Gerald Edge, OBE, DFC (24 September 1913 – August 2000) was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.

Born in Codsall, Edge was a serving member of the Auxiliary Air Force when he was called up for service with the RAF on the outbreak of the Second World War.

253 Squadron during the later stages of the campaign over Southeast England, he received serious wounds after his Hawker Hurricane fighter was shot down on 26 September 1940.

[1][2] Edge was called up for service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) a week before the outbreak of the Second World War.

605 Squadron, which operated Hawker Hurricane fighters, was tasked with the defence of the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow.

[3] On 10 April Edge and other pilots of the squadron engaged several Heinkel He 111 medium bombers to the east of Scapa Flow.

He shot down a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber to the east of Courtrai the next day, also claiming a second as probably destroyed and a Bf 110 as damaged.

This left Edge and one other pilot as the last of the original complement of aircrew that was serving with the squadron at the start of the war.

[5] Edge was known for his aggressive tactics, leading the squadron in head-on attacks against approaching bomber formations.

The squadron was involved in the interception of large bombing raids on 9 and 11 September and across these two days, Edge claimed to have shot down four Ju 88s, two He 111s with a third probably destroyed, and a Bf 109.

[1][2] On 5 December Edge, now recovered and returned to the acting squadron leader rank he had relinquished while on sick leave, was given command of No.

[2] In July 1943, Edge, who had been involved in the preparations for the invasion of Sicily, returned to the United Kingdom for health reasons.

[10] Following the Normandy landings, Edge led his unit to France and his wing commander rank was made substantive in August.

[12] He subsequently served as a staff officer at the Air Ministry, working on operational requirements, until he left the RAF in late 1945, holding the rank of group captain.

Poor record keeping at the units that he served with in 1940, and his own lack of attention to paperwork, means that there is some uncertainty regarding Edge's number of aerial victories.