Air Marshal William Avery "Billy" Bishop was a Canadian fighter pilot in WWI who crashed his plane during a practice run and was ordered to go back to flight school. He didn't. Instead, he went on to shoot down 72 enemy aircraft, making him a legend in his own time and earning him a Victoria Cross. Billy Bishop's Early Military Career Bishop's military career didn't start off well. He joined the Royal Military College of Canada in 1911, was caught cheating, and had to start his first year all over again. In 1914, he joined the Mississauga Horse cavalry regiment, but couldn't join them overseas because he caught pneumonia. Once he recovered, they transferred him to the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles where he proved to be a born sniper, able to take out targets others could barely see. He finally boarded a ship for England on June 6, 1915 as part of a convoy that was attacked by German U-boats. Three hundred Canadians died in that attack, but Bishop's vessel was untouched. The surviving...
