Frank Ormond Soden

Infobox Military Person
name= Frank Ormond Soden


caption=
born=03 November 1895
died=12 February 1961
placeofbirth= Petitcodiac, New Brunswick
placeofdeath= London, England
nickname=
allegiance=George V [Canadian airmen were required to complete an Attestation Paper in which they declared an oath of allegiance to King George the Fifth and agreed to serve in any arm of the service for the duration of the war between Great Britain and Germany. [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/attestation/index.php aerodrome.com] ]
branch=Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force
serviceyears=
rank=Captain
unit=41, 60
commands=
battles=
awards=DFC
relations=
laterwork=

Frank Ormond "Mongoose" Soden DFC (03 November 1895 - 12 February 1961) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 27 victories. [www.theaerodrome.com]

Soden was born in Petitcodiac, New Brunswick, Canada, and emigrated to England as a child in 1904.

His career as a fighter ace began in Squadron 60 when he used his Nieuport 17 to knock an Albatros D.III down out of control on 25 June 1917. Beginning with his third victory on 17 September 1917, he was flying a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a. He wasn't credited with destruction of an enemy aircraft until his fourth win, on 20 September. He became an ace with the first of two victories the morning of the next day, 21 September 1917. Again, that was an Abatros sent down out of control, this one being a D.V. In the afternoon, he was credited with the destruction of his second enemy craft, in a triumph shared with two other Squadron 60 pilots.

He accumulated victories at a slow steady pace, downing from one to four Germans per month through February 1918.

He achieved his most notable victory on 9 January 1918, over Max, "Ritter" von Müller. Muller, whose victory tally ran to 36, had downed no fewer than five British aces. Accompanied by Captain Robert Chidlaw-Roberts flying wing, Soden set Muller's Albatros D.V afire in the air near Moorslede, Belgium. Muller exited the flaming biplane and fell to his death.

On 5 February, Soden scored a double, bringing his total to 16. His record then shows a hiatus until August.

On 8 August, he reopened his victory list, this time as a flight commander with Squadron 41, and still flying an S.E.5a. He sent a Fokker D.VII down in flames. He scored twice more in August. On 15 September, he singlehandedly shot down an observation balloon for his 20th credit.

In October 1918, he scored his greatest month. On the 8th, he destroyed a DFW C.On the 10th, he flamed a Fokker D.VII. On the 14th, he destroyed two more D.VIIs. On the 25th, he again shot down a balloon by himself. On the 28th, he was responsible for the capture of a Fokker D.VII near Ooteghem, Belgium. His 27th and final victory came three days later, when he drove down another D.VII out of control.

Captain Soden's final tally included 13 German aircraft put down out of control, 11 destroyed, 2 observation balloons destroyed singlehanded, and a Fokker D.VII captured. At least 19 of his victories were over German fighters. However, nine of his triumphs were shared with other pilots from his squadron.

Unaccountably, Soden received no decorations during the war. However, he received a Distinguished Flying Cross in February 1919. He remained in the Royal Air Force after the war.

He was awarded the Bar to his DFC while serving in Kurdistan (modern day Iraq) in 1922.

He was promoted to Group Captain on 1 April 1939.

During the Battle of Britain, he was Commanding Officer of one of the RAF's most important airfields, Biggin Hill. He served in this command from December 1940 to June 1941.

After World War II ended, he emigrated to Kenya.

He died in London, England.

Text of citations

"A bold and skillful officer who has accounted for three enemy airplanes and two balloons during recent operations."

Reference

* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/soden.php Accessed 4 September 2008.
* Norman Franks. "SE 5/5a Aces of World War I". Osprey Publishing, 2007;

Notes

Websites

External links

* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/soden.php Accessed 4 September 2008.