Walter Naylor
Encyclopedia
Air Mechanic First Class (originally, Gunlayer) Walter Naylor was the leading observer ace of the Royal Naval Air Service, with 14 accredited victories. He flew as an enlisted observer/gunner in Airco DH.4 bombers in 5 Naval Squadron along the English Channel
.
A. Shaw, drove down a German Albatros D.V
out of control over Houttave Airfield. On 4 November, again using DH.4 serial number N6008, they drove down another Albatross D.V over Engel Airfield. On 18 December 1917, he was teamed with Flight Commander C. D. Sproat; using DH.4 number N6001, they set an Albatros D.V aflame in flight and drove another down out of control over Engel Airfield. The following day, Naylor manned the guns in the rear seat for Flight Commander Charles Bartlett
; they destroyed an Albatros D.V offshore of Ostende, and Naylor was an ace.
Naylor began 1918 with a couple of out of control wins over Albatros D.Vs scored in company with Flight Lieutenant Euan Dickson
, on 30 January and 17 February. Naylor was then teamed with Bartlett for the rest of Naylor's wins; Bartlett scored seven of his eight victories with Naylor as observer/gunner. Over Raincourt at 1000 hours on 28 March 1918, the two British aces capped their careers by destroying two Fokker Dr.I
triplane fighters, as well as a Pfalz D.III
fighter.
For his exploits, Walter Naylor was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal on 17 April 1918, with a Bar in lieu of a second award following on June 1918.
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
.
World War I
Naylor scored his first aerial victory on 21 October 1917, as he and his pilot, Flight LieutenantFlight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
A. Shaw, drove down a German 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....
out of control over Houttave Airfield. On 4 November, again using DH.4 serial number N6008, they drove down another Albatross D.V over Engel Airfield. On 18 December 1917, he was teamed with Flight Commander C. D. Sproat; using DH.4 number N6001, they set an Albatros D.V aflame in flight and drove another down out of control over Engel Airfield. The following day, Naylor manned the guns in the rear seat for Flight Commander Charles Bartlett
Charles Bartlett
Charles Bartlett may refer to:*Charles W. Bartlett , English painter and printmaker*Charles Lafayette Bartlett , U.S. Representative from Georgia, 1895–1915*Charles L...
; they destroyed an Albatros D.V offshore of Ostende, and Naylor was an ace.
Naylor began 1918 with a couple of out of control wins over Albatros D.Vs scored in company with Flight Lieutenant Euan Dickson
Euan Dickson
Euan Dickson DSC and bar, DFC was a British born New Zealander bomber pilot in the First World War. Serving with the Royal Naval Air Service and subsequently the Royal Air Force he flew over 150 missions flying the D.H.4 aircraft...
, on 30 January and 17 February. Naylor was then teamed with Bartlett for the rest of Naylor's wins; Bartlett scored seven of his eight victories with Naylor as observer/gunner. Over Raincourt at 1000 hours on 28 March 1918, the two British aces capped their careers by destroying two Fokker Dr.I
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...
triplane fighters, as well as a Pfalz D.III
Pfalz D.III
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Grosz, Peter M. Pfalz D.IIIa . Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-94841-425-1.* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 ...
fighter.
For his exploits, Walter Naylor was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal on 17 April 1918, with a Bar in lieu of a second award following on June 1918.