John Cowell (RAF airman)

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Coordinates: 50°43′50.5″N 2°15′01.8″E / 50.730694°N 2.250500°E / 50.730694; 2.250500
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John J. Cowell
Born1889 (1889)
Limerick, Ireland
Died30 July 1918(1918-07-30) (aged 28–29)
near Ypres, Belgium
Buried
Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, Saint-Omer, France
50°43′50.5″N 2°15′01.8″E / 50.730694°N 2.250500°E / 50.730694; 2.250500
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Royal Air Force
RankSergeant
UnitRoyal Engineers
No. 20 Squadron RAF
AwardsDistinguished Conduct Medal
Military Medal & Bar

John J. Cowell, DCM, MM & Bar (1889 – 30 July 1918) was an Irish soldier, airman and flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with sixteen aerial victories; fifteen of these were gained as an observer/gunner and one as a pilot, before he was killed in action.[1]

Early life and background[edit]

Cowell was born in Limerick, one of ten children of Michael and Kate Cowell.[1]

First World War[edit]

Cowell first served in the 12th Field Company of the Royal Engineers,[1] where on 27 October 1916 Sapper (Acting Corporal) Cowell was awarded his first Military Medal.[2]

Cowell then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, joining No. 20 Squadron as an observer/gunner during Bloody April 1917. He manned the guns of a F.E.2d fighter for such other aces as Richard M. Trevethan, Cecil Roy Richards, Reginald Condon, and Oliver Vickers. Between 5 May and 28 July 1917, Cowell gained fifteen victories, destroying a German two-seater reconnaissance aircraft and five German fighters, and driving down nine more German fighters out of control. He was promoted to sergeant,[3] and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was gazetted on 17 July 1917. His citation read:

78171 Sergeant J. Cowell, RFC. For conspicuous gallantry whilst assisting an aerial gunner during bomb raids. He showed remarkable skill and judgment in the eight combats in which he has been engaged, and on several occasions has shot down hostile aircraft.[4]

On 14 September 1917 Cowell received a Bar to his Military Medal.[5] He then returned to the Home Establishment for flight training, rejoining No. 20 Squadron as a pilot in mid-1918.[1]

On 29 July 1918, while flying a Bristol F.2b, Cowell drove down a Fokker D.VII, his last, and only aerial victory as a pilot. He was killed in action the following day, shot down by Friedrich Ritter von Röth of Jasta 16.[6] Cowell is buried in Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, Saint-Omer, France.[7]

List of aerial victories[edit]

Combat record[1]
No. Date/Time Aircraft/
Serial No. 		Opponent Result Location Notes
1 5 May 1917
@ 1710		 F.E.2d
(A6400)		 Albatros D.III Out of control Poelcapelle Pilot: Second Lieutenant Reginald Conder
2 13 May 1917
@ 1040		 F.E.2d
(A6412)		 Two-seater Destroyed Rekkem Airfield Pilot: Second Lieutenant M. P. Scott
3 20 May 1917
@ 0920		 F.E.2d
(A6412)		 Albatros D.III Out of control Menen Pilot: Second Lieutenant Reginald Conder
4 25 May 1917
@ 0850		 F.E.2d
(A6415)		 Albatros D.III Out of control Wervik Pilot: Second Lieutenant Reginald Conder
5 26 May 1917
@ 1030		 F.E.2d
(A6415)		 Albatros D.III Out of control Comines Pilot: Second Lieutenant Reginald Conder
6 26 May 1917
@ 2010		 F.E.2d
(A6415)		 Albatros D.III Destroyed in flames South-east of Ypres Pilot: Second Lieutenant Reginald Conder
7 2 June 1917
@ 0945		 F.E.2d
(A6415)		 Albatros D.III Destroyed Gheluvelt Pilot: Second Lieutenant Richard M. Trevethan
8 29 June 1917
@ 1610		 F.E.2d
(A6376)		 Albatros D.V Out of control Becelaère Pilot: Second Lieutenant Oliver Vickers
9 12 July 1917
@ 1700–1715		 F.E.2d
(A6376)		 Albatros D.V Destroyed East of Ploegsteert Wood Pilot: Second Lieutenant Oliver Vickers
10 Albatros D.V Out of control
11 17 July 1917
@ 1945–1950		 F.E.2d
(A6468)		 Albatros D.V Destroyed in flames Polygon Wood Pilot: Lieutenant Cecil Richards
12 Albatros D.V Destroyed 28Q 28
13 20 July 1917
@ 0955		 F.E.2d
(A6376)		 Albatros D.V Out of control Wervik Pilot: Second Lieutenant Oliver Vickers
14 22 July 1917
@ 1650		 F.E.2d
(A6376)		 Albatros D.V Out of control Menen—Wervik Pilot: Second Lieutenant Oliver Vickers
15 28 July 1917
@ 1845		 F.E.2d
(A6376)		 Albatros D.V Out of control East of Messines Pilot: Second Lieutenant Oliver Vickers
16 29 July 1918
@ 2010		 Bristol F.2b
(E2471)		 Fokker D.VII Out of control North-west of Wervicq Observer: Corporal Charles William Hill

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ a b c d e "John Cowell". The Aerodrome. 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  2. ^ "No. 29805". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 October 1916. p. 10477.
  3. ^ Franks, Guest & Alegi (1997), pp. 10–11.
  4. ^ "No. 30188". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 July 1917. p. 7262.
  5. ^ "No. 30287". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 September 1917. pp. 9603–9604.
  6. ^ Guttman & Dempsey (2009), p. 80.
  7. ^ "Casualty Details: Cowell, J. J." Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
Bibliography
  • Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell F. & Alegi, Gregory (1997). Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-1-898697-56-5.
  • Guttman, Jon & Dempsey, Harry (2009). Pusher Aces of World War I. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-417-6.
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