Henry Botterell does not qualify as an air Ace – he had one accredited ‘kill’ whereas five are required for official recognition. However, he gained celebrity in his final years as the sole surviving Royal Naval Air Service pilot and the oldest FirstWorldWar fighter pilot of any nation. When he died in January 2003, aged 106, there were none left. Born in Ottowa, Canada in 1896, he applied to be a civilian pilot and was sent to England for training in 1916. He enlisted with the Royal Naval Air Service No.8 squadron in May 1917 but on only his second flight he crash landed and sustained multiple injuries. He was discharged from service on medical grounds but en-route back to Canada he met some old chums from No.8 squadron and was persuaded to re-enlist. His old squadron had become No.208 squadron of the newly formed RAF and Botterell flew a variety of aircraft including a staggering 91 sorties in a Sopwith Camel in just 60 days between July and August 1918. MODEL COMING SOON.
