Background
Charles John Sims was born in Bournemouth, England on 20 December 1899.
Charles John Sims was born in Bournemouth, England on 20 December 1899.
However, his was awarded for his courage in ground attack missions. Sims entered the Royal Naval Air Service as a probationary flight officer with seniority from 24 October 1917. He was assigned to Number.
13 (Naval) Squadron, which later became Number.
213 Squadron Royal Air Force when the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army"s Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. Flying a Sopwith Camel single-seat fighter he was diligent in trench strafing and ground support missions.
He also scored nine aerial victories between 9 July and 9 November 1918, just before the end of hostilities. His final tally was a balloon and four German aircraft destroyed solo, two shared with other pilots, and two driven down out of control.
He was awarded the on 2 November 1918.
His citation read: Lieutenant Charles John Sims (Sea Patrol). "In a recent raid on an aerodrome this officer at 200 feet altitude bombed the objective, obtaining a direct hit. He then descended to about 50 feet altitude and attacked some Fokker biplanes lined up outside the hangars.
He is an officer of exceptional courage and ability, possessing remarkable powers of observation." List of aerial victories Sims stayed in Royal Air Force service post-war.
On 1 August 1919, as the Royal Air Force reorganized for peacetime, he was granted a permanent commission as a lieutenant. He finally presented his thesis in October 1925 and was awarded a Diploma of Imperial College for advanced study and research.
He published a paper detailing his experiments with fuel additives for aircraft engines in May 1926. On 1 January 1926, he was promoted from flying officer to flight lieutenant.
On 10 September 1926 he was posted to Number.
24 Squadron, based at Royal Air Force Kenley, but his stay was a brief one, as he was reassigned to the Royal Air Force School of Photography at Royal Air Force Farnborough on 27 October. Sims died on 30 December 1929.
In November 1920 he was elected a student member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and in October 1922 was selected for Aeronautical Research Course "C" at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London.