Rank Lieutenant Unit No. 41 Squadron RAF Years of service 1916–1917 | Service/branch Aviation Died December 6, 1917 Allegiance England Name Russell Winnicott | |
 | ||
Varennes Military Cemetery Somme, France | ||
Lieutenant Russell Winnicott (24 May 1898 – 6 December 1917) was an English World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.
Contents
Early life
Winnicot was the youngest son of Alderman Richard Weeks Winnicott and Anne Smith Winnicott of Mannamead, Plymouth.
World War I
Winnicott was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment on 2 October 1915, and was appointed a temporary lieutenant on 15 October 1916. He was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps on 11 November 1916, and was appointed a flying officer the same day. He relinquished his temporary rank on 12 April 1917.
Winnicott was posted No. 41 Squadron RFC to fly an Airco DH.5 single-seat fighter, and gained his first aerial victory on 6 September 1917, driving down an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft out of control. He scored three more times in September; then his fifth and sixth victories on 30 September made him an ace. He scored again in mid-October, on the 18th. On 26 October 1917 Winnicott was awarded the Military Cross. There was a pause in his scoring while he upgraded to a SE.5a. On 29 November, Winnicott shared a triumph with fellow ace Loudoun MacLean and two other pilots. The next day, Winnicott destroyed an Albatros D.V at 1340 hours; 20 minutes later, he teamed with MacLean, Meredith Thomas, and Frank Harold Taylor to drive a German two-seater down out of control over Rumilly to become a double ace. His final tally was two enemy aircraft destroyed, eight driven down out of control.
Russell Winnicott was killed in a flying accident on 6 December 1917, and is buried in the Military Cemetery in Varennes, Somme. On 29 January 1918, he was posthumously promoted to lieutenant, effective 1 July 1917.