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Air Vice Marshal 'Raymond Collishaw' CB DSO and Bar OBE DSC DFC RAF (22 November 1893 - 28 September 1976) was a Canadian aviator who served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest scoring RNAS flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of the First World War. As a member of the RAF during the Second World War, he commanded the Desert Air Force in North Africa.

Contents

Early life

First World War

Russia, 1919

Middle East

Second World War

Later years and legacy

References

External links

Early life

Raymond Collishaw was born at Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada on 22 November 1893. His father was Edward Collishaw. He joined the Canadian Fisheries Protection Services as a cabin boy at the age of 15. As a sailor, he was onboard the ''Alcedo'' when it sailed into the Arctic Circle in search of the Stefansson expedition. Unfortunately, for the expedition, they were too late to rescue the ''Karluk''. By 1915, he had worked his way up to first officer.

First World War

Toward the end of 1915, Collishaw joined the Royal Naval Air Service. He qualified as a pilot in January 1916. He spent months patrolling the British coast then, on 2 August 1916, he joined the RNAS's 3rd Wing which was operating in France. He helped escort the wing's bombers until 1 February 1917 when he transferred to No. 3 Naval Squadron. In April he transferred to No. 10 Naval Squadron.
He commanded the famous ''Black Flight'' of No. 10 Naval Squadron. This unit, all Canadian and flying Sopwith Triplanes with black trim, claimed 87 German aircraft destroyed or driven down in three months. He was the first Commonwealth pilot to claim six victories in one day, (6th July]]