Walter George Raymond Hinchliffe

Name:

Country:

England

Rank:

Captain

Service:

Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Air Force

Units:

10N (RNAS)
210 (RAF)

Victories:

Born:

11 June 1893

Place of Birth:

Liverpool, Lancashire

Died:

13 March 1928

Place of Death:

Suffering facial injuries in a crash on the night of 3 June 1918, Walter George Raymond Hinchliffe wore a patch over his left eye for the remainder of his life. Above the Trenches states that "while returning from picking up a forced down Camel, he burst a tyre whilst landing in the dark." Hinchliffe's own account of the crash claimed he was wounded in action: "Night patrol alone to intercept Gothas. Very dark — no moon, slight ground mist; attacked one machine which had been picked up in the searchlights over Hazebrouck. During the encounter I was shot through the forehead. As a result I crashed on top of a forest fracturing head and face."

In March 1928, Hinchliffe vanished on a transatlantic flight from Cramwell, England to Newfoundland in the Endeavour, a 32-foot Stinton Detroiter monoplane. His passenger was the actress and British heiress, the Honourable Elsie McKay, who secretly offered Hinchliffe ten thousand pounds to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic by aeroplane.

Hinchliffe is one of the subjects discussed in The Airmen Who Would Not Die. Royal Aero Club Certificate No. 3595, issued 21 September 1916.

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	03 Feb 1918	1515	10N	Sopwith Camel (B6204)	Albatros D.V (DES)	SW of Rumbeke
2	10 Mar 1918	1545	10N	Sopwith Camel (B7190)	C (DES)	Roulers
3	03 Apr 1918	1130	210	Sopwith Camel (B7190)	C (DESF)	Roulers
4	16 May 1918	1145	210	Sopwith Camel (D3887)	Albatros C (DES)	1 mi W of Kemmel
5	18 May 1918	1045	210	Sopwith Camel (D3887)	Albatros D.V (OOC)	Near Neuve-Eglise
6	19 May 1918	1045	210	Sopwith Camel (D3887)	C (DES)	NE of Armentières

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