2Lt John Young

I came across this story while researching Australian pilots and thought I would share it with you.

From the Sydney Morning Herald Saturday July 14 1917

Heroic Airman

"Lieut. Young of the Flying Corps was killed during the battle with raiders over London on Saturday. A major in the Flying Corps said that he was an eye witness of his death. He states that almost single-handed Lieut. Young flew into the middle of the 22 enemy machines. He immediately opened fire, and all the enemy machines replied. Lieut. Young was horribly outnumbered each German machine having four guns firing 400 rounds a minute. Lieut. Young never hesitated a moment. He flew on until he was riddled with bullets. His machine then put up its nose, and fell, spinning, into the sea from a height of 14,000ft. It was impossible to save the body, which was badly entangled in the wires, though a warship rushed to the spot and picked up the observer, who had been wounded six times, and had received a double fracture of the skull. He had since died. Lieut. Young was aged 19 1/2. His fight was watched by thousands of people."

Just a note;
The 22 enemy machines that Young attacked where Gotha's, Young was flying a Sopwith Strutter (A8271) for 37HD sqn. His observer was 2AM CC Taylor.

Regards,
Andrew Smith

[Darryl]

Hi Andrew,

Actually the Saturday of the raid was the 7th of July, the article appearing one week later. One Gotha was shot down by Grace and Murray of No 50 Squadron in an AW F.K.8. There is a great photo of the Gotha formation (21 left) returning to the coast.

Mystery also surrounds Young and Taylors deaths. They are reported to have been in combat with the Gothas, notwistanding that at the time of their deaths they would not have been able to have climbed to sufficient altitude to have engaged. None of the 37 pilots reported them being in combat and none in fact saw them go down. The crew of the lightship, near which they crashed, believed them shot down by Archie (their own of course, it was over England. There is also a signal that day of obscure origin which says as much. Other squadrons reported "an aircraft spinning down"(40T) and "a strutter diving vertically" (198Depot).

37 pilots also complained that day of being hindered by Archie.

The "witness" to Young's heroic death (Hargrave) was in fact on the ground 18 miles away at the time!!!!

All this from Chris Cole's "The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914-18". The article you read is the one, I suspect, which apeared in "The Aeroplane" and originated from Hargrave's (the 37 CO's) letter to Young's father.

Such are the legends of air warfare
regards

Darryl

[Soderbaum]

The German Nachrichtenblätter reported three German victories during the raid on 7/7 1917,
all 1-s.
KG 3/13 claimed two, and KG 3/17 one. Among
the victors of Staffel 13, was the later well knowm German ace Rudolf Klimke who scored his second victory.