Albert Ball (1896–1917)

Image credit: National Portrait Gallery, London

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Born in Nottingham, Ball was a trainee engineer when war was declared. He joined the Royal Flying Corps and was posted to France in 1916. As a Flight Commander in an SE5, 120 miles-per-hour biplane, he flew bareheaded, without goggles and favoured single combat. He shot down 43 enemy planes and a zeppelin in the few months he was airborne. Already a national hero, he was killed in action over enemy territory on 7th May 1917. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross and is commemorated by a public monument in Nottingham. The German ace, Baron von Richtofen, commented that Ball was 'the best English flying man'.

National Portrait Gallery, London

London

Title

Albert Ball (1896–1917)

Date

1920s

Medium

bronze

Measurements

H 60 x W 25.5 x D 20 cm

Accession number

2277

Acquisition method

donated by the sitter's father, Sir Albert Ball, 1929

Work type

Sculpture

Inscription description

incised

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