Elwyn King Elwyn Roy King DSO , DFC ( 13 May 1894 – 28 November 1941 ) was a fighter pilot and ace in the Australian Flying Corps ( AFC ) during World War I . He achieved twenty - six victories in aerial combat , making him the fourth highest - scoring Australian pilot of the war , and second only to Harry Cobby in the AFC . King entered service as a Lighthorseman in 1915 , before transferring to the AFC in 1917 . Operating with No . 4 Squadron on the Western Front , he scored seven of his " kills " in the Sopwith Snipe , more than any other pilot flying the type . His exploits earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Distinguished Service Order . Returning to Australia in 1919 , King went into business before joining the Royal Australian Air Force following the outbreak of World War II . He held several training commands prior to his sudden death in November 1941 , at the age of forty - seven . Early life . Elwyn Roy King was born on 13 May 1894 at The Grove , near Bathurst , New South Wales . He was the son of English - born Elizabeth Mary ( Miller ) King and Richard King , an Australian labourer . Elwyn attended public school , and further educated himself in mechanical engineering via correspondence . Having been employed repairing bicycles , automobiles , and farming equipment , he was working as a motor mechanic in Forbes when he joined the Australian Imperial Force under the name Roy King on 20 July 1915 . World War I . Early service . Embarking for Egypt aboard HMAT " Themistocles " on 5 October 1915 , King became a member of the 12th Light Horse Regiment in February 1916 . The unit was engaged in the defence of Suez Canal in May , and spent the following months undertaking patrols and sorties into the Sinai Desert . King transferred to the Australian Flying Corps ( AFC ) on 13 January 1917 , and was sent to Britain to join No . 4 Squadron AFC ( also known as No . 68 ( Australian ) Squadron , Royal Flying Corps , to the British ) as an air mechanic on 18 April . He was posted to a training squadron for flying instruction in August . On 15 October , he gained his wings and was commissioned as a second lieutenant . Rejoining No . 4 Squadron in November , he was promoted to lieutenant on 15 January 1918 . He arrived in France for active duty on 21 March . Fighter ace . No . 4 Squadron initially flew its Sopwith Camel s in support of Australian ground troops , meaning that King and his fellow pilots were engaged in hazardous low - level work , with little opportunity for air - to - air combat . The burly six - foot , three - inch King — nicknamed " Bo " or " Beau " — also had problems landing the Camel ; his large frame crammed into its small cockpit impeded control stick movement . The resulting rough landings annoyed his commanding officer , Major Wilfred McCloughry , brother of ace Edgar McCloughry . On 14 May 1918 , King sent a two - seat German scout out of control , but clouds prevented him from confirming its destruction . By 20 May , however , he had been credited with his first aerial victory , over a Pfalz D . III near Kemmel - Neuve Église . The following month he shot down his first balloon and two more aircraft , a Pfalz and an LVG , in the vicinity of the Lys . On 29 July , King led a flight of six Camels from No . 4 Squadron escorting Royal Air Force Airco DH . 9 light bombers in a raid on Armentières . In an action that the official history of Australia in the war highlighted as an " example of cool and skilful air fighting " , the DH . 9s completed their bombing mission while the Camels drove off an attacking force of at least ten German Fokker s , three of the Australians including King claiming victories , without any Allied loss . King scored two victories , a balloon and an LVG , near Estaires during a bombing raid on 10 August . On 16 August , as part of the Allies ' Hundred Days Offensive , he participated in another raid , a major assault against the German airfield at Haubourdin , near Lille , that resulted in thirty - seven enemy aircraft being destroyed . During the action , described by the official history as a " riot of destruction " , King set on fire a hangar housing four or five German planes . He was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) on 8 September . The award , promulgated in the " London Gazette " on 3 December , cited his " gallant and valuable service in bombing and attacking with machine gun fire enemy billets , trains , troops etc " , during which " he insures success by descending to low altitudes , disregarding personal danger " . On 15 September , King was promoted to captain and flight commander , and by the end of the month had taken his score to eighteen . He registered his final victory in a Camel on 2 October when he sent down his fourth balloon by unloading his bombs on it . He then converted with the rest of No . 4 Squadron to the upgraded Sopwith Snipe , whose larger cockpit was a better fit for him . King scored with the Snipe on both 28 and 29 October , the latter at Tournai , in what is frequently described as " one of the greatest air battles of the war " . Amid a confrontation involving over seventy - five Allied and German fighters , King evaded five enemy Fokkers that dived on him , before destroying an LVG in a head - on attack . The next day , he downed three Fokker D . VII s , two without having to fire a shot . As he zoomed up from shooting one down out of control , he cut off another . This second Fokker pulled up to avoid collision and toppled on top of a third Fokker . One of the war ' s last air battles took place near Leuze on 4 November . King ' s destruction of two D . VIIs in the space of five minutes , the latter in flames , capped his combat career . His tally of seven victories with the Snipe in the closing days of the war made him the highest - scoring pilot in this type . King ' s final wartime score included six aircraft driven down out of control , thirteen aircraft and four balloons destroyed , and three other aircraft destroyed in victories shared with other airmen . This made him second only to his great friend and fellow No . 4 Squadron pilot , Captain Harry Cobby , as the most successful ace in the AFC , as well the fourth most successful of all the Australian aces in the war ( his top - scoring compatriots , Robert A . Little and Roderic Dallas , flew with the British Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force ) . King was recommended for a bar to his DFC , which was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Order and awarded on 3 June 1919 . The recommendation noted his victories in the air and cited him for having " proved himself a very brilliant patrol leader " and for being " a magnificant example at all times to all pilots in the squadron " . He was also belatedly mentioned in despatches in July 1919 for his wartime service . Interbellum and World War II . Following the end of hostilities , No . 4 Squadron joined the British Army of Occupation in Bickendorf , near Cologne , Germany , in December 1918 . The unit returned to England in March 1919 , and King sailed with it back to Australia on 6 May . He left the AFC on 11 August 1919 in Melbourne , before taking up employment with Larkin - Sopwith Aviation Company of Australasia Limited , racking up a number of commercial aviation firsts transporting mail , newspapers , and press photos . In 1920 , he refused to join the newly established Australian Air Corps — forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) — because it had not then offered a commission to Frank McNamara VC . King soon left aviation to go into business with another pilot , founding Shipman , King , and Company Pty Limited . Importing and manufacturing machinery , the company was successful and King was able to take up motor racing . On 31 March 1925 , he married twenty year - old Josephine Vida Livingston in Melbourne . They had a son and a daughter . In December 1939 , soon after the outbreak of World War II , King joined the RAAF as a squadron leader . Initially offered general flying duties , he was transferred to pilot training in the new year . On 2 January 1940 , he became the inaugural commanding officer of No . 3 Elementary Flying Training School ( No . 3 EFTS ) in Essendon , Victoria . Established as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme , No . 3 EFTS initially comprised a significant civilian presence , many of the aircraft and staff under King ' s control being from private airline companies and the Royal Victorian Aero Club ; by July , however , all private machines had been pressed into RAAF service and the civilian element largely ceased . King took over No . 5 Elementary Flying Training School at Narromine , New South Wales , on 21 December . Promoted to wing commander , he led No . 1 Service Flying Training School at RAAF Point Cook from 7 July 1941 , before being posted in October to command the newly established Station Headquarters Point Cook , as a group captain . King died unexpectedly of cerebral oedema on 28 November . He was survived by his wife and children , and cremated . His funeral at South Yarra was attended by hundreds of mourners from the military and civil aviation world , including the Chief of the Air Staff , Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett , and a representative of the Minister for Air ; the pallbearers included Air Vice Marshal Henry Wrigley , Air Commodore Raymond Brownell , Group Captain Allan Walters , and Wing Commander Henry Winneke .