Arthur Raymond Brooks

Arthur Raymond Brooks (1 November 1895 – 17 July 1991) was an American World War I flying ace of the United States Army Air Service credited with shooting down multiple enemy aircraft. Among his most prominent achievements was when he single-handedly took on a squadron of German-flown Fokker (Dutch make) planes officially downing 2 of them in one aerial battle piloting his SPAD XIII named Smith IV. He was a pioneer in the development of radio navigational aids (NAVAIDs) used by pilots for location and navigation as well as air-to-ground communications. Brooks also participated in early endeavors to commercialize aviation as a passenger-carrying business and was one of the earliest commercial pilots involved with carrying mail (air mail) for the US Post Office Department.