Captain Norman Cyril Jones was an English 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...

 during World War I. He was credited with nine aerial victories.

Early life

Norman Cyril Jones was born in Cheshire, England. His birth date is unknown; however, he would have to been born prior to 1897 to be old enough to be commissioned into the military at the start of World War I in 1914.

World War I

Norman Cyril Jones was commissioned as a 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...

 in the 2nd East Lancashire Brigade on 14 September 1914.

He was promoted to lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the Royal Horse and Field Artillery

Royal Horse Artillery

The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...

 on 1 June 1916.

On 8 June 1917, second lieutenant Jones was appointed a Flying Officer

Flying Officer

Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

 in 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...

; this appointment customarily marked graduation from pilot's training. From 21 June–19 August 1917 he was posted to 71 Squadron while it was in Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

. In late 1917, he was assigned to 28 Squadron in Italy. He scored his first aerial victory while with them, on 25 January 1918.

On 30 January 1918 Jones was appointed a Flight Commander with the temporary rank of Captain. He subsequently transferred in theater, to 45 Squadron, where he resumed his winning ways on 19 May 1918. He would run his score to nine by 21 August 1918.

He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his courageous service. It was gazetted on 21 September 1918:
Needless to say, the award citation was based on incomplete information, as Jones' victory list shows.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	25 January 1918 @ 1045 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...  serial number B6344	Aviatik Aviatik Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen in 1910 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft, relocating to Freiburg in 1914 and establishing a subsidiary in Vienna as Österreichisch-Ungarische...  reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Sernaglia Sernaglia della Battaglia Sernaglia della Battaglia is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 50 km northwest of Venice and about 25 km northwest of Treviso.... -San Pietro San Pietro San Pietro is Italian for Saint Peter – see also Saint Peter .It may also refer to:- Churches :* Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano* Antica basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano* San Pietro di Castello in Venice...
2	19 May 1918 @ 0625 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B6372	Reconnaissance plane	Set afire; destroyed	Mel, Veneto	Victory shared with Charles Gray Catto
3	20 May 1918 @ 1040 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B6372	Albatros D.III Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...	Destroyed	Northeast of Asiago
4	1 June 1918 @ 0945 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B6372	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	Feltre Feltre Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...
5	7 June 1918 @ 1740 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B6372	DFW DFW DFW may refer to:*Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport*Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, a metropolitan area in north Texas*Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources*Division of Fisheries and Wildlife...  reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Arsiero Arsiero Arsiero is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is west SP82. As of 2007 Arsiero had an estimated population of 3,488.-Sources:*...
6	28 June 1918 @ 0835 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n D8169	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	A mile west of Pedavena Pedavena Pedavena is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto. It is located about 70 km northwest of Venice and about 30 km southwest of Belluno...
7	29 July 1918 @ approx. 0900 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n D8169	Albatros D.III	Destroyed	Brugnera Brugnera Brugnera is a comune in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 100 km northwest of Trieste and about 12 km southwest of Pordenone, with c...
8	21 August 1918 @ 0815 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n D8234	Albatros D.V	Destroyed	Ghiarona
9	21 August 1918 @ 0815 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n D8234	Albatros D.V	Driven down out of control	Ghiarona

Between the World Wars

On 23 January 1919, Lieutenant Norman Cyril Jones was placed on the RAF's unemployed list. His assignment to the RAF was ended and he was returned to the Royal Horse and Royal Field Artillery of the Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...

. He gave up his commission on 30 September 1921.

As Jones exited the military, he moved into the business world. He was involved in the reorganization of the family business in March 1920, which established John Jones as Chairman.

World War II and beyond

He rejoined the RAF for World War II; on 23 February 1941 he was commissioned as an Acting Probationary Pilot Officer

Pilot Officer

Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...

 for "the duration of hostilities...." Despite his military duties, he was a personal representative to the estate of John Jenkyn Jones, deceased 30 November 1943.

Norman Cyril Jones retired from the firm of Cox & Deakin on 1 April 1974.

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 Franks
  Norman Franks
  Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English writer who specialises in aviation books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.-Biography:...
  
  , Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.