Captain Edward Duncan Crundall (9 December 1896 – 1980s) 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 seven aerial victories.

World War I

Crundall joined 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 1914. By 1916, he was posted to 8 Naval Squadron as a pilot. He would score his first aerial victories during 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 while flying a 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...

. On 10 May 1917, he was wounded and shot down by Alois Heldmann

Alois Heldmann

Colonel Alois Heldmann was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 confirmed aerial victories while he was a leutnant. He later joined the Luftwaffe and was a flying school inspector.-Early life:...

. Munday would then switch squadrons and mounts for his last four wins, flying a Sopwith Camel

Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...

 for 210 Squadron RAF. For his valorous efforts, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Post World War I

Crundall left the Royal Air Force but continued with aviation. He flew civil flights and air charter work until 1937. In 1939, he rejoined the RAF. He commanded the 116th Calibration Squadron until 1945, earning an Air Force Cross for his efforts..

After World War II, Crundall began charter airlines to French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa

French Equatorial Africa or the AEF was the federation of French colonial possessions in Middle Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River to the Sahara Desert.-History:...

 and South Africa. By the end of his flying career, he had accumulated over 8,500 flying hours in his pilot's log.

His autobiography, entitled Fighter Pilot on the Western Front, was published in 1975.

List of aerial victories

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	14 April 1917 @ 0905 hours	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...  serial number N5464	Albatros reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Henin-Lietard
2	14 April 1917 @ 0905 hours	Sopwith Triplane s/n N5464	Albatros reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Henin-Lietard
3	18 August 1917 @ 1830 hours	Sopwith Triplane s/n N5465	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....	Driven down out of control	Henin-Lietard	Victory shared with Richard Burnard Munday Richard Burnard Munday Major Richard Burnard Munday was an English flying ace credited with scoring nine aerial victories during World War I. He was notable for scoring Britain's first night victory; he also excelled as a balloon buster at the rare feat of shooting down enemy observation balloons at night.-Early... , Charles Dawson Booker Charles Dawson Booker Major Charles Dawson Booker DSC was a World War I fighter ace credited with 29 victories. He was promoted to high rank while relatively young as a result of his gallantry and unswerving dedication to his country.-Early life:Charles Dawson Booker was born to Joseph Dawson and Rachel C...
4	30 July 1918 @ 1000 hours	Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...  s/n B7860	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 ...	Driven down out of control	East of Dixmude
5	1 August 1918 @ 1925 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B7860	Fokker D.VII Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...	Driven down out of control	North of Lille Lille Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
6	9 August 1918 @ 0725 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B7860	Fokker D.VII	Destroyed	Zonnebeke Zonnebeke Zonnebeke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Beselare, Geluveld, Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006 Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758...
7	9 August 1918 @ 0730 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B7860	Fokker D.VII	Destroyed	Southeast of Staden Staden Staden is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Oostnieuwkerke, Staden proper and Westrozebeke. On January 1, 2006 Staden had a total population of 10,969. The total area is 46.24 km² which gives a population density of 237...

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.

Reference