Donald Cunnell
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
who was killed in action over Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He is known for having shot down and wounded the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
.
Early life
Cunnell was born in December 1893 at NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Charles Donald Cunnell and educated at Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, Holt
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
.
Career
Cunnell was commissioned into the Hampshire Regiment in 1914. He learnt to fly and transferred to the Royal Flying CorpsRoyal 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...
in 1915. He saw active service on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, including his service as a fighter pilot, from the early weeks of 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...
until his death.
As a flight commander with No 20 Squadron
No. 20 Squadron RAF
No. 20 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was until March 2010, the OCU for the BAE Harrier GR9, and T12, operating from RAF Wittering...
in 1917, Cunnell claimed nine victories (five claimed destroyed, four "out of control") flying Royal Aircraft Factory FE2ds
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War...
.
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 including one flown by Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
. During the clash Richthofen was wounded in the head and forced to land near Wervicq. The victory was credited to the crew of Cunnell's A6412.
The Red Knight of Germany : the story of Baron von Richthofen, Germany's great war bird
Gibbons, Floyd Phillips, 1887-1939
New York : Bantam Books
Page 152
Four days after his 57th victory, Richthofen himself went hurtling down from a fearful height with an English bullet wound in his head. It was the first wound he had received in almost three years of war. He had had many narrow escapes, but this was the first time that the enemy had touched him.
The man who shot Richthofen down that 6th of July morning was Second Commander Albert Edward Woodbridge, who was a Second Lieutenant at the time and was acting as observer for Pilot Captain D. C. Cunnell, commanding a wing of the Twentieth Squadron, R. F. C.
Cunnell was killed six days afterward, but Woodbridge survived the war to tell this story.
It is often falsely stated that this was the only time Manfred von Richthofen was shot down in air to air combat; Edwin Benbow
Edwin Benbow
Captain Edwin Louis Benbow was an English flying ace during the First World War, credited with eight victories, comprising six destroyed and one shared destroyed, and one 'out of control'. He was the only pilot to gain 'ace' status flying the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.8 exclusively...
's victory of 6 March 1917 over the Red Baron is usually overlooked. However, it was the only time the Red Baron was wounded in action.
Woodbridge later described the action:
Richthofen's subsequent medical treatment disclosed that the bullet that hit him may have come from behind. Despite Cunnell and Woodbridge's confirmed claim for this aerial victory, Richthofen may have fallen from fire from one of the other FE.2s of 20 Squadron, from being shot down by Raymond Collishaw
Raymond Collishaw
Air Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, DSC, DFC, RAF was a distinguished Canadian fighter pilot, squadron leader, and commanding officer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest scoring RNAS flying ace and the second highest...
, or even from one of Collishaw's wingmen from 'B' Flight, 10 Naval Squadron
No. 210 Squadron RAF
No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was...
such as William Alexander
William Alexander
William Alexander , who claimed the disputed title of Earl of Stirling, was an American major-general during the American Revolutionary War.-Life:...
, Ellis Vair Reid
Ellis Vair Reid
Ellis Vair Reid DSC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 19 victories.-Distinguished Service Cross:"Flt. Sub-Lieut. Ellis Vair Reed, R.N.A.S. ....
, or Desmond Fitzgibbon.
Cunnell was killed by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
antiaircraft fire a few days later on 12 July 1917 near Wervicq, Belgium; his observer, Lt. A. G. Bill, successfully flew his fighter back to base. At the time of Cunnell's death he held the rank of Captain, RFC
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...
.
He was buried at the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension North at Bailleul
Bailleul
- France :*Bailleul, Nord, in the Nord département*Bailleul, Orne, in the Orne département*Bailleul, Somme, in the Somme département*Bailleul-aux-Cornailles, in the Pas-de-Calais département*Bailleul-la-Vallée, in the Eure département...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
close to the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
border, in grave III.C.263.
Air victories
- 2 May 1917 1115, flying a 20 Squadron FE2dRoyal Aircraft Factory F.E.2The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War...
serial number A6431, claimed an Albatros D.III 'destroyed in flames'(DESF) at Comines - 26 May 1917 1035, flying FE2d serial number A6431, claimed an Albatros D.III destroyed(DES) at Comines-Quesnoy
- 31 May 1917 1920, flying FE2d serial number A6430, claimed an Albatros D.III (DES) at Comines
- 5 June 1917 0810, flying FE2d serial number A6414, claimed an Albatros D.V (DESF) at Coucou
- 6 Jul 1917 1030, flying FE2d serial number A6412, claimed an Albatros D.V 'out of control'(OOC) at Wervicq
- 6 Jul 1917 1030, flying FE2d serial number A6412, claimed an Albatros D.V (OOC) at Wervicq
- 6 Jul 1917 1030, flying FE2d serial number A6412, claimed an Albatros D.V (OOC) at Wervicq
- 6 Jul 1917 1030, flying FE2d serial number A6412, claimed an Albatros D.V (OOC) at Wervicq
- 11 Jul 1917 1400, flying FE2d serial number A6412, claimed an Albatros D.V (DESF) at Wervicq-Menin