Roderic S Dallas (Australian Ace)

Born on 30 June 1891 in Mount Stanley, Queensland, Stan Dallas joined the Australian Army in 1913 and received a commission several months later. Following the outbreak of World War 1 in August 1914, he applied for a transfer to the RFC in the UK but was rejected. Unperturbed, Dallas then approached the Royal Navy, and was appropriately accepted by the RNAS. Starting flying training in June 1915, he had his wings by November and joined 1 Naval Wing in Dunkirk on 3 December. Piloting two-seaters and single-seat Nieuport 11 Bébé scouts on reconnaissance patrols over the North Sea, often in terrible weather, Dallas' flying abilities quickly developed to the point where he claimed his first three combat victories in April and May 1916 flying the diminutive French Bébé.

Sub-Lt Dallas officially achieved 'acedom' in the prototype Sopwith Triplane N500 on 9 July 1916 when he sent a Fokker E III down 'out of control' over Mariakerke. By February 1917 his score stood at seven, he had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and he was now a flight commander in the newly-established 1 Naval Squadron (formerly 1 Naval Wing). With the unit now fully equipped with Triplane, it was sent to the Somme front in April to help hard-pressed RFC squadrons deal with the Fokker 'scourge'. Dallas made the most of this opportunity by claiming eight victories between 5 and 30 April, followed by two more in May.

Given command of 'Naval 1' on 14 June, with his official score then standing at 17 victories, Dallas had boosted his tally to 23 by the time he left the unit in March 1918 - having flown Camels during his final eight months with 'Naval V, Dallas became a SE 5a pilot when he was made CO of the RAF's No 40 Sqn in early April.

On 1 June 1918, with his overall score having reached 32 (some sources claim that it could be as high as 56), Dallas took off alone on a mid-morning patrol over the front line. Flying west of the Allied trenches, he was attacked out of the clouds by a trio of Fokker Dr I triplanes from Jasta 14. Australia's second-ranking ace was fatally wounded when shots fired by Staffelführer Leutnant Johannes Werner hit the cockpit of his SE 5a, and he crashed to his death near Lievin - Dallas was Werner's sixth of seven victims.

Triplane N5436 C of Sub-Lt Roderic Dallas, 1 Naval Squadron, La Bellevue, France, April 1917
Australian ace Roderic Stanley Dallas of 'Naval 1' flew this aircraft between December 1916 and May 1917, during which time he used it to claim 11 victories. Future ace C B Ridley then flew the veteran fighter in August and September 1917, scoring a further two victories with it. Very much a 'plain Jane' Triplane, it had a metal cowling and a clear-doped fin and wheel covers