Orville Ralston

Orville Alfred Ralston
Nickname	Tubby
Born	9 September 1894 Weeping Water, Nebraska, USA
Died	30 December 1942[1] Musselshell, Montana, USA
Buried at	Wood Lake, Nebraska
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	Flying service
Years of service	1917 - 1918, 1942
Rank	Major
Unit	17th Aero Squadron USAAS, No. 85 Squadron RAF, 148th Aero Squadron USAAS
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross, Mentioned in Dispatches four times
Other work	Returned to service in World War II

Lieutenant Orville Alfred Ralston was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He returned to service for World War II, only to die in a B-17 crash.^[2]

Ralston joined the United States Army Air Service, only to be attached to the Royal Air Force for seasoning in combat. He flew a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a in "Mick" Mannock's flight of 85 Squadron, and gained his first two victories there, destroying a Fokker D.VII each on 24 July and 22 August 1918. He then returned to American aviation, becoming a Sopwith Camel pilot with the 148th Aero Squadron. He teamed with fellow ace Elliott White Springs and two other pilots for his next win, and then independently destroyed two more D.VIIs—one each on 26 September and 3 October 1918.^[3]

Ralston was finally awarded a Distinguished Service Cross in 1921.^[4]

Honors and awards

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Orville Alfred Ralston, First Lieutenant (Air Service), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action over Bourion Wood, September 26, 1918. Having engine trouble, Lieutenant Ralston signaled his flight commander, left his formation, and started for the lines. Shortly afterwards his engine picked up and he decided to rejoin his formation. He found three of them engaged with seven Fokker biplanes over Bourion Wood. Seeing that one of our machines was hard pressed and in distress, Lieutenant Ralston instantly went to its assistance and drove one Fokker down into the clouds below. He followed directly behind the enemy machine and, as they came out of the clouds at a height of 3,000 feet, opened fire again on this Fokker at 15 yards range. The enemy machine made one complete spiral and crashed northeast of Bourion Wood. Four more Fokkers now attacked Lieutenant Ralston, but he managed to get back in the clouds and return safely to our lines, as did the rest of his flight. General Orders No. 38, W.D., 1921^[5]

Sources of information

1. ^ American Aces of World War I. p. 52. 
2. ^ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/ralston2.php Retrieved 8 February 2010.
3. ^ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. p. 312. 
4. ^ Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. p. 312. 
5. ^ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/usa/ralston2.php Retrieved 8 February 2010.

References

• Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0-948817-19-4, 9780948817199.
• American Aces of World War I. Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-375-6, 9781841763750.

Persondata
Name	Ralston, Orville
Alternative names	Tubby
Short description
Date of birth	9 September 1894
Place of birth	Weeping Water, Nebraska, USA
Date of death	30 December 1942
Place of death	Musselshell, Montana, USA