Captain Frank Cecil Ransley was a World War I 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 nine aerial victories. He would survive the war to become one of its eldest aces before dying at 95 years of age.

Early life

Frank Cecil Ransley was born in Caversham, Berkshire, England on 18 October 1897. He entered World War I as a gunner

Gunner (rank)

Gunner is a rank equivalent to Private in the British Army Royal Artillery and the artillery corps of other Commonwealth armies. The next highest rank is usually Lance-Bombardier, although in the Royal Canadian Artillery it is Bombardier....

 (regimental number 19867) in the Royal Garrison Artillery

Royal Garrison Artillery

The Royal Garrison Artillery was an arm of the Royal Artillery that was originally tasked with manning the guns of the British Empire's forts and fortresses, including coastal artillery batteries, the heavy gun batteries attached to each infantry division, and the guns of the siege...

.

World War I

On 30 May 1917, Ransley was one of the cadet

Cadet

A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...

s appointed to the General List of the Royal Flying Corps

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...

 as a temporary second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 on probation. He was confirmed in his rank on 29 September 1917.

Ransley was posted to 48 Squadron in late 1917 as a pilot. His gunner scored an aerial victory for them on 28 January 1918. Ransley scored his second victory personally two months later. He would continue on to mount a total of nine victories by 27 June 1918. He was appointed a Flight Commander in June. He also earned a Distinguished Flying Cross during June, though it was not gazetted until 3 August 1918:

List of aerial victories

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	28 January 1918 @ 1240 hours	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...  serial number B1193	Rumpler Rumpler The Rumpler Tropfenwagen was a car developed by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler.Rumpler, born in Vienna, was a designer of aircraft when on the 1921's Berlin car show he introduced the Tropfenwagen. It was to be the first streamlined car . The Rumpler had a Cw-value of only 0.28...  reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Beaurevoir Beaurevoir Beaurevoir is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Population:...	Ransley's gunner/observer was Robert Herring Robert Herring (aviator) Lieutenant Robert Samuel Herring was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...
2	27 March 1918 @ 1520 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C4628	LVG LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin-Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bomber biplanes during World War I.The raid on London in 1916 was...  reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Morlancourt Morlancourt Morlancourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Morlancourt is situated on the D42 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-Personalities:* Louis Friant , French General, was born here....	Ransley's gunner/observer was Joseph Michael John Moore Joseph Michael John Moore Second lieutenant Joseph Michael John Moore was a World War I flying ace credited with eight victories. He flew as a gunner/observer in two-seater fighters, garnering his wins while flying with three different pilots...
3	12 April 1918 @ 1040 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C4886	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 ...	Destroyed	West of Moreuil Moreuil Moreuil is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Moreuil is situated on the D920 and D935 crossroads, some southeast of Amiens, on the banks of the Avre River.-Population:-History:...  Woods	Ransley's gunner/observer was L. W. Davies
4	1 June 1918 @ 1805 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C786	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....	Set afire; destroyed	North of Lamotte Lamotte-du-Rhône Lamotte-du-Rhône is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-References:*...	Ransley's gunner/observer was G. Dixon
5	1 June 1918 @ 1805 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C786	Albatros D.V	Driven down out of control	Lamotte	Ransley's gunner/observer was G. Dixon
6	10 June 1918 @ 1745 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter	Albatros D.V	Set afire; destroyed	Roye Roye Roye is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:* Roye, Haute-Saône, in the Haute-Saône département* Roye, Somme, in the Somme département* Roye-sur-Matz, in the Oise département-People:...	Victory shared with John Elmer Drummond, Charles Steele Charles Steele Air Marshal Sir Charles Ronald Steele KCB DFC was a Royal Air Force officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Coastal Command.-RAF career:... , Harold Anthony Oaks Harold Anthony Oaks Captain Harold Anthony Oaks was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with 11 confirmed aerial victories. Upon his return to Canada, his extensive pioneering activities as an aviator/geologist earned him enshrinement in the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.- Early life and infantry service...
7	14 June 1918 @ 1530 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C786	LVG reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	East of Albert Albert, Somme Albert is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is located about halfway between Amiens and Bapaume.-History:Albert was founded as a Roman outpost called Encre, in about 54 BC...	Ransley's gunner/observer was W. Lauder
8	25 June 1918 @ 1145 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C786	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	Foucaucourt-Rosières Rosières Rosières may refer to the following places in France:* Rosières, Ardèche, a commune in the department of Ardèche* Rosières, Haute-Loire, a commune in the department of Haute-Loire* Rosières, Oise, a commune in the department of Oise...	Ransley's gunner/observer was L. W. Davies
9	27 June 1918 @ 1800 hours	Bristol F.2 Fighter s/n C808	Fokker D.VII	Set afire; destroyed	East of Lamotte.	Ransley's gunner/observer was L. W. Davies

Post World War I

Nothing further is known of his life except that he survived until New Year's Eve, 1992.

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.

Endnotes