They fought in canvas and wood biplanes that could barely fly 100 MPH. Men like von Richthofen, Rickenbacker, Bishop, Guynemer, Mannock, Ball, who flew airplanes with names like Spad, Fokker, Albatros, Nieuport, and Sopwith Camel.
In this era, the top speeds were about 100 MPH. When the pilots ventured ten miles over the enemy lines, that was a notable event. The pilots carried no parachutes. The airplanes were made of wood and canvas; when they caught on fire, it spread quickly, and spelled certain death for the occupants.
The press and public, desperate for heroes amongst the
waste and
destruction of the trenches, idolized the young heroes.
Then Tony Fokker, a Dutch airplane builder and entrepeneur working for the Germans, installed interrupter gear, permitting a machine gun to fire through the prop with much more reliability. For a time, the Fokkers gave the Germans an edge.
Over the course of the war, the quality of Allied fighters, or "scouts," generally matched the Germans. The quality advantage swung back and forth somewhat, but even the mid-1915 "Fokker Scourge" has been overstated; the Germans just never had very many Fokker Eindeckers. And the British pusher biplanes and the French Nieuport 11 were very effective opponents. With the introduction of the Albatros in 1917, again the Germans had a brief qualitative edge, but the Spads, S.E.5s, and Sopwith Camels held their own. By 1918, when Fokker introduced the D.VII and D.VIII, the overwhelming Allied numbers mooted the question of whether they were better than the best Allied scouts.
Notable Aviators |
Great Aircraft
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AmericanJames Norman Hall - flier and novelistRaoul Lufbery - 17 aerial victories Frank Luke - The Balloon Buster, 18 Billy Mitchell - airpower advocate Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker - top U.S. ace, 26 The Lafayette Escadrille -
Americans in French Air Service - Fred Gillet - 20 victories - Wilfred Beaver - 19; Brisfit pilot - David Ingalls - 6; Naval aviator - Field Kindley - 12 - Reed Landis - 12 - Fred Libby - 14; first American ace - O.C. "Boots" LeBoutillier - 10 - Elliott Springs - 16
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GermanOswald Boelcke - 40 victoriesHerman Göring - 22 Max Immelmann - early ace, 15 Erich Löwenhardt - 54 Lothar von Richthofen - 40 Manfred von Richthofen - The Red Baron, 80 Ernst Udet - 62 British EmpireAlbert Ball - 44Billy Barker - Canada, 50 Billy Bishop - Canada, 72 Ray Collishaw - Canada, 62 Edward "Mick" Mannock - 61 James McCudden - 57 FrenchRené Fonck - Top Allied ace, 75Roland Garros - first French ace Georges Guynemer - 53 victories Charles Nungesser - 43 OtherAnthony Fokker - Dutch aircraft designerAlexander de Seversky - Russian ace, later aircraft designer |
GermanAlbatros D.II/D.III - late 1916Fokker Dr.I Triplane - 1917, the Red Baron's famous aircraft Fokker D.VII - 1918 Fokker D.VIII - late 1918 Fokker E.III - mid 1915 BritishAVRO 504 - 1914, trainer biplaneD.H. 2 - early 1916, pusher biplane F.E. 2b - early 1916, pusher biplane S.E.5a - mid 1917, one of the best Sopwith Camel - mid 1917 Bristol F.2B Fighter "Brisfit" FrenchMoraine-Saulnier L - April, 1915Nieuport 11 - early 1916 Nieuport 17 Nieuport 28 Spad S.VII Spad S.XIII - mid 1917 Voisin bomber ZeppelinsObservation Balloons |
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Of course, the pilots themselves usually felt that their official credits under-stated their actual kills. The leading French ace, Rene Fonck, credited with 75 kills, personally claimed 126. In other cases, official recognition was withheld from NCO's; only commissioned officers were so credited. Frederick Libby, an American who flew with the British, claimed ten as an NCO observer/gunner, but these were not officially added to the fourteen he scored as an officer and pilot. And so it goes; in all likelihood, the claims will never be resolved, especially now we are the better part of a century removed from that time.
The case of Mick Mannock is interesting. His biographer selected a number of aerial victories that put him ahead of a rival! Later research suggested that his actual total was closer to 61.
All the credits for aerial victories noted here are the "official" numbers, as reported in various secondary sources. (Even some of those vary and I usually opted for the lower figure.) Perhaps a better term than "official" would be "traditional." Whether Manfred von Richthofen shot down precisely 80 airplanes, Guynemer 53 (or 54?), Billy Bishop 73, Mick Mannock 61, and Frank Luke 21 (or 19?), perhaps does not matter too much any more. They were great fliers in an almost legendary era. Their heroism and their achievements go beyond precise enumeration of aircraft destroyed. But I have made every effort to be as accurate as possible.
This fundamental aspect of WWI's air war meant that German fighter pilots usually flew over their own terrain, which required less fuel, less flying time, and also easier confirmation of downed aircraft. An added bonus for the German jagdflieger was the prevailing west wind. Any crippled German plane gliding for home had the wind at its back; while any damaged Allied plane faced head winds. Not a small consideration for the light craft of those years. Thus, while the Allies' greater numbers gave them the edge in the air war, many German aces were able to rack up impressive scores of downed British and French planes.
Sources:
Reading List: - Memoirs and Original Sources
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