William Gordon Claxton DSO, DFC & Bar (June 1, 1899 – September 28, 1967) was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 37 victories.
Born on June 1, 1899, in Gladstone, Manitoba, Claxton enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in Canada upon his eighteenth birthday in 1917.
[4] Claxton opened his tally of 'kills' on May 27, 1918, in the skies above East Estaires, downing a German Fokker Dr.I aircraft.
[2] On August 3, 1918, Claxton was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and appointed flight commander.
On August 17, 1918, Claxton was shot down by Leutnant Johannes Gildemeister during an encounter with Jasta 20 in which he and fellow pilot Frederick McCall were outnumbered 20-to-1;[2] by this time he had amassed 37 air successes.
[1][2] Claxton crash-landed behind enemy lines with a serious head wound and was only saved by prompt attendance of a German doctor, who performed cranial surgery.
Two of the planes he destroyed were shared victories with 41 Squadron's second ranking ace, Frederick McCall.
Returning to his homeland Claxton, who had received a Bar to his DFC and the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) took up a career as a financial journalist.
On a recent occasion, having destroyed a hostile balloon, he pursued an enemy scout ten miles and eventually drove it down; he was then attacked by five enemy triplanes and other scouts, but managed to return to our lines, though his machine was riddled with bullets.