Gerald Gordon Bell

Gerald Gordon Bell
Nickname(s)	Gerry
Born	1890 Hamilton, Ontario
Died	17 January 1989
Allegiance	United Kingdom[1]
Service/branch	Royal Flying Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service	1936-1961
Rank	Captain
Unit	No. 17, 22, & No. 47 Squadron RFC, No. 150 Squadron RAF
Awards	The Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Distinguished Flying Cross

Gerald Gordon Bell DFC (11 June 1890 - Unknown date) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 16 victories.^[2]

During 1917 Bell flew as an observer/gunner with No. 22 Squadron, claiming 3 victories. After training as a pilot, Bell was sent to Greece to fly scouts with 47 Squadron and 150 Sqn.

List of aerial victories

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	8 April 1917 @ 0700 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b serial number A5454	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	Regny	Pilot: A W Beale. Victory shared with Llewelyn Davies, Carleton Main Clement, and 8 other pilots.
2	3 May 1917 @ 1730 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b s/n A855	Albatros D.III	Destroyed		Pilot: E A H Ward
3	29 July 1917 @ 0650 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b	Two-seater reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Tortequesne	Pilot: E A H Ward
4	13 April 1918 @ 0730 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B692	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	1500 yards south of Brajkovic	Victory shared with Charles D. B. Green
5	13 May 1918 @ 0800 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B695	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	Livanovo	Victory shared with Acheson Goulding
6	15 May 1918 @ 0530 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B28	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	Hudova	Victory shared with Frederick Travers
7	1 June 1918 @ 1505 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B692	Siemens-Schuckert D.III	Destroyed	Casandale
8	15 June 1918 @ 0915 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B692	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	Marinopolje	Victory shared with Leslie Hamilton, another pilot
9	18 June 1918 @ 0750 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B692	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	North of Paljorca	Victory shared with Acheson Goulding
10	23 June 1918 @ 0745 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B6925	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	Hill 5401-Rupel Pass	Victory shared with Leslie Hamilton
11	9 July 1918 @ 0800 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B6945	Rumpler reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Angista, Greece
12	19 July 1918 @ 0800 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B692	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	West of Livanova aerodrome	Victory shared with Arthur Jarvis, two other pilots
13	5 August 1918 @ 0815 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n D3945	Siemens-Schuckert D.III	Destroyed	3000 yards northwest of Hudova	Shared victory
14	15 August 1918 @ 1200 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n D3945	LVG reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Seres Uesnik
15	21 August 1918 @ 0910 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n D3945	LVG reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Gerejik-Derbent
16	18 September 1918 @ 0630 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n D3945	Fokker fighter	Destroyed	Karali
[3]

Text of citations

Distinguished Flying Cross

"Lieut. (T./Capt.) Gerald Gordon Bell (E. Ontario R.). This officer has had numerous engagements with hostile aircraft, invariably displaying marked gallantry and leadership of a high order, notably on the 1st of June, when he, accompanied by another pilot, attacked a formation of twelve enemy scouts; he shot down one in flames and drove down others out of control, only breaking off the engagement when all his ammunition had been expended."

References

1. Canadian airmen were required to complete an Attestation Paper in which they declared an oath of allegiance to King George the Fifth and agreed to serve in any arm of the service for the duration of the war between Great Britain and Germany. aerodrome.com
2. "WWI Aces of Canada: Gerald Bell". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
3. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/bell4.php Retrieved 23 July 2011.

• http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/case-study/canada-s-first-black-airman-gerry-bell Retrieved 5 May 2014.