Initial war service Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Ball enlisted in the British Army, joining the
2/7th (Robin Hood) Battalion of the
Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment). Soon promoted to
sergeant, he gained his commission as a
second lieutenant on 29 October. He was assigned to training recruits, but this rear-echelon role annoyed him. In an attempt to see action, he transferred early the following year to the North Midlands Cyclist Company, Divisional Mounted Troops, but remained confined to a posting in England. In March 1915, Ball began a short-lived engagement to Dorothy (Dot) Elbourne. In June, he decided to take private flying lessons at
Hendon Aerodrome, which would give him an outlet for his interest in engineering and possibly help him to see action in France sooner. He paid to undertake pilot training in his own time at the Ruffy-Baumann School, which charged £75 to £100 for instruction (£5,580 to £7,440 in 2010 prices). Ball would wake at 3:00 am to ride his motorcycle to Ruffy-Baumann for flying practice at dawn, before beginning his daily military duty at 6:45 am. In letters home Ball recorded that he found flying "great sport", and displayed what
Peter de la Billière described as "almost brutal" detachment regarding accidents suffered by his fellow trainees:
Military flight training and reconnaissance work , widely used as a trainer in 1915–16|alt=Half portrait of young dark-haired man in military uniform with coat over left arm, standing in front of biplane Although considered an average pilot at best by his instructors, Ball qualified for his
Royal Aero Club certificate (no. 1898) on 15 October 1915, and promptly requested transfer to the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC). He was seconded to
No. 9 (Reserve) Squadron RFC on 23 October, and trained at
Mousehold Heath aerodrome near
Norwich. In the first week of December, he soloed in a
Maurice Farman Longhorn after standing duty all night, and his touchdown was rough. When his instructor commented sarcastically on the landing, Ball angrily exclaimed that he had only 15 minutes experience in the plane, and that if this was the best instruction he was going to get, he would rather return to his old unit. The instructor relented, and Ball then soloed again and landed successfully in five consecutive flights. His rough landing was not the last Ball was involved in; he survived two others. He completed his training at
Central Flying School, Upavon, and was awarded his
wings on 22 January 1916. On 18 February 1916, Ball joined
No. 13 Squadron RFC at
Marieux in France, flying a two-seat
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c on reconnaissance missions. April 1916 also saw Ball's first mention in a letter home of plans for "a most wonderful machine ... heaps better than the Hun Fokker". It is now generally believed that these "plans" were unconnected with the design of the
Austin-Ball A.F.B.1, with which he later became involved.
Initial fighter posting On 7 May 1916, Ball was posted to
No. 11 Squadron, which operated a mix of fighters including Bristol Scouts,
Nieuport 16s and
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b
"pushers". After his first day of flying with his new unit, he wrote a letter home complaining about fatigue. He was unhappy with the hygiene of his assigned billet in the nearest village, and elected to live in a tent on the flight line. Ball built a hut for himself to replace the tent and cultivated a garden. Throughout his flying service Ball was primarily a "lone-wolf" pilot, stalking his prey from below until he drew close enough to use his top-wing Lewis gun on its
Foster mounting, angled to fire upwards into the enemy's fuselage. According to fellow ace and
Victoria Cross recipient
James McCudden, "it was quite a work of art to pull this gun down and shoot upwards, and at the same time manage one's machine accurately". Ball was as much a loner on the ground as in the air, preferring to stay in his hut on the flight line away from other squadron members. His off-duty hours were spent tending his small garden and practising the violin. Though not unsociable per se, he was extremely sensitive and shy. Ball acted as his own mechanic on his aircraft and, as a consequence, was often untidy and dishevelled. His singularity in dress extended to his habit of flying without a helmet and goggles, and he wore his thick black hair longer than regulations generally permitted. While flying a Bristol Scout on 16 May 1916, Ball scored his first aerial victory, driving down a German reconnaissance aircraft. During the month he had written to his parents admonishing them to try and "take it well" if he was killed, "for men tons better than I go in hundreds every day". He again achieved two victories in one
sortie on 2 July, shooting down a
Roland C.II and an
Aviatik to bring his score to seven. Ball then requested a few days off but, to his dismay, was temporarily reassigned to aerial reconnaissance duty with
No. 8 Squadron, where he flew B.E.2s from 18 July until 14 August. While he was on reconnaissance duties with No. 8 Squadron, the
London Gazette announced that he had been awarded the
Military Cross "for conspicuous skill and gallantry on many occasions," particularly for "one occasion [when] he attacked six in one flight". This was not unusual; throughout his career, Ball generally attacked on sight and heedless of the odds. He professed no hatred for his opponents, writing to his parents "I only scrap because it is my duty ... Nothing makes me feel more rotten than to see them go down, but you see it is either them or me, so I must do my duty best to make it a case of
them". He destroyed three Roland C.IIs in one sortie on 22 August 1916, the first RFC pilot to do so. He transferred with part of No. 11 Squadron to
No. 60 Squadron RFC on 23 August. One of the squadron mechanics painted up a non-standard red propeller boss; A201 became the first of a series of Ball's aeroplanes to have such a colour scheme. He found that it helped his fellow squadron members identify his aircraft and confirm his combat claims. By end of the month, he had increased his tally to 17 enemy aircraft, including three on 28 August. Prior to this the British government had suppressed the names of its aces—in contrast to the policy of the French and Germans—but the losses of the
Battle of the Somme, which had commenced in July, made politic the publicising of its successes in the air. Ball's achievements had a profound impact on budding flyer
Mick Mannock, who would become the United Kingdom's top-scoring ace and also receive the Victoria Cross. Upon return to No. 60 Squadron in France, Ball scored morning and evening victories on 15 September, flying two different Nieuports. On the evening mission, he armed his aircraft with eight
Le Prieur rockets, fitted to the outer struts and designed to fire electrically. He intended to use them on an observation balloon. As it happened, he spotted three German Roland C.IIs and broke their formation by
salvoing his rockets at them, then picked off one of the pilots with machine-gun fire. After this he settled into an improved aeroplane,
Nieuport 17 A213. He had it rigged to fly tail-heavy to facilitate his changing of ammunition drums in the machine-gun, and had a holster built into the cockpit for the
Colt automatic pistol that he habitually carried. Three times during September he scored triple victories in a day, ending the month with his total score standing at 31, making him Britain's top-scoring ace. A French semi-official report of Ball's successes was issued the same day; it was picked up and repeated in the British aviation journal
Flight nine days later.
Home front Ball had been awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and
bar simultaneously on 26 September 1916. The first award was "for conspicuous gallantry and skill" when he took on two enemy formations. The bar was also "for conspicuous skill and gallantry" when he attacked four enemy aircraft in formation and then, on another occasion, 12 enemy machines. He was awarded the Russian
Order of St. George the same month. On 18 November, he was invested with his Military Cross and both DSOs by King
George V at
Buckingham Palace. Ball was promoted to the
substantive rank of
lieutenant on 8 December 1916. Instead of returning to combat after his leave, Ball was posted to instructional duties with
No. 34 (Reserve) Squadron RFC, based at
Orford Ness, Suffolk. It was while serving on the home front that he was able to lobby for the building and testing of the Austin-Ball A.F.B.1 fighter. He hoped to be able to take an example of the type to France with him, but the prototype was not completed until after his death in action. In November he was invited to test fly the prototype of the new
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 single-seat
scout, apparently the first service pilot to do so. He was unimpressed, finding the heavier, more stable fighter less responsive to the controls than the Nieuports he was used to. His negative assessment of other aspects of the S.E.'s performance, on the other hand, contrasted markedly with the reactions of fellow pilots who tested the prototype about this time. Ball was to maintain his opinion of the S.E. as a "dud", at least until he had scored several victories on the type after his return to France. On 19 February 1917, in a tribute from his native city, Ball became an
Honorary Freeman of Nottingham. Around this time he met James McCudden, also on leave, who later reported his impressions in most favourable terms. In London, Ball also encountered Canadian pilot
Billy Bishop, who had not as yet seen combat. He immediately liked Bishop, and may have helped the latter secure a posting to No. 60 Squadron. On 25 March, while off-duty, Ball met 18-year-old Flora Young. He invited her to fly with him, and she accepted, wearing a leather flying coat that they had borrowed. On 5 April, they became engaged; she wore his silver identification wrist bracelet in lieu of an engagement ring.
Second fighter posting Inaction chafed Ball, and he began agitating for a return to combat duty. Ball was still first among Britain's aces, and some documents hint that his attachment to No. 56 Squadron was planned to be temporary. According to one account he had been slated to serve with the unit for only a month to mentor novice pilots. The latest type from the Royal Aircraft Factory, the S.E.5, had been selected to equip the new squadron. This choice was viewed with some trepidation by the RFC high command, and Ball himself was personally far from happy with the S.E.5. After some intense lobbying he was allowed to retain his Nieuport 17 no. B1522 when the unit went to France; the Nieuport was for his solo missions, and he would fly an S.E.5 on patrols with the rest of the squadron. This arrangement had the personal approval of General
Hugh Trenchard, who went on to become the first
Chief of the Air Staff of the
Royal Air Force. No. 56 Squadron moved to the Western Front on 7 April 1917. S.E.5 no. A4850, fresh from its packing crate, was extensively modified for Ball: in particular he had the
synchronised Vickers machine gun removed, to be replaced with a second Lewis gun fitted to fire downwards through the floor of the cockpit. He also had a slightly larger fuel tank installed. On 9 April, A4850 was refitted, and the downward-firing Lewis gun removed and replaced by the normal Vickers gun mounting. In a letter to Flora Young on 18 April, Ball mentioned getting his own hut on the flight line, and installing the members of his flight nearby. On 23 April 1917, Ball was under strict orders to stay over British lines, but still engaged the Germans five times in his Nieuport. In his first combat that day, using his preferred belly shot, he sent an Albatros into a spin, following it down and continuing to fire at it until it struck the ground. It was No. 56 Squadron's first victory. Regaining an altitude of , he tried to dive underneath an Albatros two-seater and pop up under its belly as usual, but he overshot, and the German rear gunner put a burst of 15 bullets through the Nieuport's wings and spars. Ball coaxed the Nieuport home for repairs, returning to battle in an S.E.5. In his third combat of the day, he fired five rounds before his machine gun jammed. After landing to clear the gun, he took off once more, surprising five Albatros fighters and sending one down in flames. His fifth battle, shortly thereafter, appeared inconclusive, as the enemy plane managed to land safely. However, its observer had been mortally wounded. Three days later, on 26 April, Ball scored another double victory, flying S.E.5 no. A4850, and one more on 28 April. This last day's fighting left the S.E.5 so battered by enemy action that it was dismantled and sent away for repair. The following month, despite continual problems with jamming guns in the S.E.5s, Ball shot down seven Albatroses in five days, including two reconnaissance models on 1 May, a reconnaissance plane and an
Albatros D.III fighter on 2 May; a D.III on 4 May, and two D.IIIs the next day, 5 May. While squadron armourers and mechanics repaired the faulty machine-gun
synchroniser on his most recent S.E.5 mount, A8898, Ball had been sporadically flying the Nieuport again, and was successful with it on 6 May, destroying one more Albatros D.III in an evening flight to raise his tally to 44. He had continued to undertake his habitual lone patrols, but had of late been fortunate to survive. The heavier battle damage that Ball's aircraft were now suffering bore witness to the improved team tactics being developed by his German opponents. Some time on 6 May, Ball had visited his friend Billy Bishop at the latter's aerodrome. He proposed that the pair attack the
Red Baron's squadron at its airfield at dawn, catching the German pilots off guard. Bishop agreed to take part in the daring scheme at the end of the month, after he returned from his forthcoming leave. That night, in his last letter to his father, Ball wrote "I do get tired of always living to kill, and am really beginning to feel like a murderer. Shall be so pleased when I have finished".
Final flight and aftermath , 1919 |alt=An aerial view of a dogfight between one British and three German aircraft. To the left one plane plummets streaming a trail of grey smoke behind. Below lies the faint outline of fields and lakes on the ground. On the evening of 7 May 1917, near
Douai, 11 British aircraft from No. 56 Squadron led by Ball in an S.E.5 encountered German fighters from
Jasta 11. A running dogfight in deteriorating visibility resulted, and the aircraft became scattered.
Cecil Arthur Lewis, a participant in this fight, described it in his memoir
Sagittarius Rising. Ball was last seen by fellow pilots pursuing the red Albatros D.III of the Red Baron's younger brother,
Lothar von Richthofen, who eventually landed near
Annœullin with a punctured fuel tank.
Cyril Crowe observed Ball flying into a dark thundercloud. A German pilot officer on the ground, Lieutenant Hailer, then saw Ball's plane falling upside-down from the bottom of the cloud, at an altitude of , with a dead prop. Brothers Franz and Carl Hailer and the other two men in their party were from a German reconnaissance unit,
Flieger-Abteilung A292. Franz Hailer noted, "It was leaving a cloud of black smoke ... caused by oil leaking into the cylinders." The engine had to be inverted for this to happen. The Hispano engine was known to flood its
inlet manifold with fuel when upside down and then stop running. Franz Hailer and his three companions hurried to the crash site. Ball was already dead when they arrived. The four German airmen agreed that the crashed craft had suffered no battle damage. No bullet wounds were found on Ball's body, even though Hailer went through Ball's clothing to find identification. Hailer also took Ball to a field hospital. A German doctor subsequently described a broken back and a crushed chest, along with fractured limbs, as the cause of death. The Germans credited Richthofen with shooting down Ball, but there is some doubt as to what happened, especially as Richthofen's claim was for a
Sopwith Triplane, not an S.E.5, which is a biplane. Given the amount of propaganda the German High Command generated touting the younger Richthofen, a high-level decision may have been taken to attribute Ball's death to him. It is probable that Ball was not shot down at all, but had become disorientated and lost control during his final combat, the victim of a form of temporary
vertigo that has claimed other pilots. Ball's squadron harboured hopes that he was a prisoner of war, and the British government officially listed him as "missing" on 18 May. There was much speculation in the press; in France, the
Havas news agency reported: "Albert Ball, the star of aviators ... has been missing since the 7th May. Is he a prisoner or has he been killed? If he is dead, he died fighting for his forty-fifth victory." It was only at the end of the month that the Germans dropped messages behind Allied lines announcing that Ball was dead, and had been buried in Annoeullin with full military honours two days after he crashed. Over the grave of the man they dubbed "the English Richthofen", the Germans erected a cross bearing the inscription
Im Luftkampf gefallen für sein Vaterland Engl. Flieger-Hauptmann Albert Ball, Royal Flying Corps ("Fallen in air combat for his fatherland English pilot Captain Albert Ball"). Ball's death was reported worldwide in the press. He was lauded as the "wonder boy of the Flying Corps" in Britain's
Weekly Dispatch, the "Ace of English Aces" in Portugal, the "
héroe aviador" in South America, and the "super-airman" in France. On 7 June 1917, the
London Gazette announced that he had received the Croix de Chevalier, ''
Legion d'Honneur'' from the French government. The following day, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his "most conspicuous and consistent bravery" in action from 25 April to 6 May 1917. On 10 June 1917, a memorial service was held for Ball in the centre of Nottingham at
St Mary's Church, with large crowds paying tribute as the procession of mourners passed by. Among those attending were Ball's father Albert, Sr. and brother Cyril, now also a pilot in the RFC; his mother Harriett, overwhelmed with grief, was not present. Ball was posthumously promoted to
captain on 15 June. His Victoria Cross was presented to his parents by King George V on 22 July 1917.
Posthumous tributes In 1918, Walter A. Briscoe and H. Russell Stannard released a seminal biography,
Captain Ball VC, reprinting many of Ball's letters and prefaced with
encomiums by Prime Minister
David Lloyd George, Field Marshal
Sir Douglas Haig, and Major General
Sir Hugh Trenchard. Lloyd George wrote that "What he says in one of his letters, 'I hate this game, but it is the only thing one must do just now', represents, I believe, the conviction of those vast armies who, realising what is at stake, have risked all and endured all that liberty may be saved". Haig spoke of Ball's "unrivalled courage" and his "example and incentive to those who have taken up his work". In Trenchard's opinion, Ball had "a wonderfully well-balanced brain, and his loss to the Flying Corps was the greatest loss it could sustain at that time". In the book proper, Briscoe and Stannard quote Ball's most notable opponent,
Manfred von Richthofen. The Red Baron, who believed in his younger brother's victory award, considered Ball "by far the best English flying man". Elsewhere in the book, an unidentified Royal Flying Corps pilot who flew with Ball in his last engagement was quoted as saying, "I see they have given him the V.C. Of course he won it a dozen times over—the whole squadron knows that." The authors themselves described the story of Ball's life as that of "a young knight of gentle manner who learnt to fly and to kill at a time when all the world was killing ... saddened by the great tragedy that had come into the world and made him a terrible instrument of Death". Linda Raine Robertson, in
The Dream of Civilised Warfare, noted that Briscoe and Stannard emphasised "the portrait of a boy of energy, pluck, and humility, a loner who placed his skill in the service of his nation, fought—indeed, invited—a personal war, and paid the ultimate sacrifice as a result", and that they "struggle to paste the mask of cheerful boyishness over the signs of the toll taken on him by the stress of air combat and the loss of friends".
Alan Clark, in
Aces High: The War in the Air Over the Western Front, found Ball the "perfect
public schoolboy" with "the enthusiasms and all the eager intelligence of that breed" and that these characteristics, coupled with a lack of worldly maturity, were "the ingredients of a perfect killer, where a smooth transition can be made between the motives that drive a boy to 'play hard' at school and then to 'fight hard' against the King's enemies". Biographer Chaz Bowyer considered that "to label Albert Ball a 'killer' would be to do him a grave injustice", as his "sensitive nature suffered in immediate retrospect whenever he succeeded in combat". == Post-war legacy ==