The best fighter pilot of WWI...

Well HERE WE ARE AGAIN!
I would say the best were the high scoring aces who SURVIVED the war. Simply put..they didn't make any fatal mistakes that got them killed. The best of the best would be Fonck or Bishop. MvR, second rate but a good pilot.
VBR,
Jim

[Amy]

I'm torn between Udet and Barker.

[Barrett]

Leon answered the question correctly. Fonck was a superb technician but he was neither a leader nor an innovator.
Break-break.
Hey, Keith: most of us remember when you were new on the forum, kiddo. And it wasn't long ago.

[Wayne Ralph]

Dear Amy, and others reading,

I am William Barker's biographer, and therefore not an objective commentator about this topic - the paperback edition of BARKER VC will be available in the UK and USA this September, published by Grub Street, London.

In my book I note that Barker has several unique claims to fame as a fighting pilot (by the way, the expression "fighter pilot" did not exist in WWI - "scout pilot" being the closest in meaning).

For example, Barker never served as a wingman during his time as a "fighter pilot", and in more than 150 missions nobody who flew in combat with him was killed in action or taken prisoner of war. that is rather unusual among leading aces, although Mannock certainly would rate highly in this protectiveness for his wingmen.

Barker's Camel, B6313, is the most successful fighting machine in the history of the RAF - 46 victories, one pilot, one machine. No-one in WWI, and no-one since has matched this achievement.

Kind regards,

Wayne Ralph, author, BARKER VC

[Amy]

I have your book And it's a good one I might add.

Amy

[Barrett]

Wayne: welcome and twice welcome! We hope you'll be a regular visitor to the forum.
Not having read the book (YET, I hasten to add), I wonder how complete were the Austro-Hungarian archives you may have been able to access? I.E., were many of Barker's opponents identifiable from those records? I ask because I worked with Marty O'Connor in publishing his seminal study of the KuK aces, and he said the records were usually quite complete but I never saw the primary sources myself.

Barker, for a whole bunch of reasons, including the fact that the guys who flew with him were unanimous that the guy was incomparable. A quote from Wayne Ralph sums up the guy best - "relentless aggression at all times in the air". Barker gets discounted because he served most of his time in Italy. Fortunately for his reputation, if not his health, he had that little tiff with the Germans right over the front lines in Flanders on October 26, 1918.

[Wayne Ralph]

Dear Barrett,

Thanks for the question. Martin O'Connor's book was an essential reference for me in writing BARKER VC, although I could use only a small fraction of the detail that he provides. Barker probably never fought one-on-one against many of the Austro-Hungarian aces. He did not shoot down Linke-Crawford as many have claimed (Barker did not fly the day that ace was killed), but was flying alongside Gerry Birks when Birks shot down Jozef Kiss, featured in O'Connor's book.

Amazon.com shows the hardcovered edition of BARKER VC as unavailable. However, if you search under the author's name, ie, Ralph, Wayne, it will show the forthcoming British paperback, which can be ordered for about $15.00 + or - a bit.

In Canada, Doubleday Canada has the paperback, but are running out of copies, and do not intend to publish a third edition. However, Blackbondbooks.com can mail you a copy for about $18.95 Canadian, I think.

Thanks for the interest in the Barker story.

Wayne Ralph, author, BARKER VC

White Rock, BC Canada V4B 2B4

Wayne - thanks for contibuting. I thoroughly enjoyed your book, it was well written and researched, I hope you have more up your sleeve !!! As far as the arguement goes as to the best fighter (scout) pilot of the war we must define the issue. Is it the best pure combat tactician, leader, etc? The answer depends on the true nature of the question. I really don't see, despite Barker's greatness that anyone can top Fonck, in the air, as a individual fighting machine. Again, never scratched, 75 confirmed - 120+ probable, unmatched marksmanship, and aggresive piloting in a fairly passive French system. No one can come close it seems to me.

Anyway...........Wayne again thank you for the great book, anything in the works ?

John G.

John thanks for the kind words. I'm 13 & alsmost 14. Barrett,I've been coming here for quite a while-April 98.

K.R.B