Indra Lal Roy, India’s 1st flying ace KIA
On July 22, 1918, India’s 1st flying ace Indra Lal Roy was killed in an aerial battle over Carvin, France.
Despite a shaky start as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corp, Lt. Roy would soon blaze a deadly path across German lines in his short career.
Lt. Indra Lal Roy, Biplane and Distinguished Flying Cross
Issued in 2019 as part of India in World War I : Indian Air Warriors series
Designer: Brahma Prakash
His streak began on 6 July 1918, when he downed a German Hannover C. Two days later, he achieved the rare feat of destroying three enemy aircraft in a single morning, including two Hannover two-seaters and a Fokker D.VII—the finest fighter in the German arsenal. By 13 July, after shooting down a Pfalz D.III, he officially became a flying ace. He continued his relentless pace through mid-July, downing multiple Fokker D.VIIs and reconnaissance planes..
However, the high-altitude world of 1918 was a place of extreme attrition. On 22 July 1918, Roy’s flight of three S.E.5as was jumped by a formation of four Fokker D.VIIs near Carvin. In the swirling dogfight that followed, the British pilots managed to down two of their attackers, but Roy’s plane was struck and erupted in flames. He was killed when his aircraft hit the ground, ending his life at the age of nineteen.
https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/2026/february/india-s-raf-ace-indra-lal-roy-s-ten-victories-in-13-days/
Lt. Indra Lal Roy n Royal Flying Corps uniform aged 19 years old.
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