Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC (13 May 1894 – 28 November 1941) was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war, and second only to Harry Cobby in the AFC. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1939 until his death.
Born in Bathurst, New South Wales, King initially saw service as a lighthorseman in Egypt in 1916. He transferred to the AFC as a mechanic in January 1917, and was subsequently commissioned as a pilot. Posted to No. 4 Squadron, he saw action on the Western Front flying Sopwith Camels and Snipes. He scored seven of his "kills" in the latter type, more than any other pilot. His exploits earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, and a mention in despatches. Returning to Australia in 1919, King spent some years in civil aviation before co-founding a successful engineering business. He joined the RAAF following the outbreak of World War II and held several training commands, rising to the rank of group captain shortly before his sudden death in November 1941 aged forty-seven.
Early life Roy King was born on 13 May 1894 at The Grove, near Bathurst, New South Wales. He was the son of English-born Elizabeth Mary (Miller) King and Richard King, an Australian labourer. The youth attended public school, and further educated himself in mechanical engineering via correspondence. Having been employed repairing bicycles, automobiles, and farming equipment, he was living in Forbes and working as a motor mechanic when he joined the Australian Imperial Force under the name Roy King on 20 July 1915.
World War I Early service On 5 October 1915, King embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT Themistocles, as part of the reinforcements for the 12th Regiment of the 4th Light Horse Brigade. He joined the 12th Light Horse at Heliopolis in February 1916, as the unit was reassembling following its service in the Gallipoli Campaign.Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p. 93 The regiment was engaged in the defence of the Suez Canal during May, and subsequently undertook patrols and sorties in the Sinai Desert.
King transferred to the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) on 13 January 1917, and was posted to Britain to join No. 4 Squadron AFC (also referred to as No. 71 (Australian) Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, by the British) as an air mechanic on 18 April.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 9 He was assigned to a training squadron for flying instruction in August. On 15 October, he gained his wings and officer's commission. Allocated to No. 4 Squadron in November 1917, King was posted to France for active duty on 21 March 1918. The same day, the Germans launched Operation Michael, the opening phase of the Spring Offensive.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 236
Fighter ace No. 4 Squadron was operating its Sopwith Camels in hazardous, low-altitude support of Australian ground troops when King arrived in France, and he had little opportunity for air-to-air combat.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 234, 239 The burly King—nicknamed "Bo", "Beau", or "Bow"—also had problems landing the Camel; crammed into its small cockpit, his large frame impeded control stick movement.Newton, Australian Air Aces, p. 43 The resulting rough landings annoyed his commanding officer, Major Wilfred McCloughry, brother of ace Edgar McCloughry. King's friend and fellow No. 4 Squadron pilot, Harry Cobby, recalled that "there was some speculation that he might go home—but he proved himself an impressive pilot".Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 283 Cobby often took King on "special missions" to make mischief with the Germans; No. 4 Squadron found that two-man patrols were generally able to lure enemy aircraft into a fight, whereas larger formations tended to deter engagements.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 267, 281 On 14 May 1918, King shot down a two-seat German scout that was spotting for artillery between Ypres and Bailleul, but clouds prevented him from confirming its destruction.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 281–282 By 20 May, he had been credited with his first aerial victory, over a Pfalz D.III near Kemmel–Neuve Église. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 June. On 20 June, he destroyed a German balloon over Estaires; although vulnerable to attack with incendiary bullets, these large observation platforms were generally well protected by fighters and anti-aircraft defences, and were thus considered a dangerous but valuable target.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 284, 288 Later that month he shot down two more aircraft, a Pfalz and a two-seat LVG, in the Lys region.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 289–290
King registered his fifth victory, an LVG, after raiding Armentières on 25 July 1918.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 298 Four days later, he led a flight of six Camels from No. 4 Squadron escorting Airco DH.9 light bombers of the Royal Air Force in another raid on Armentières. In an action that the Australian official history highlighted as an "example of cool and skilful air fighting", the DH.9s completed their bombing mission while the Camels drove off an attacking force of at least ten German Fokkers, three of the Australians including King claiming victories, without any Allied losses.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 303 He destroyed a German two-seater on 3 August and another the following day, sharing the second with Herbert Watson.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 338 No. 4 Squadron was heavily engaged in the Allies' great offensive on the Western Front, launched with the Battle of Amiens on 8 August.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 284–285 King was credited with two victories—a balloon and an LVG—near Estaires during a bombing raid on 10 August.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 340–341 On 12 and 13 August, the Camels of No. 4 Squadron operated in a massed formation over Flanders with the S.E.5s of No. 2 Squadron AFC, the former's two flights led by Cobby and King, and the latter's by Adrian Cole and Roy Phillipps. Pickings were scarce and No. 4 Squadron's only success came on the second day when King and his flight collectively destroyed a two-seat Albatros.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 313
On 16 August 1918, King participated in a major assault against the German airfield at Haubourdin, near Lille, that resulted in thirty-seven enemy aircraft being destroyed on the ground. During the action, described by the official history as a "riot of destruction", King set on fire a hangar housing four or five German planes.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 346–349 He also, according to No. 2 Squadron pilot Charles Copp, flew down Haubourdin's main street, waving as he went, his reason being that "the girls in that village must have had a heck of a time with all that bombing and must have been terribly scared so I thought I'd cheer them up a bit".Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 298 By this time the Lille sector was largely clear of German fighters. The official history recorded that on 25 August, "King went out alone as far as Don railway station, bombed it, machine-gunned a train, and returned among the low clouds—all without seeing any enemy."Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 350 The only contact around this time was on 30 August, when King, Thomas Baker and another pilot shot down two DFWs near Laventie.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 351 On 1 September, King destroyed an observation balloon over Aubers Ridge.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 353 Three days later he shot down an LVG after attacking a train near Lille with Cobby.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 356 He was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 8 September. The award, promulgated in The London Gazette on 3 December, cited his "gallant and valuable service in bombing and attacking with machine gun fire enemy billets, trains, troops etc", during which "he ensure[d] success by descending to low altitudes, disregarding personal danger". On 16 September, following a lull in aerial combat in the region, King destroyed a Fokker biplane over Lille.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 359 Around this time he was promoted to captain and flight commander. He took over "A" Flight from Cobby, who had been posted to England.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, p. 321Richards, Australian Airmen, p. 76 By the end of September, King's tally was eighteen. He registered his final victory in a Camel on 2 October, when he used bombs to send down his fourth balloon.
During October 1918, King converted with the rest of No. 4 Squadron to the upgraded Sopwith Snipe, whose larger cockpit was a better fit for him. He scored with the Snipe on both 28 and 29 October, the latter over Tournai, in what is frequently described as "one of the greatest air battles of the war".Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 21Odgers, Air Force Australia, pp. 42–43Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 376–379 At Tournai, amid a confrontation involving over seventy-five Allied and German fighters, King evaded five enemy Fokkers that dived on him, before destroying an LVG in a head-on attack. The next day, he downed three Fokker D.VIIs, two without firing a shot. As he zoomed up from shooting one out of control, he cut off another. This second Fokker pulled up to avoid collision and toppled onto a third Fokker.Molkentin, Fire in the Sky, pp. 321–322 One of the war's last air battles took place near Leuze on 4 November. King's destruction of two D.VIIs in the space of five minutes, the latter in flames, capped his combat career.Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 381 His tally of seven victories with the Snipe in the closing days of the war made him the highest-scoring pilot in this type.Shores, British and Empire Aces, p. 76
King's final wartime score of twenty-six included six aircraft driven down out of control, thirteen aircraft and four balloons destroyed, and three other aircraft destroyed in victories shared with other airmen.Shores et al., Above the Trenches, p. 224 This made him second only to Harry Cobby as the most successful ace in the AFC, as well as the fourth most successful of all the Australian aces in the war (his top-scoring compatriots, Robert Little and Roderic (Stan) Dallas, flew with the British Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force).Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp. 30–31 King was recommended for a bar to his DFC, which was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Order and awarded on 3 June 1919. The recommendation noted his victories in the air and described him as having "proved himself a very brilliant patrol leader" and as "a magnificent example at all times to all pilots in the Squadron by his keenness on the ground and gallantry in the air which was of the highest possible order". He was also belatedly mentioned in despatches in July 1919 for his wartime service.
Interbellum and World War II