Captain Maurice Arthur Benjamin was a London born South African flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 active during World War I. He was credited with eight aerial victories while serving as an observer/gunner in two-seater fighters.

Early life

Maurice Arthur Benjamin was born in London on 10 July 1883. When World War I began, he was working as a theatrical manager in South Africa.

World War I

Benjamin joined the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 to serve in World War I. He began service as an aerial observer

Aerial observer

Aerial Observer- Air Force Reconnaissance.An Aerial Observer is the functional position of gathering information visually from an airborne platform for use by military or commercial purposes. This history started when the first balloons were flown in Europe...

 with 48 Squadron on 9 March 1917. He scored his first aerial victories on 6 and 9 April 1917 before being officially appointed as an observer on 11 April 1917. He would be credited with six more victories. As a result, he was awarded the Military Cross, gazetted 18 July 1917:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He helped to attack two large hostile machines, one of which was seen to crash to the ground. Previously he helped to engage three hostile scouts, one of which was destroyed and the remainder dispersed. He has helped to destroy four hostile machines in all.

He subsequently trained as a pilot, receiving Royal Aero Club

Royal Aero Club

The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...

 certificate number 5883 on 3 February 1918. On 1 August 1918, he was promoted to temporary captain while on instructional duty with Home Establishment.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	6 April 1917	Bristol F.2a Fighter Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...	German airplane	Driven down out of control	Douai Douai -Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...	Pilot: William Price William Price -In politics:*William Price , Canadian politician*William Price , British Labour MP for Rugby, 1966–1979*William Price , British MP for Merioneth*William C...
2	Morning of 9 April 1917	Bristol F.2a Fighter	German reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	East of Arras Arras Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...	Pilot: William Price
3	23 April 1917	Bristol F.2a Fighter	Albatros D.III Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...	Driven down out of control	Vimy Vimy Vimy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography and history:Vimy is a farming town, situated some north of Arras, at the junction of the D51 and the N17 roads....	Pilot: William Price. Victory shared with Roger Hay Roger Hay Lieutenant Roger Bolton Hay was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Hay was one of the founding members of 48 Squadron, which was the first to be equipped with Bristol F.2 Fighters. He began his victory string during Bloody April, 1917, with wins on 23, 24, and 27 April... , Fred Holliday, at least three other aviators
4	25 April 1917	Bristol F.2a Fighter	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	East of Arras	Pilot: William Price
5	27 April 1917	Bristol F.2a Fighter	German reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Vitry-en-Artois Vitry-en-Artois Vitry-en-Artois is a commune and in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Vitry-en-Artois is situated some northeast of Arras, at the junction of the N50, D39 and the D42 roads. The river Scarpe flows through the town, which is also served by the SNCF...  (Southwest of Douai)	Victory shared with Roger Hay
6	26 May 1917 @ 1945 hours	Bristol F.2b Fighter serial number A7119	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	Southwest of Douai	Pilot: J. W. Warren
7	26 May 1917 @ 1945 hours	Bristol F.2b Fighter serial number A7119	Albatros D.III	Driven down out of control	Southwest of Douai	Pilot: J. W. Warren
8	15 June 1917 @ 1940 hours	Bristol F.2b Fighter serial number A7117	Albatros D.III	Driven down out of control	Fampoux Fampoux Fampoux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated east of Arras, on the D42 road...	Pilot: H.M Fraser. Victory shared with another air crew

Post World War I

On 1 August 1919, Benjamin was granted a permanent commission as a lieutenant. Instead, he was put on the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 19 August 1919. His commission as lieutenant was cancelled on 5 September 1919.

Reference

Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914-1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI. Grub Street, 1997. ISBN 1898697566, 9781898697565.

Endnotes