So You Want to Be a WWI Flying Ace Quiz

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.

Answer: Lafayette Escadrille

Before the US entered the war, American pilots who wanted a piece of the action had to join the Armee de l'Air, the British Royal Air Corps or the British Royal Naval Air Service. These pilots fought as volunteers. In the French Armee de l'Air their squadron was called the "Lafayette Escadrille" for General Lafayette.
The 94th Pursuit Squadron was Eddie Rickenbacher's US Air Corps squadron and was formed in 1917.
Doolittle's Raiders was the group that surprised Japan in WWII by attacking the mainland after taking off from an aircraft carrier in B-25 Mitchell bombers.
The 175th Tactical Fighter Squadron belongs to the South Dakota Air National Guard. It was formed right after WWII and currently operates F-16 Fighting Falcons. Their call sign is "Lobo."

Answer: Fokker Dr.1 Dreidecker

"Drei" is German for three, so a "Dreidecker" would have three wings and be called a triplane. "Ein" is German for one. The "Eindecker" was a monoplane with one wing. The F.VII and F27 are not World War I airplanes. In fact, they are not even fighters.

The F.VII was a tri-motored transport, somewhat similar to the Ford Trimotor, built in the late 1930s. The F27 was a twin-engine turboprop transport with a capacity of up to 56 passengers. Neither one would have been agile enough to engage in aerial dogfights although the F27 Friendship, with a speed of 320 mph (280 knots), would certainly run away from a dogfight with the best of them.

Answer: True

The best place to mount a machine gun on a WWI fighter was directly in front of the pilot. This position made it easier to aim the weapon and easier to clear a jam--and WWI machine guns were extremely prone to jamming. A bullet would get hung up in the firing mechanism and the gun would no longer operate.

This was a bad thing in a life and death dogfight--a very bad thing. Another thing directly in front of the pilot was the propeller. The gun would have to shoot through the propeller arc. One early solution was to install steel guards on the propeller blades. If a bullet hit the guard it would not cut through the wooden propeller.

This was unsatisfactory because after a while the propeller would become unbalanced. Also, steel bullets would pierce the guards. Eventually Fokker in Germany discovered a means to synchronize the firing of the machine gun so the bullets would pass through the propeller arc without striking the propeller. Pilots loved Fokker.

Answer: Out of the Sun

WWI fighters were woefully underpowered and could not climb very well. Trying to come up from below another plane was too difficult. The shot from the side is the toughest shot in aerial combat because of the necessity to properly lead the target as it crosses in front of you. Attacking head on was just dumb. Your opponent had just as good a shot at you as you had at him. Coming out of the sun was by far the best way. You had a clear view of your opponent but they could not see you.

A surprise attack, from behind the enemy and from out of the sun, was an easy shoot down.

Answer: A defensive formation

The Lufbery Circle was a defensive formation used early in the war. When attacked by faster aircraft, a squad of planes would form a circle. Each would be protected because if the enemy singled out a fighter to attack, there was always an aircraft in position to come to the aid of the one being attacked.

It was named for Raoul Lufbery, a French-American airman and ace with 17 kills, although there is no evidence that he devised the tactic. The Lufbery Circle was abandoned later in the war as airplanes became faster and more maneuverable, obviating the need for such a tactic except by slower aircraft such as bombers.

The problem with flying the Circle was that, since the bombers were flying a predictable pattern, a wise enemy pilot could easily pick out a target, know where the target was going to be, and dive on it in a high speed pass.

Answer: Balloon busting

The observation balloons were flown to observe enemy movements. They were fair game for the WWI aviator and a pilot would actually get kill credit for shooting one down. The balloons were generally protected by anti-aircraft guns. When attacked the balloon could be winched down.

The observers could also parachute to safety. Balloon busting involved special incendiary ammunition to set the balloon aflame. It was a dangerous activity for the pilot. On many occasions the pilot would be too close when the balloon erupted and be caught in the flames.

A common cause of this mishap was "target fixation." The pilot would be so engrossed in trying to shoot the observation balloon down that he did not realize he was getting too close.

Answer: They were not issued with parachutes

Even though crude parachutes were available during the war, the General Staff from several of the air services thought issuing parachutes to their pilots would result in them all bailing out of their planes at the first sign of trouble. The early planes were also so underpowered that the extra weight of the parachute would impact performance.

It was only late in the war that the German Air Corps began to equip their pilots with parachutes. Not having a parachute did not prevent pilots from bailing out of their aircraft. If the aircraft was on fire, many pilots felt it was better to jump to their death than be burned to death. Being a WWI fighter ace was not all fun, games and silk scarves.

Answer: Black cross

German planes sported a cross in black, usually outlined in white. Later in the war the cross was changed to a Maltese cross--also black. British aircraft had a roundel with a red center, blue outermost ring and white in between. French aircraft had a similar roundel with the red and blue switched.

The rising sun was sported by Japanese aircraft in World War II. Japan was involved in World War I. They supported Britain by patrolling the South Pacific Ocean against the German Navy. There is no record of Japanese aircraft being spotted over Europe during this time, therefore fighter aces did not have to spend much time studying silhouettes of Japanese airplanes.

Answer: Red Baron

There was another von Richthofen who was a German fighter ace. Lothar von Richthofen was credited with 40 victories. He flew in Manfred's jasta (squadron) where Manfred considered him too reckless and called him a "shooter" rather than a "hunter." Reckless or not, Lothar scored his first 24 victories in the space of 7 weeks.

He was, however, wounded three times during the war and spent a great deal of time in the hospital or recuperating. Lothar happened to be Manfred's younger brother. As is the case with most brothers, the older one got all the attention, the cool nickname and even a brand of pizza named after him while the younger one was forever known as "Manfred's brother."