Elwyn Roy King
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Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war, and second only to Harry Cobby in the AFC. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1939 until his death.
Elwyn Roy King, c. 1917–18
King (fourth from right), Captain Harry Cobby (centre) and fellow officers of No. 4 Squadron AFC with their Sopwith Camels, Western Front, June 1918
Sopwith Snipe of No. 4 Squadron, c. 1918. King achieved seven victories in the Snipe, making him the most successful pilot of the type.
King (second right), Captain George Jones (far right) and other officers of No. 4 Squadron AFC with a German Junkers J.I in Germany, December 1918
Australian Flying Corps
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The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until 1914 that it began flight training.
Captain Harry Cobby (centre), Lieutenant Roy King (fourth from right), and other officers of "A" Flight, No. 4 Squadron AFC, with their Sopwith Camels on the Western Front, June 1918
Members of the Half Flight gather around a Royal Naval Air Service Short 827
R.E.8s of No 3 Sqn AFC
Serny, France, November 1918. A score board recording the claims for enemy aircraft destroyed by No. 80 Wing RAF from July–November 1918, including Nos. 2 and 4 Squadron AFC.