5. Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor
Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor, born in Cape Town, South Africa, is the country’s highest scoring ace with 54 official victories. Beauchamp-Proctor aligned himself with the Duke of Edinburgh and served in the South-West Africa frontier. He was honorably discharged from the army in 1915 and returned to his studies. He re-enlisted in 1917 after completing his third year in college.
Like other legendary aces, Beauchamp-Proctor wasn’t a talented ace and even required customized seating arrangements inside the aircraft, owing to his short height. But Proctor is remembered as one of the greatest war heroes because of his extraordinary accomplishments. He won all 54 aerial combats in a single year, (1918). This was the most achieved in a year by any ace pilot. He was one of the first pilots to ever receive the Distinguished Flying Cross and he was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross as well. He was bestowed the Victoria Cross in 1919.
Proctor was nicknamed “Balloon Buster” for his efficiency in bringing down observational balloons. He holds the record of busting nine observational balloons in a single day. In the dying days of the war, Proctor is known to have attempted a reckless solo attack on 80 enemy aircraft which had almost cost him his life. On June 21, 1921, at the age of 26, Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor met his untimely death during a fight-training accident when the Sopwith Snipe he was flying went into a vicious spin after performing a slow loop.