Thomas Culling
Encyclopedia
Flight Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Grey Culling was New Zealand
's first World War I
flying ace
, and was credited with six aerial victories.
Culling was assigned to fly Sopwith Triplane
No. N5444 with 1 Naval Squadron after joining the Royal Naval Air Service
in 1916. He began to score victories in Bloody April
1917, with his first three coming that month. The third one was significant; it was part of one of the war's epic dogfights. On 23 April, Culling was the wingman of the great Australian ace, "Stan" Dallas
. The two ANZAC pilots took on a formation of fourteen German planes; using impeccable air tactics suiting the Triplane's technological advantages, the two Naval aces thwarted the pending air offensive in a 45 minute debacle for the Germans that resulted in three losses.
Culling went to three more wins in May. He was killed in action by a German naval flier on 8 June 1917.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's first World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
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...
, and was credited with six aerial victories.
Culling was assigned to fly Sopwith Triplane
Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. Pilots nicknamed it the Tripehound or simply the Tripe. The Triplane became operational with the Royal Naval Air Service in early 1917 and was...
No. N5444 with 1 Naval Squadron after joining the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
in 1916. He began to score victories in Bloody April
Bloody April
During the First World War, the month of April 1917 was known as Bloody April by the Royal Flying Corps . The RFC suffered particularly severe losses — about three times as many as the Imperial German Army Air Service over the same period — but continued its primary role in support of the ground...
1917, with his first three coming that month. The third one was significant; it was part of one of the war's epic dogfights. On 23 April, Culling was the wingman of the great Australian ace, "Stan" Dallas
Roderic Dallas
Roderic Stanley Dallas DSO, DSC & Bar was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His score of aerial victories is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little; however there is considerable dispute over Dallas's exact total...
. The two ANZAC pilots took on a formation of fourteen German planes; using impeccable air tactics suiting the Triplane's technological advantages, the two Naval aces thwarted the pending air offensive in a 45 minute debacle for the Germans that resulted in three losses.
Culling went to three more wins in May. He was killed in action by a German naval flier on 8 June 1917.
External links
Reference
- Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.
- Australian Hawk Over the Western Front: A Biography of Major R S Dallas DSO, DSC, C de G Avec Palme. Adrian Hellwig. Grub Street, 2005. ISBN 1904943349, 9781904943341.