Captain Mansell Richard James was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with 11 confirmed aerial victories. He disappeared after setting a postwar aviation record for prize money, and was the object of repeated searches throughout the years.
War service
James was living in Watford, Ontario when he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on 22 September 1917. After the completion of his training, he was posted to No. 45 Squadron in Italy on 12 February 1918 as a Sopwith Camel pilot. On 3 June 1918, he scored his first aerial triumph, destroying an enemy Albatros D.V over Feltre. Four days later, he destroyed two Albatros D.IIIs, one over San Marino and the other over Colicella. His next two victories over Albatros D.Vs that he destroyed east of Feltre on 20 July made him an ace. On 5 August 1918, he destroyed the only reconnaissance plane of his career, an AEG. The next day, he sent down two Albatros D.Vs over Segusino and destroyed a third. On the last day of August, he rounded out his victory string by destroying two Albatros D.Vs near Arsiero. On 23 September 1918, Lieutenant James was promoted to temporary captain, and in November 1918 was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross, with the following citation: On 6 May 1919, James surrendered his commission in the Royal Air Force upon being transferred to the unemployed list. He shipped out to the United States.
Disappearance
Final flight
On 28 May 1919 James flew what was reputedly the first Sopwith Camel in the United States, from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Boston, Massachusetts. He was competing for a $1,000 prize offered by The Boston Globe for fastest flight between the two cities. At 115 miles per hour despite headwinds, he was much faster than a prior competitor's 90 mph gait. After landing at a field eight miles north of Boston, James departed again at 6 PM, supposedly for a stop at Mitchel Field on Long Island en route to Atlantic City, both of which are southwest of Boston. He buzzed frightened spectators watching his takeoff. It was Captain James' intent to follow railroad tracks from Boston on his return flight. He apparently guided on the wrong set of railroad tracks, as he later landed at Tyringham, Massachusetts,, about 100 air miles west of Boston, to have his aircraft serviced. On 29 May, he was reportedly seen at 11:30 AM at an altitude of about 5,000 feet over Connecticut after departing Lee, Massachusetts; he apparently had a sound engine at that sighting and was headed southeast. A more reliable report tells a somewhat different story. On the morning of 2 June 1919, he took off from Tyringham toward the south, then turned west, away from Boston. He drew a crowd of spectators for his departure because the local populace was not used to aircraft. Because of his direction of flight, they thought he might be returning to the field he departed, but he did not reappear.
Search efforts
Various search efforts were attempted in the years that followed James' disappearance. On 5 August 1919, a berry picker in a ravine on Mount Riga outside Millerton, New York found aircraft wreckage which was speculated to be James'. Years later, on 17 December 1925 near Pittsfield, Massachusetts, several search parties went into woods trying to relocate plane wreckage discovered by a lost hunter from Brooklyn several days previously. James's uncle had posted a reward for the recovery of his nephew's remains shortly after the disappearance which was still being offered at the time. On 19 May 1927, U. S. Coast Guard Boat 290 found an aircraft wing floating in Fort Pond Bay, Long Island Sound. Captain James's brother, E. D. James, wrote a letter requesting a description of the wing, hoping to identify it. There was another report that his plane might have gone down in a river at Poughkeepsie, New York, but nothing was found. Despite extensive searches for him spurred partially by rewards offered, no sign of James has ever been found. The aircraft debris that had been found was never positively identified as being from James' plane.
