Was Billy a prevaricator

Up with anarchy!

[Ira_Silverman]

If Billy made up the story after the raid he didn't make, doesn't that make him a post-varicator??

Sorry, Al, just kidding. :}


"It's crackers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide." - Alfred E. Neuman

[stephen]

Andrew, I've seen a dozen of these threads come and go with vehement, emotional arguments on both sides and I rarely get involved. It's extremely rare that historical facts get discussed when referring to Bishop because there are so few available to support him. That doesn't mean he didn't do what he claimed; it means there is very little to show that he did what he claimed. So both sides end up in a no-win argument. Debunkers show a total lack of historical record to support the vast majority of his claims and especially the VC raid which somehow took place without a soul on the planet living to tell; supporters point to the medals and say "see! It must have happened!" That basically sums up an argument which is unwinnable from any standpoint. I and any other student of the war would welcome any evidence pro or con, but none is ever presented. Since the medals were indeed presented, Bishop supporters expect the burden of proof to be on his debunkers, knowing full well that it is virtually impossible to disprove something at this distance simply by citing a complete lack of evidence... therefore, Bishop supporters claim victory. It's going to stay a rotten mess til somebody comes up with something concrete, and so far, no one has... so don't be surprised when you ask a straight question and don't get a straight answer.

[Billy_Bishop]

I'll tell you what Cecil Knight (WWI Pilot, contemporary of Bishop) said when Paul Cowan asked him nearly the same question...

"No, never, it was not in the Character of Bishop as I knew him."

VBR,

Al Lowe

[Richard_Schrader]

Frankly, I don't know. I would like to believe him.

Let's face it guys, with all that mayhem going on around you, the odd mistaken claim has to be expected.
Even if Bishop did make a mistake about where/what/when/who he attacked, then you can bet that every other pilot made the same mistake at least once!
So I guess that, in the end, it all evens out!
Everybody who was at the "sharp end" in that bloody awful conflict, be they aviators, ground pounders, navy, liars,cowards, Allied, German or whatever, has my respect and admiration.

Regards
Paul

[Billy_Bishop]

I'm more than willing to admit that Bishop most likely made some mistakes in his claims. I'm not willing to admit that he did so on purpose.

Not until someone can come up with some positive proof that he did.

VBR,

Al Lowe

Stephen in response to your question "What is a prevaricator".... well the original thread by the Captain was titled, "Was Billy a Bulls..ter". I hope that answers your question..
As for getting emotional well I was a little upset because the pilot I was flying as in RB2 got shot down, I had been flying since January 1917 and he got killed in April 1918, and I was playing on the hardest settings.. I really should have left it alone when I saw this thread, but as you can imagine when I saw it in its original form, well I got a little steamed. As I said I am in no way a Bishop Booster, but I think all these brave young men, Aces or not, should be treated with respect.

As for historical proof, I am still waiting on the "Bishop was a mediocre pilot." Again I would like to apologize to the Captain if I was a little tearse in my response, everyone does have an opinion, but lets back them up with some facts, it would be easy for me to say that Robert Little was the Ace of Aces during the war because he was cheated out of 32 kills by the RNAS, but without proof it is what it is, BULLSH..T.

Anyway time for me to take a Prozac.

Regards,
Andrew Smith.

[Billy_Bishop]

Since no one has seen fit to answer my question, I'll answer it for you. There's no evidence that he was a mediocre pilot, and tons of evidence that he was at least far above average as a pilot.

Oh, he had his trouble landing (that cleared up eventually), but he soloed after 2 hours and 30 minutes of dual instruction(on his 3rd day of pilot training). According to Stewart K. Taylor, this compares with the best.

When he received his pilot's wings, he had flown 18 hours and 15 minutes solo. The normal average time before getting your wings was 25 hours.(1916)

When he took delivery of Nieuport B1566 in mid-April,1917, he flew it on regular patrols until 24 July, 1917, for a total of 153 hours and 40 minutes without one serious mishap.

So you tell me, does that, even forgoing the 72 confirmed victories, not to mention, surviving "Bloody April", sound like a mediocre pilot??

VBR,

Al Lowe

[Rittm]

Al,

In my book anyone who survived Bloody April has to be a descent pilot.

Rittm