Fighter ace William Avery "Billy" Bishop poses with his aircraft in August 1917. At the time of this photograph, Bishop had downed 37 German planes, and had received the Victoria Cross for his solo attack on four German aircraft on 2 June 1917. During this dawn raid, he downed three planes and caused another to retreat. By war's end, Bishop was credited with shooting down 72 planes, making him Canada's highest-scoring ace. While some of Bishop's "kills" were questioned by contemporaries and by later historians, he remains one of the war's leading aces and most decorated Canadians.
George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19920085-655
Canada and the First World War
