrons ) on scrambles and also flew lone ' station defence ' sorties . He considered personally that he shot down 5 Do 17 enemy bombers on his various sorties . As he was alone on many of these sorties , confirmation has never been substantiated . He claimed a further two victories ( over Bf 109 ' s ) on 30 September 1940 . During one action he was wounded , crash landing at Kenley . He later had numerous pieces of shrapnel removed from his back , having narrowly missed his spine . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in recognition of his skill and bravery . In 1941 he was posted to RAF North Weald and , after a brief spell at RAF Biggin Hill , in June 1941 he moved to 11 Group as Group Captain ( Operations ) before a spell at RAF Fighter Command HQ . Promotion to Air Commodore followed in early 1942 . After he requested active duty , Vincent was sent to assist with the defence of Singapore and the Dutch East Indies Campaign . In February 1942 he took command of the combined Commonwealth fighter formation , No . 226 Group , which had only two Hurricane squadrons , along with the remnants of Brewster Buffalo units , at Palembang , Sumatra . Outnumbered and poorly - equipped Commonwealth and Dutch units fought a losing battle against overwhelming enemy forces and in March , Vincent was evacuated to Australia , where he advised on air defence systems . He was then appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff by the Royal New Zealand Air Force , a post he held for nine months . He returned to England in mid - 1943 and to RAF Fighter Command Operations Room , after which he was dispatched to Scotland and the command of No . 13 Group . He was also designated Air Officer Commanding of the planned invasion of Norway . When this failed to materialise he travelled back to the Far East and command of No . 221 Group ( South East Asia Air Forces , Burma [ later Myanmar ] ) where he provided aerial support for the 14th Army and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath . He remained in Asia until the end of the war and , on the day of the victory parade , was invalided home with dysentery . Post - war . He was promoted Acting Air Vice - Marshal in 1944 and Air Vice - Marshal in 1947 . Between 1945 and 1948 he held the position of Senior Air Staff Officer , RAF Fighter Command . From 1948 he commanded No . 11 Group before requesting retirement in 1950 . After retirement he served as Commandant for the Eastern Area , Royal Observer Corps ( 1954 – 1965 ) in the rank of Observer Captain . He published his autobiography , " Flying Fever " in 1972 and died in 1976 . Commands held during the Second World War : On 15 September 2010 , a replica Hawker Hurricane gate guardian in the colours of Vincent ' s aircraft was unveiled at RAF Northolt .