Thomas Luke

Who was Thomas Luke?

Captain Thomas Carlyon Luke was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.

Luke transferred into the Royal Flying Corps in early 1917. After pilot's training, he was assigned to 66 Squadron. He piloted a Sopwith Pup to four victories between 23 May and 28 July 1917. On the latter date, he was shot down and wounded.

In the summer of 1918, he was posted to 209 Squadron as a flight commander. There he had a Sopwith Camel at his disposal. On 8 August 1918, he used it to team with fellow aces Cedric Edwards and Robert Foster, as well as two other pilots, to send a Halberstadt reconnaissance plane down in flames. On 25 August, Luke scored his final win, destroying a Fokker D.VII. His final tally showed that he had burnt two enemy planes, destroyed two others, and driven a pair down out of control.

Luke remained in the Royal Air Force postwar. He was Squadron Commander of 18 Squadron in 1934, and was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1935.