# Keith Muspratt

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
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{{Infobox military person
| name               = Keith Knox Muspratt
| image              = 
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1897|12|22}}
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1918|03|16|1897|12|22}}
| birth_place        = [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth), Hampshire, England
| death_place        = [Martlesham Heath](/source/RAF_Martlesham_Heath), Suffolk, England
| burial_label       = 
| burial_place       = Bournemouth Cemetery, Wimborne Road, Hampshire
| burial_coordinates = {{coord|50|44|00|N|1|52|25|W|display=inline,title}}
| nickname           = 
| allegiance         = {{UK}}
| branch             = British Army
| service_years      = 1916–1918
| rank               = Captain
| unit               = [Dorsetshire Regiment](/source/Dorsetshire_Regiment)<br/>[No. 56 Squadron RFC](/source/No._56_Squadron_RAF)
| commands           = 
| battles            = [First World War](/source/First_World_War)
| awards             = [Military Cross](/source/Military_Cross)
| relations          = 
| other_work         = 
}}
Captain '''Keith Knox Muspratt''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MC}} (22 December 1897 &ndash; 16 March 1918) was an English First World War [flying ace](/source/flying_ace) in the [Royal Flying Corps](/source/Royal_Flying_Corps) with eight victories to his name.<ref name="theaerodrome">{{cite web |url=http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/muspratt.php |title=Keith Knox Muspratt |work=The Aerodrome |year=2015 }}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life and background===
Keith Muspratt was born in [Bournemouth](/source/Bournemouth), Hampshire, the youngest of three sons of Charles Drummond Muspratt, MD (1859–1927), a surgeon, and his wife Mabel, the daughter of the Right Honourable Sir H. Knox.<ref name="CWGC">{{cite web |url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/362451/MUSPRATT,%20KEITH%20KNOX |title=Casualty Details: Muspratt, Keith Knox |work=[Commonwealth War Graves Commission](/source/Commonwealth_War_Graves_Commission) |year=2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/biogs/E002785b.htm |title=Plarr's Lives of the Fellows Online: Muspratt, Charles Drummond |work=[Royal College of Surgeons of England](/source/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_England) |year=2015 }}</ref> His older brother Captain Terence Petty Muspratt, MC, of the [Worcestershire Regiment](/source/Worcestershire_Regiment), was killed in action on 29 May 1918, aged 22, and is buried at Terlincthun British Cemetery, [Wimille](/source/Wimille), France.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.everymanremembered.org/profiles/soldier/4026614/ |title=Captain Terence Petty Muspratt |work=Every Man Remembered |year=2015 }}</ref>

Muspratt was educated at Wychwood School in Bournemouth, and in 1911, aged 14, was sent to [Sherborne School](/source/Sherborne_School), Dorset. There he was a [school prefect](/source/school_prefect), played football for his house, and was commissioned as a cadet officer in the [Junior Division](/source/Combined_Cadet_Force) of the [Officers' Training Corps](/source/Officers'_Training_Corps). Muspratt began to learn to fly while still at school, mainly during the holidays,<ref name="FlightObit">{{cite journal |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1918/1918%20-%200351.html |title=Personals: Casualties |issue=483 |volume=X |page=347 |journal=[Flight](/source/Flight_International) |date=28 March 1918 }}</ref> attending the Ruffy-Baumann School of Flying at [Hendon Aerodrome](/source/Hendon_Aerodrome) from mid-1915.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1918/1918%20-%200324.html |title=From the British Flying Grounds |issue=348 |volume=VII |page=615 |journal=[Flight](/source/Flight_International) |date=20 August 1915 }}</ref> He was awarded his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate (No. 2789) on 27 April 1916.<ref name="theaerodrome"/>

===Military service===
Muspratt left school at the end of the 1916 summer term,<ref name="FlightObit"/> and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the [Dorsetshire Regiment](/source/Dorsetshire_Regiment) for service in the Royal Flying Corps on 8 August 1916.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=15 August 1916 |supp=y |issue=29710 |page=8111  |nolink=yes}}</ref> On 2 November he was appointed a flying officer.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=12 December 1916 |supp=y |issue=29862 |page=12198 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

Muspratt first served as a flying instructor and in a testing squadron,<ref name="FlightObit"/> before joining [No. 56 Squadron](/source/No._56_Squadron_RAF) in France in May 1917. During his service, he was credited with eight aerial victories (one captured, four destroyed, and three (two shared) 'out of control'). His first claim was flying Sopwith-built [SE.5](/source/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_S.E.5) No. A4861, against an [Albatros D.III](/source/Albatros_D.III) that he helped to force down out of control on 24 May 1917. He added a second out-of-control victory on the 28th while flying SE.5 No. A8913. On 17 July, he shared another out-of-control victory flying A8913.<ref name="theaerodrome"/>

He switched to SE.5 No. 8944, and scored decisively three times in August.<ref name="theaerodrome"/> Then, on 23 September, he participated in one of the epic air battles of World War I when [Werner Voss](/source/Werner_Voss) single-handedly fought patrols from [No. 60 Squadron](/source/No._60_Squadron_RAF), and "B" Flight of No. 56 Squadron, included Muspratt. During the battle, Voss damaged two No. 60 squadron aircraft such that they withdrew from the fight. He also holed the radiator of Muspratt's aircraft and riddled the wings of another 56 Squadron aircraft. Voss finally succumbed to bullets from [Arthur Rhys Davids](/source/Arthur_Rhys_Davids).<ref>{{cite book |first=Jon |last=Guttman |title=Sopwith Camel vs Fokker Dr I : Western Front 1917-18 |url=https://archive.org/details/sopwithcamelvsfo00gutt |url-access=limited |publisher=Osprey Publishing |date=18 March 2008 |isbn=9781846032936 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sopwithcamelvsfo00gutt/page/n15 21]–22}}</ref>

Muspratt was awarded the [Military Cross](/source/Military_Cross) on 18 October 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=16 October 1917 |supp=y |issue=30340 |page=10710 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and destroyed two more German aircraft by the end of the month. After his final victory, he was withdrawn from battle and assigned to Home Establishment to serve as a test pilot at [Martlesham Heath](/source/Martlesham_Heath).<ref name="theaerodrome"/>

Muspratt was promoted to lieutenant on 8 February 1918,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=15 March 1918 |supp=y |issue=30580 |page=3376 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and appointed a [flight commander](/source/flight_commander) with the acting rank of captain on 11 February.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=7 May 1918 |supp=y |issue=30674 |page=5542 |nolink=yes}}</ref> He was killed in a flying accident in Suffolk on 16 March 1918,<ref name="theaerodrome"/><ref name="FlightObit"/> and is buried at Bournemouth Cemetery on Wimborne Road.<ref name="CWGC"/>

==Awards and citation==
;Military Cross
:Temporary Second Lieutenant Keith Knox Muspratt, General List and Royal Flying Corps.
::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He showed great initiative throughout the offensive operations, and seldom failed to become engaged with enemy aircraft when on offensive patrol. He destroyed several hostile machines. He took part in over forty offensive patrols, the majority of which entailed very severe fighting at low altitudes under heavy fire, and he set a magnificent example by his skill, gallantry, and initiative."<ref>{{London Gazette |date=5 March 1918 |supp=y |issue=30561 |pages=2927–2928  |nolink=yes}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muspratt, Keith}}
Category:1897 births
Category:1918 deaths
Category:Military personnel from Bournemouth
Category:People educated at Sherborne School
Category:Dorset Regiment officers
Category:Royal Flying Corps officers
Category:British World War I flying aces
Category:Recipients of the Military Cross
Category:English test pilots
Category:Burials in Dorset
Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England
Category:British military personnel killed in World War I
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1918
Category:Victims of flight test accidents
Category:British Army personnel of World War I

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Keith Muspratt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Muspratt) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Muspratt?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.