A Fine Character
Mr. Bishop was a brave and courageous man. He was an excellent and skilled shooter as well as a resourceful warrior. He had keen eyesight and during college, he was very popular and was known as a lady's man.
All pilots come back with stories of what they've accomplished, but there are not always witnesses to serve as proof. However, compared to other aces, Bishop had a high confirmation rate. His claims have a formidable degree of verification. He won several awards, including the Victoria Cross. He served his country with great distinction in the first world war.
On top of all that, he was funny too!
All pilots come back with stories of what they've accomplished, but there are not always witnesses to serve as proof. However, compared to other aces, Bishop had a high confirmation rate. His claims have a formidable degree of verification. He won several awards, including the Victoria Cross. He served his country with great distinction in the first world war.
On top of all that, he was funny too!
He Shoots, He Scores!
Royal Canadian Air Force
After the first kill in March, he proceeded to shoot down 46 more planes within the next few months. By fall, he was sent on a tour through Canada and the United States to recruit Canadians and Americans to the air force. After the tour, he returned to the war front in June of 1918 and continued to succeed in shooting down enemy planes. Afterward, he went back to England to start work on helping organize what became Canada's first air force - the Royal Canadian Air Force (left).
A Brave Little Story
In the early morning hours of June 2, 1917, Billy Bishop set out alone across enemy lines to attack a German aerodrome. He arrived at sunrise to see it was empty. On the way back, he spotted another one elsewhere and approached it. He saw and attacked 6 Albatros Scout planes and one two-seater on the ground, and then shot down three more German airplanes that took off towards him. In his words; "I fired on seven machines in the aerodrome, some of which had their engines running. One of them took off and I fired...and he crashed. A second one taking off, I opened fire...he crashed into a tree. Two more were taking off together. I climbed and engaged one...and he crashed 300 yards from the aerodrome..." (Freeman-Shaw & Haskings-Winner, 15)
He ended up winning; a huge victory from which he returned at 5:40 am. Incidentally, there were no witnesses to his lone execution of bravado so there was no report or proof that it happened. However, this easily could be because the German planes that Bishop encountered were not on any established fighter base. Therefore, those who investigated into the dawn raid were not referring to the right location, which made it seem like it didn't happen. Additionally, the event probably did not appear in German records because the air unit, Jagdstaffel 20, was still en route to its new location (hence not on a fighter base) and was not required to report by German policy.
He ended up winning; a huge victory from which he returned at 5:40 am. Incidentally, there were no witnesses to his lone execution of bravado so there was no report or proof that it happened. However, this easily could be because the German planes that Bishop encountered were not on any established fighter base. Therefore, those who investigated into the dawn raid were not referring to the right location, which made it seem like it didn't happen. Additionally, the event probably did not appear in German records because the air unit, Jagdstaffel 20, was still en route to its new location (hence not on a fighter base) and was not required to report by German policy.