James Francis Edwards

Infobox Military Person


name=Hans-James Francis Edwards
lived=birth date|1921|6|5|df=y
placeofbirth=Nokomis, Canada
placeofdeath=
|caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Canada Canada
branch=Royal Canadian Air Force
serviceyears=1938–1945
rank=Wing Commander
commands=
unit=
battles=World War II
*European Theatre
*North African Campaign
awards=Member of the Order of Canada
Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar
Distinguished Flying Medal
Mention in Despatches
Canadian Forces Decoration
laterwork=

James Francis "Stocky" Edwards CM, DFC & Bar, DFM, CD (born June 5, 1921 - ) was a Canadian fighter pilot during World War II. Edwards is Canada's highest scoring ace in the Western Desert Campaign.

Early life

Born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, Edwards grew up in Battleford, Saskatchewan. After graduating from St Thomas College in 1940 he volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

World War II

Flight Sergeant Edwards was posted to 94 Squadron RAF of 223 Wing in January 1942 flying the P-40 "Kittyhawk". On March 23, he flew his first operational trip, during which he shot down his first enemy aircraft, a Bf-109. In May, he was posted to 260 Squadron, and saw intensive action for the rest of 1942. By September, he had 6 kills and was commissioned. A Distinguished Flying Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross were awarded by the start of 1943, by which time Edwards was a Flight Commander. His tour finished in May 1943, total claims made being 13 (some say 14+1 shared ?) aircraft shot down and several ground kills. One of Edward's victim during the North African campaign was famous Luftwaffe "experten" Otto Schulz (51 victories), who was shot down by the Canadian ace on June 17, 1942.

In November 1943, he was posted to No. 417 Squadron RCAF, then No. 92 Squadron RAF, flying the Supermarine Spitfire VIII; while serving on the Italian front with 92 Squadron, he added 3 FW-190 and a Bf 109 to his score, all of them shot down over the Anzio beachhead, three of them on a single day. At the start of March 1944, he was posted to the UK, flying operations over Europe with 274 Squadron, a fighter unit equipped, at the end of Edward's tour, with the Hawker Tempest.

After leave in Canada, Edwards returned to the Western Front, flying Spitfire XVI's as 127 RCAF Wing CO in 1945. On May 3, he shared in the destruction of a Ju-88, just a few days before VE. He finished the war with a total of 373 operational sorties, during which no enemy pilot ever succeeded in shooting him down. According to Shores and Williams's "Aces High", his final wartime score was 15 + 3 shared destroyed, with 9 more destroyed on the ground. Brown and Lavigne's "Canadian Wing Commander" credits him with 19 kills, 2 shared, 6.5 probable, 17 damaged and 12 destroyed on the ground. During an interview, Edwards himself specified that he had 19 confirmed kills during the war. (The transcript of this interview can be found on the site of Veterans Affairs Canada.) Many who flew with him have said that he only reported those kills he was certain of and that his real number of aerial victories was probably much higher than officially reported. 18 of Edward's 19 kills, according to Brown and Lavigne, were enemy fighters (14 Bf-109s, 3 FW-190s and one Macchi 202).

In 1983 he and Michel Lavigne published a book about his wartime experiences entitled "Kittyhawk pilot: Wing commander J.F. (Stocky) Edwards".

Decorations

*Distinguished Flying Medal
*Distinguished Flying Cross (UK) and Bar
*Mentioned in Dispatches
*Canadian Forces Decoration and Two Clasps
*Member of Order of Canada

References

*Ralph, Wayne (2005). "Aces, warriors and wingman: the firsthand accounts of Canada's fighter pilots in the Second World War". John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.. ISBN 0-470-83590-7.

External links

* [http://www.acesofww2.com/Canada/aces/edwards.htm A biography of Edwards]
* [http://www.constable.ca/edwards.htm A detailed biog and informative of the Desert air war in general]