Lanoe George Hawker (VC, DSO) (December 30, 1890- November 23, 1916) was a World War I English fighter pilot. He became the first pilot to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

In 1915 Hawker was a Captain in No. 6 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, Corps of Royal Engineers. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for successfully attacking a German zeppelin shed at Gontrode with hand grenades.

On 25 July 1915 when on patrol over France, Captain Hawker attacked three German aircraft in succession. The first, after he had emptied a complete drum of bullets into it, went spinning down. The second was driven to the ground damaged, and the third, which he attacked at a height of about 10,000 feet, burst into flames and crashed. This particular sortie was just one of the many courageous exploits which Captain Hawker had undertaken during almost a year of constant operational flying and fighting.

He later achieved the rank of Major. On 23 November 1916, while flying an Airco DH-2 near Bapaume, France, he was killed in action following a lengthy dog fight with Manfred von Richthofen, becoming the German ace's 11th victim.

Hawker's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon.

Reference

• Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)
• VCs of the First World War - Air VCs (P G Cooksley, 1999)

External links

• Lanoe Hawker

This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference with permission.