Thomas Sharpe (RAF officer)
Captain Thomas Sydney Sharpe was a British World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.Military service
Sharpe was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, on 17 April 1915. He later trained as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 2471 on 19 February 1916. He was confirmed in his rank on 22 March, and was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps and appointed a flying officer on 21 April.
Sharpe flew with No. 24 Squadron from May to July 1916. On 1 February 1917 he was appointed a flight commander with the acting rank of captain.
He was later posted to No. 73 Squadron as a flight commander, to fly the Sopwith Camel single-seat fighter. On 11 March 1918 he destroyed a Fokker Dr.I triplane, then an Albatros D.V and two LVG reconnaissance aircraft on 22 March, and a pair of D.Vs two days later. Three days later, on 27 March, he was shot down and wounded. The identity of his conqueror is debatable. It has been credited to Hans Kirschstein, or as the 71st victory of Manfred von Richthofen; Sharpe himself claimed to have been hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire.
Sharpe was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1918, while a prisoner of war, and his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted on 20 September 1918. His citation read:
Sharpe was repatriated on 25 December 1918, and transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 5 March 1919. He remained in the army until resigning his commission on 1 April 1920.
