Australian Fighter Ace

Robert Alexander Little DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar was born on 19 July 1895 to James and Susan Little in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. Robert Little was educated at Scotch College before working as a sales rep for his father’s medical book business. Long interested in aviation; on the outbreak of war, Little applied to the Australian Army’s Central Flying School at Point Cook to train as a pilot. Rejected, he sailed to England in July 1915 where he undertook flying lessons, at his own expense, at the Royal Aero Club at Hendon. In January 1916 he was accepted into the Royal Naval Air Service. 

Little arrived in France in June 1916 serving with No. 1 Naval Wing and carried out bombing raids over the Western Front. In October 1916 he was posted to No. 8 Squadron RNAS flying Sopwith Pup fighters. Little’s first aerial victory was scored on 23 November 1916. During April 1917 the squadron re-equipped with Sopwith Triplanes and Little began to rack up an impressive score. The Triplane he usually flew was named BLYMP which became a nickname for his baby son. A couple of months later the squadron again re-equipped, this time with Sopwith Camels, and Little continued to score. 

Despite Little’s reputation as an ace it has to be said that he was a very average pilot and crashed on landing several times. He was, however, a crack marksman at a time when most pilots couldn’t hit anything. 

Following a period of rest in England he turned down a desk job to return to combat. In March 1918 he joined No.3 Squadron RNAS. On 1 April, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were amalgamated to become the independent Royal Air Force and Little’s squadron was renumbered No.203 Squadron. Little continued to fly the Sopwith Camel; racking up further aerial victories. On the evening of 27 May 1918 Little took off to intercept a flight of German Gotha bombers. As he closed on one of the bombers he was struck by a bullet that passed through both his thighs. He crash landed in a French field and bled to death before being discovered by a passing gendarme the following morning. 

At the time of his death Robert Little had scored 47 confirmed victories making him, not only the top scoring Australian ace of WW1, but the top scoring Australian pilot of all time. 

Thanks to Terry Maher for passing on this story from the Melbourne Legacy Bulletin.