Ace Flier Delhaye Killed in Crash
Regina, Nov. 20. (CP)—Air Commodore
Roger Delhaye, killed in an air crash near Montreal, Saturday, was a flying ace of the First Great War during which he destroyed 18 enemy aircraft. The 51-year-old veteran once met in combat the great German ace, Baron Richthofen, and he said afterward, "we had a nice little set-to—he didn't get me and I didn't get him."
Air Commodore Delhaye was born in France of French and English parents. He came to Canada in 1910 and in August, 1914, he joined the Royal Flying Corps special reserve.
He was promoted captain in France. A flying accident shortly afterwards kept him in hospital for two months, and when he returned to active service, he won the D.F.C. in September, 1918.
He returned to Canada after the war and later took up civilian flying, becoming manager of the Regina airport in 1929. In 1937 he was awarded a gold medal by the Canadian Flying Clubs association, acclaimed as the non-professional pilot who had done most for Canadian aviation that year.
When this war broke out, Air Commodore Delhaye joined the R.C.A.F. He commanded a flying boat squadron on the Pacific coast, served at R.C.A.F. headquarters in Ottawa for nearly a year, and when the Dafoe, Sask., bombing and gunnery school was opened in 1941 he was appointed commanding officer. In 1942 he was placed in charge of administration at command headquarters at Montreal.
Winnipeg Free Press (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - Tuesday, November 21, 1944
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