James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden VC , DSO & Bar , MC & Bar , MM ( 28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918 ) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . With his six British medals and one French one , McCudden received more medals for gallantry than any other airman of British nationality serving in the First World War . He was also one of the longest serving , having joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1913 . McCudden ' s story is all the more remarkable as he rose through the RFC ranks ( from Air Mechanic to Major ) during the war to become one of the most decorated and honoured soldiers of the conflict . At his death he had amassed 57 victories , making him the seventh highest scoring ace of World War I . He was killed in a simple accident , of a type more typical of beginner pilots than someone of his experience and proven skill . Early and family life . James McCudden was born in Gillingham , Kent to ex - Sergeant - Major William H . McCudden and his wife Amelia of " Pitlochry " , 37 Burton Road , Kingston upon Thames , London . Two of his brothers Willie ( killed in 1915 ) and John McCudden ( killed in 1918 ) were also military pilots . Military service . He joined the Royal Engineers in 1910 , but after a flight with his brother Willie across Salisbury Plain requested transfer to the RFC , which was granted in 1913 . In August 1914 he went to France as a mechanic with No . 3 Squadron , and was allowed to fly as an observer over the next few months . In January 1916 he returned to England , learned to fly at Gosport , and obtained his pilot ' s licence in April 1916 . He joined No . 20 Squadron as an NCO in June 1916 flying the F . E . 2 from Clairmarais , near St Omer . After just a month he soon switched to 29 Squadron flying DH - 2 scouts . He made his first claim for an aircraft on 6 September 1916 . His DH . 2 could just keep pace 400 yards behind an enemy two - seater in a slight dive , so he fired three drums of Lewis ammunition while in pursuit . Three days later , an Allied intelligence agent behind the German lines confirmed the victory . Sgt McCudden and several of 29 Squadron encountered Jasta 2 and Leutnant Manfred von Richthofen in a prolonged dogfight on 27 December 1916 . The Baron claimed a ' pusher ' shot down during this fight , and research seems to indicate it was McCudden ' s DH - 2 he claimed , although none of the 300 bullets fired by the Baron had even hit McCudden ' s machine and he returned safely to base . By February 1917 McCudden had received the Military Medal , been granted a commission and awarded the Military Cross . He returned to the UK having claimed 5 air victories . During this spell , McCudden was twice involved with attempted intercepts of formations of bombers in a phase of Gotha Raids . In the second raid on 17 July 1917 on London , out of a defending force of 95 aircraft , McCudden alone was able to achieve sufficient altitude in his Pup to engage the enemy . Having insufficient ammunition , he was unable to make any significant impact . After a spell with 66 Squadron on Sopwith Pups , he was appointed as a flight commander with 56 Squadron , flying SE5a s in mid 1917 . Tactics . McCudden was one of the first truly ' professional ' airmen , who applied a scientific approach to air combat . McCudden took great pains over his guns , aircraft , and tactics , dismissing choices of last resort such as deliberately crashing a plane into the enemy . Using his knowledge as a mechanic , he tuned his aircraft to give it an additional 4000 ft altitude ceiling . This resulted in him specialising in carefully stalking high altitude reconnaissance aircraft , leading to an unsurpassed total of captured enemy aircraft ( 21 fell within Allied lines ) . Some of these stalking techniques are described in McCudden ' s autobiography , entitled " Flying Fury - Five Years In the RFC " . Award of the Victoria Cross . McCudden was 22 years old , and a temporary Captain , when the following events occurred : During the period August 1917 to March 1918 , on aerial patrols over France , Captain McCudden showed conspicuous bravery , exceptional perseverance and a high devotion to duty . As patrol leader he exercised the utmost skill not only in the manner in which he attacked and destroyed the enemy , but in the way in which , during aerial fights , he protected the newer members of his flight , thus keeping down the casualties to a minimum . By March 1918 he had accounted for 51 enemy aircraft , some single - handed , some while leading his men . As an example of his exploits , on 16 February 1918 he destroyed three two - seater aeroplanes in the morning patrol and added a fourth on his second sortie . The citation for his Victoria Cross published in the London Gazette on 2 April 1918 read : Return to England . Unlike the German and French governments , the War Office had up to 1917 been reluctant to identify individual soldiers and ' aces ' for propaganda and public morale purposes , the most notable exception being Albert Ball . However , from December 1917 after Viscount Northcliffe was placed in charge of the Ministry of Information , he felt an advantage was being missed , and so ran a campaign in his publications to name outstanding individual combatants . On 3 January 1918 he ran a story in the Daily Mail under the headline " Our Unknown Air Heroes " , which focused on McCudden . Shying away from this publicity , McCudden did not even tell his family of his attendance at Buckingham Palace on 6 April to receive his Victoria Cross from King George V . McCudden was also awarded his DSO and bar and a bar to his Military Cross at the same time . Promoted to the rank of major , while on leave in London he socialised a great deal with Edward Mannock . The friends ended up competing for the love of West End theatre dancer Teddie O ' Neill , whom McCudden took on a joy ride . Mannock commented in his diary : " Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned " , following it rather enigmatically with the word " Piffle ! " McCudden wished to return to the front , but because he was now a high - profile celebrity the Air Ministry was not keen . McCudden eventually won this discussion , but was reportedly turned down for command of No . 85 Squadron RAF because of his lack of a " public school education " , i . e . because of his relatively humble origins . However a pilot of 85 Squadron at the time , Lt . John M . Grider , wrote in his diary : Death . Accepted for command of No . 60 Squadron RAF , he collected his new Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a outside London and flew to Kent to spend the night with his family . Having had breakfast with his sister , on 9 July 1918 he flew over the English Channel towards Boffles , France . He landed at Auxi - le - Château , France , to get directions from the RAF personnel stationed there . Shortly after takeoff from Auxi - le - Château , the SE5a ' s engine failed , possibly due to a wrongly installed carburettor . McCudden committed the basic error of trying to turn back to land rather than gliding straight on to a forced landing ; and his aircraft stalled on the turn , and spun into the ground . The accident happened within sight of RAF personnel , who quickly drove over to render assistance . McCudden was found at the crash site with severe multiple injuries . He was taken to hospital where he died two hours later , without regaining consciousness . McCudden ' s remains were subsequently buried at the nearby Wavans war cemetery in the Pas de Calais . McCudden ' s death occurred only two months after the death of German ace Manfred von Richthofen , whom some commented had been honoured with a longer and more elaborate funeral by the British . McCudden ' s wartime score was 57 victories ( third highest among RFC / RAF pilots ) included 19 captured , 27 and 1 shared destroyed , 8 and 2 shared ' down out of control ' . Unlike many of his fellow aces , the majority of his claims can be verified from Allied and German sources , suggesting McCudden may in actuality have been the top scoring RFC / RNAS / RAF pilot of the conflict , and the top British flying ace of all time . Memorial . On the morning of 9 July , McCudden had handed his sister an envelope over breakfast , which was subsequently found to contain all of his medals . Today all of McCudden ' s medals including his Victoria Cross are displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham , Kent , alongside those of two of his brothers and his father . The original brass engraved grave plaque used , along with a wooden propeller , are also displayed . The shattered windscreen from McCudden ' s crashed SE5a is preserved in the collection of the Imperial War Museum . The museum ' s collections also include McCudden ' s uniform ' maternity jacket ' and a half - length portrait of McCudden by William Orpen . McCudden and two of his brothers are also memorialised on a panel on the Carlow Great War Memorial , Leighlinbridge Memorial Garden , Leighlinbridge , Co . Carlow , Ireland which notes also that their father was born in Carlow . In March 2009 , McCudden and his contemporary Edward Mannock were the subjects of the BBC " Timewatch " episode , " WWI Aces Falling . " Quotation . " McCudden on the dogfight resulting in the death of German fighter Ace Werner Voss , 23 September 1917 " The ' red - nosed Albatros ' referred to was piloted by the ace Carl Menckhoff who intervened to assist Voss but was quickly forced down . He survived the engagement , as did all the British pilots .