Sergeant Thomas Frederick Stephenson was a 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...

 credited with five aerial victories.

Stephenson was a sergeant pilot in 11 Squadron . He was teamed with 1st Air Mechanic Sydney Platel as his observer/gunner in a Bristol F.2 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...

. The duo garnered five victories together between 23 September and 31 October 1917, all against Albatros D.V

Albatros D.V

|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....

s. After destroying two D.VIIs on 31 October, they in turn fell under the guns of Oberleutnant Hans Bethge

Hans Bethge

Hans Bethge was a German poet whose reputation abroad rests above all on the versions of Tang dynasty poetry set in Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde"...

. They survived this, though Platel lost a toe. Stephenson subsequently went missing in action on 20 November 1917, apparently as a victim of ground fire.