Donald Cunnell

Donald Charles Cunnell (19 October 1893 – 12 July 1917) was a British First World War flying ace who was killed in action over Belgium.

[1] On 2 November 1915, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Hampshire Regiment,[2] and saw active service on the Western Front.

On 6 July 1917, Cunnell, flying with Second Lieutenant Albert Edward Woodbridge was part of a patrol of six aircraft attacked by a flight of German Albatros D.Vs including one flown by Manfred von Richthofen.

[7] It is often falsely stated that this was the only time Richthofen was shot down in air-to-air combat, overlooking Edwin Benbow's victory over the Red Baron on 6 March 1917.

[8] Woodbridge later described the action: Cunnell handled the old FE for all he was worth, banking him from one side to the other, ducking dives from above and missing head-on collisions by bare margins of feet.

Despite Cunnell and Woodbridge's confirmed claim for this aerial victory, Richthofen may have fallen from fire from one of the other FE.2s of 20 Squadron, from being shot down by Raymond Collishaw, or even from one of Collishaw's wingmen from 'B' Flight, 10 Naval Squadron such as William Melville Alexander, Ellis Vair Reid, or Desmond Fitzgibbon.

[10] Cunnell was killed by German anti-aircraft fire a few days later on 12 July 1917, near Wervicq, Belgium; his observer, Lt. A. G. Bill, successfully flew his fighter back to base.