James McCudden
Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1895-1918) · Died at 23
James Thomas Byford McCudden, was an English flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions, McCudden joined the Royal Engineers in 1910.
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A typical day, 30 days to 8 August 2026
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Photos 9
McCudden indulging in his other engineering interest: motorcycles. Pictured here on a Moto Reve model, 1913 at the RFC manoeuvres.
Manfred von Richthofen. Possibly McCudden's opponent on 27 December 1916.
52 of McCudden's 57 victims fell while he was flying the S.E.5.![McCudden's 18th victory, 21 October 1917: Unteroffizier Richard Hiltweis and Leutnant Hans Laitko did not survive.[65]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/JamesMcCuddens18thvictory.png?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
McCudden's 18th victory, 21 October 1917: Unteroffizier Richard Hiltweis and Leutnant Hans Laitko did not survive.[65]
McCudden's personal S.E.5 (8491 G), 1918. The four blades had a spinner added from a German aircraft he shot down on 30 November 1917.
Portrait by William Orpen (1918)
McCudden's graveAwards
About this person
Having an interest in mechanics he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1913 at which time he first came into regular contact with aircraft. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he flew as an observer before training as a fighter pilot in 1916.