Aerial Warfare in WW1 Trivia

1. France had the second highest ace during the First World War. Who shot down 75 enemy aircraft and/or balloons?

From Quiz Flying Aces in the Great War

Answer: Rene Fonck

René Fonck (1894-1953) was the French top ace and also the best of all allied countries. When he enlisted in 1914, he was first trained as a combat engineer, but switched to piloting in 1915. His first aerial victory dates from August 1916, but since April 1917 he scored one kill after the other. Contrary to most other fighter pilots in the Great War, he was never wounded, and only once a bullet hit his airplane - without doing further damage than a little dent. Adolphe Pégoud (1889-1915) was the first of all aces during the Great War. Pégoud started flying in 1913, and experimented with parachuting from a plane and flying loop stunts. When the war broke out, Pégoud started his career as a fighter pilot. With three confirmed victories in February 1915 and two in April 1915, he was the first with five confirmed victories - a feat that was titled in the newspapers as done by "l'as des pilotes" ("the ace of the pilots"). Georges Guynemer (1894-1917) was one of the leading French aces, with 53 confirmed victories up till the moment he was shot and killed in aerial combat. Soon afterwards Fonck would surpass him. Léon Bourjade (1889-1924) started his career as fighter pilot only in June 1917. And yet he scored a whopping 28 aerial victories, shooting down 27 observation balloons and one enemy plane.

From Quiz The Red Baron

Answer: To intimidate and draw in enemies

Strange as it sounds, the Red Baron was trying to put fear into his enemies and tell them he was coming by painting his plane red. The color also acted as beacon to rally or group his men in order behind him. The lesser pilots had less distracting colors, whereas the better pilots had more distracting colors.

From Quiz Air Aces of World War I

Answer: Manfred von Richthofen

Richtofen was credited with 80 kills. He was killed in combat on April 21, 1918. He was flying from Canadian pilot Roy Brown, but he was low to the ground and Australian gunners were also shooting at his airplane. No one knows for certain just who killed the "Red Baron".

From Quiz Aerial Combat in WW1

Answer: Aircrew would fire at an enemy with small arms carried with them in the cockpit

At the beginning of the First World War, aircraft themselves were initially unarmed. As time went by, pilots and observers would carry small arms during observation flights in case they met the enemy engaged in the same task. Of course it was virtually impossible to hit another aircraft with a small calibre weapon, but in time the permanent mounting of machine guns on aircraft came to pass. The rest is history. The exchange of hand gestures and intimidating flying manoeuvres probably also took place, but the use of firearms in the air is the key point in the evolution of aerial combat between two opposing aircraft.

From Quiz Fighter Pilots & Planes: Eddie Rickenbacker

Answer: He wanted his last name to appear less German

Because of extensive anti-German sentiment in the US, Rickenbacker changed the spelling of his last name to "take the Hun out of his name."

From Quiz Fighter Pilots and Fighter Planes: The Red Baron

Answer: Poland

In 1945 Breslau became a part of Poland as a result of the post-World War II Potsdam Agreement which established policy for the occupation of Germany.

From Quiz So You Want to Be a WWI Flying Ace

Answer: Five

The French were the first to call their crack pilots "aces." This appellation came after shooting down five enemy aircraft. The British awarded the Military Cross to anyone in their air services who downed five enemy aircraft, while the Germans awarded the "Blue Max" to anyone shooting down eight enemy. If you wanted to be an ace, your best bet would have been to join the French Armee de l'Air. Each pilot who participated in the downing of an enemy aircraft received credit for one full kill. So if four pilots shot at one enemy plane and it ended up going down, all four pilots would get a kill, even though only one plane was shot down. The Germans, on the other hand, only gave one pilot credit for a kill. The British did it neither way. They gave partial kill credits if more than one pilot was involved.

From Quiz Manfred von Richthofen

Answer: The Red Baron

"For no particular reason" is what Richthofen said when he decided to paint his Fokker plane a glaring bright red. When he did this absolutely everyone knew that the red plane meant that Richthofen was in the pilot's seat. The name "Red Baron" was coined by the British media in 1916.

From Quiz World War I Fighters

Answer: Morane Type N

From Quiz A Sampling of World War I Combat Aircraft

Answer: French

The Breguet model 14 was used in roles other than bomber throughout World War I. They were also used as reconnaissance, artillery support, and as an air ambulance for front line troops. The armament consisted of three to four .303 Lewis machine-guns and a maximum bomb load of 704 pounds. Belgium and the United States also used model 14 Breguet aircraft throughout World War I.

From Quiz The Red Baron

Answer: 80 kills

He had a total of eighty kills, and one only needed five to be considered an ace. His first kill, however, was not credited to him because the pilot that was with him was more prestigious and called it his kill but in fact it was an assist.

From Quiz Air Aces of World War I

Answer: Edward Mannock

Mannock is credited with 73 kills. Mannock was almost blind in his left eye - a major problem for a pilot. You lose your depth preception. Mannock practiced for hours in the gun pits to improve his aiming skills. Mannock died in combat on July 26, 1918. After World War I he was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.

From Quiz Aerial Combat in WW1

Answer: oxygen

In the days before closed cockpits, oxygen masks and pressurisation, aircrew flying at around 20,000 feet reported the effects of oxygen starvation. That, combined with the intense cold that could be experienced in an open cockpit, was detrimental to the aircrew's alertness and comfort.

From Quiz Fighter Pilots & Planes: Eddie Rickenbacker

Answer: Racecar driver

Eddie had raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times. He finished only once in tenth place. He was also an accomplished mechanic and noted automobile designer.

From Quiz Fighter Pilots and Fighter Planes: The Red Baron

Answer: Cavalry officer

Richthofen served on both the Eastern and Western fronts as a cavalry reconnaissance officer before his transfer to the flying service was approved.

From Quiz Manfred von Richthofen

Answer: Uhlans (cavalry regiment)

The Red Baron graduated from Gross-Lichterfelde in 1911 and was posted as a Officer Candidate to his first choice of cavalry unit. He was commissioned as a Leutnant in 1912 to his unit which was then based in Milicz, Poland.

From Quiz World War I Fighters

Answer: Fokker EIII

The sleek, lethal lines of the Fokker EIII were a common sight on the battlefields of the Western Front from the summer of 1915 until the winter of 1916. With it's great speed, agility, and revolutionary interrupter gear, it ruled the sky until the advent of the Nieuport 11 and the Airco DH2.

From Quiz Flying Aces in the Great War

Answer: Billy Bishop

The British Empire started the Great War with pilots from several countries that have meanwhile obtained their independence: Ireland (1916), Canada (de facto 1919 and legally since 1931), New Zealand (legally since 1947), India (1947), and South Africa (1931). Some of those pilots flew with the British Royal Flying Corps (that later became the RAF), others with the Royal Navy Air Corps that joined the RAF in 1918. William Avery Bishop, Jr. (1894-1956) - commonly named Billy - went to the Royal Military College of Canada in 1911-1913, where his excellent marksmanship drew attention. When the war started, Billy enlisted with a cavalry regiment - but several accidents hampered his terrestrial military career. In 1915, Billy switched to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer, and in 1916 he started piloting. His first aerial victory was in March 1917, and then he scored four more within a fortnight. All in all he was credited with 72 confirmed victories, plus a large number of unconfirmed shootings. Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor (1894-1921) was the top ace from South-Africa. He started his career in the South-African Army and joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917, where he reached 54 confirmed aerial victories. Edward Mannock (1887-1918) is listed as the top ace from Great-Britain, although one source mentions that he was born in Cork (Ireland) and another that his parents were Irish. He was credited with 61 aerial victories. George McElroy (1893-1918) is listed as the top Irish ace, with 47 confirmed victories.

From Quiz A Sampling of World War I Combat Aircraft

Answer: Staaken R

The Staaken R took part in the very first strategic bombing missions in history. The crew members of the Staaken R heavy bombers made some of the first uses of radio for navigation. The Staaken R also dropped the largest bombs of that time, reaching up to 1,000 kg. Ilya Mouromets designed by Igor Sikorsky for Czarist Russia. The Gotha G.V was also a German bomber and would accompany Staaken Rs on their strategic bombing missions. Vickers Vimy was British and arrived too late to take part in the hostilities.

From Quiz The Red Baron

Answer: The Flying Circus

The nickname 'Flying Circus' was used by British and French pilots who saw the strange colored planes.

From Quiz Air Aces of World War I

Answer: William Bishop

Bishop is credited with 72 kills. In June 1918, Bishop was ordered to return back to England after his 59th kill. On his final day of flying and fighting Bishop downed five German airplanes in 15 minutes. Bishop died in 1956.

From Quiz Aerial Combat in WW1

Answer: Shooting down enemy observation balloons

Shooting down observation balloons was well known for being a dangerous task. Typically, German balloon sites would be surrounded by anti-aircraft guns that would focus on any incoming allied aircraft. The slow speed of aircraft of the day made them easy targets.

From Quiz Fighter Pilots & Planes: Eddie Rickenbacker

Answer: He taught himself to fly in his spare time and found his own ground replacement

Although he had learned to fly in his spare time, because there was such a shortage of personnel in his ground job, Rickenbacker's superiors tried to prevent him from obtaining a flying position. Once he was able to find a replacement for himself he was given a flying assignment.

From Quiz Fighter Pilots and Fighter Planes: The Red Baron

Answer: He shot it down from an observer position

Richthofen's first assignment in the German flying service was as an observer on reconnaissance aircraft. From his observer position he fired his machine gun at a French aircraft but did not receive credit when it fell behind enemy lines. He was finally trained as a pilot in October 1915.

From Quiz Manfred von Richthofen

Answer: 80

The closet German ace to the Red Baron's mark was Oberleutnant Ernst Udet with 62. The leading Allied ace was the Frenchman Capitaine René Fonck with 75.

From Quiz World War I Fighters

Answer: Sopwith Snipe

The fast and powerful Snipe, with its excellent maneuverability, appeared in the summer of 1918, just in time to make its presence felt. Faster and more nimble than even the Fokker VII, and the much feared Fokker Dr1 Triplane, it was, without question, the best Allied, and quite possibly, the best fighter of the war. The surviving Snipes remained in RAF service into the 1920's and early 1930's.

From Quiz Flying Aces in the Great War

Answer: Russia

Russia was the only one of these countries involved in the First World War: the red herrings did not yet exist as independent countries. Russia counted only the confirmed aerial victories resulting in an airplane shot down over Russian-held territory as criteria to determine whether a pilot was an ace. Other countries counted all confirmed victories. So the numbers for the Russian aces are quite lower than for the other combatants. Alexander Kazakov (1889-1919) started his career as a cavalry officer, but completed flight training already in 1913. His final tally was 20 aerial victories. In 1918, Kazakov resigned from the Russian forces and joined the British Royal Air Force for the remainder of the war.

From Quiz A Sampling of World War I Combat Aircraft

Answer: Trainer

The Scout was initially intended as a fighter, but was switched to a solo advanced trainer. Production ceased with the end of World War I, but those already produced lasted into the following decades.

From Quiz The Red Baron

Answer: Manfred von Richthofen

Lothar von Richthofen (1894-1922) was a younger brother of the Red Baron and was also a World War I ace, with 40 kills. Ernst Udet (1896-1941) was Germany's second highest scoring ace in World War I, with 62 kills.

From Quiz Air Aces of World War I

Answer: Albert Ball

Ball, at the time of his death, was Britain's leading air ace. Ball is credited with 44 kills. Ball was killed by German ground machine gunners in May 1917, when he was just 20 years old. Ball was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.

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