Russell Winnicott
Lieutenant Russell Winnicott was an English World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.
Early life
Winnicot was the youngest son of Alderman Richard Weeks Winnicott and Anne Smith Winnicott of Mannamead, Plymouth.World War I
Winnicott was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment on 2 October 1915, and was appointed a temporary lieutenant on 15 October 1916. He was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps on 11 November 1916, and was appointed a flying officer the same day. He relinquished his temporary rank on 12 April 1917.Winnicott was posted No. 41 Squadron RFC to fly an Airco DH.5 single-seat fighter, and gained his first aerial victory on 6 September 1917, driving down an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft out of control. He scored three more times in September; then his fifth and sixth victories on 30 September made him an ace. He scored again in mid-October, on the 18th. On 26 October 1917 Winnicott was awarded the Military Cross. There was a pause in his scoring while he upgraded to a SE.5a. On 29 November, Winnicott shared a triumph with fellow ace Loudoun MacLean and two other pilots. The next day, Winnicott destroyed an Albatros D.V at 1340 hours; 20 minutes later, he teamed with MacLean, Meredith Thomas, and Frank Harold Taylor to drive a German two-seater down out of control over Rumilly to become a double ace. His final tally was two enemy aircraft destroyed, eight driven down out of control.
Russell Winnicott was killed in a flying accident on 6 December 1917, when he collided with another aircraft, and is buried in the Military Cemetery in Varennes, Somme. On 29 January 1918, he was posthumously promoted to lieutenant, effective 1 July 1917.
List of aerial victories
| No. | Date/Time | Aircraft/ Serial No. | Opponent | Result | Location | Notes |
| 1 | 6 September 1917 @ 1335 | DH.5 | Albatros C | Out of control | Masnières—Lesdain | |
| 2 | 18 September 1917 @ 1115 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Cambrai | |
| 3 | 25 September 1917 @ 1810 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Destroyed | South-west of Cambrai | |
| 4 | 28 September 1917 @ 1810 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Bugnicourt | |
| 5 | 30 September 1917 @ 1600–1630 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Eterpigny | |
| 6 | 30 September 1917 @ 1600–1630 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Out of control | East of Marquion | |
| 7 | 18 October 1917 @ 1530 | DH.5 | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Arleux | |
| 8 | 29 November 1917 @ 1050 | SE.5a | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Douai | Shared with Captain Loudoun MacLean, and Lieutenants D. V. D. MacGregor and E. M. Essell. |
| 9 | 30 November 1917 @ 1340–1400 | S.E.5a | Albatros D.V | Destroyed | North of Bourlon | |
| 10 | 30 November 1917 @ 1340–1400 | S.E.5a | C | Out of control | Rumilly | Shared with Captains Meredith Thomas & Loudoun MacLean, and Lieutenant Frank Harold Taylor. |