Clyde Blackburn (3 March 1889 - 11 May 1933) was an American fraudster and experienced pilot of the Royal Flying Corps division in the British Army during the First World War. In 1917, Blackburn posed as British pilot George Rackham and stole his Bristol F2.B aircraft. While commandeering Rackham's airplane, Blackburn and gunner Seamus Wilson infiltrated German territory and sucessfully uncovered stock munitions that were being held in a fortress. Later that June, Blackburn was to be extradited to the United States and charged for his crimes but managed escape from captivity in the midst of a bombing raid in London.
In May 1933, Blackburn disappeared during a smuggling run on the coast of Argentina after his plane was caught in a vicious storm. His body was never recovered and authorities declared him as deceased.
Biography[]
Clyde Blackburn was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 3rd 1889 to a family of English descent. Blackburn's father was a steamboat mechanic and his mother was a seamstress.