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Arthur Noss

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Allegiance
  
United Kingdom

Awards
  
Military Cross

Name
  
Arthur Noss

Service/branch
  
British Army


Died
  
September 15, 1917

Rank
  
Second lieutenant

Place of burial
  
Nord, France

Unit
  
No. 48 Squadron RAF

Born
  
22 January 1897 Hornsey, London, England (
1897-01-22
)

Buried at
  
Zuydcoote Military Cemetery, Nord, France (51°03′40″N 2°29′05″E / 51.06111°N 2.48472°E / 51.06111; 2.48472Coordinates: 51°03′40″N 2°29′05″E / 51.06111°N 2.48472°E / 51.06111; 2.48472)

Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Hurden Noss (22 January 1897 – 15 September 1917) was a British World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. He won a Military Cross as Keith Park's gunner, and was killed in a flying accident shortly thereafter.

Contents

Early life

Arthur Rex Hurden Noss was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Noss of Crouch End. He was educated at Herne Bay, winning eight athletic prizes in his final year.

World War I

Noss began his military service as a gunner (regimental number 625052) in the Honourable Artillery Company, before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps.

On 4 April 1917, Noss was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on probation. Noss was on the General List of the Royal Flying Corps when he was appointed as a flying officer (observer) on 20 June 1917. His seniority date of appointment was set at 16 May 1917, indicating he began actual duties as an observer/gunner then.

Noss was assigned to No. 48 Squadron as an observer/gunner in Bristol F.2 two-seater fighters in March 1917. He scored his first aerial victory on 27 May 1917, and would score one more before pairing up with Keith Park. On 19 July, this aircrew suffered a magneto failure and a crash-landing that injured Noss. On 2 August 1917, Flight magazine reported Noss had been wounded.

Noss and Park would go on to score seven victories in August 1917, with an outstanding performance on the 17th. That was the day that Park went to the rescue of a Sopwith Camel being attacked by three German Albatros D.IIIs. In the process of driving the three Germans away, Noss and Park were assailed by two more of the enemy. Noss fired at the attacking pair; when they overran his fighter, Park took his turn and shot them both down. At that point, another trio of Germans attacked; Noss spun one of them out with machine gun fire. Park chased after the falling German; still another three Germans attacked, but they also overran the British crew. Park then saw a second Sopwith Camel under attack from a German, and pumped 100 rounds of machine gun ammunition into the German from 50 yards range. The German spun out, for the British crew's fourth win of the day. They would win the Military Cross for this action; the award was announced on 26 September 1917.

Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Noss was injured in a crash on 15 September 1917, died as a result of his injuries that evening or the following day. He is buried in plot I. E. 1, Zuydcoote Military Cemetery, Nord, France.

Noss's Military Cross was gazetted posthumously on 9 January 1918. His citation read:

Temporary Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Hurden Noss, General List & R.F.C.

References

Arthur Noss Wikipedia