King of Air Fighters.

[Ginger.]

"His face,when he lifted it,was a terrible sight.Saliva and tears were running down his face;he couldn't stop it.His collar and shirt-front were soaked through.He smiled weakly at me when he saw me watching and tried to make light of it,he would not talk about it at all.I felt helpless not being able to do anything.He was ashamed to let me see him in this condition but could not help it,however hard he tried."
This is a description of Mick Mannock just prior to his taking command of 85 Squadron.
Lest We Forget.

[Craig]

What was the cause of his plight? Fear? Illness? Bender?
Whichever, he certainly made a rebound.

Lest we forget what exactly?

J, if I may suggest, for one thing, how about us forgetting the most recent ex commander-in-chief?

Who?

[Craig]

Too bad it's too soon to forget our current commander-in-chief. Bet he had that boatload of blow sent straight to Crawford.

But, were the circumstances of Mannock's misery? You know: the WORLD WAR ONE ace? Or is that off-topic, Mister O?

According to Longstreet, in THE CANVAS FALCONS, "When he had leave from the 74th Squadron in June 1918 for another command, he wept openly in public before his comrades. He explained it by saying the influenza had weakened him, but it was clear there was more to his sadness, a true melancholy..."

[Craig]

Who knows - if he'd stayed, he might've lived. MIGHT have. He certainly wouldn't have been in the same place at the same time the ground fire got him. Who knows what else might have transpired.
I'm glad that his leaving his mates was the cause. I thought that perhaps it was early in his career, and was a problem with Intestinal Fortitude. I admire Mick, aside from the "sizzle, sizzle" bit, which - well, it WAS war, after all . . . .

Funny, I like that quote " Sizzle Sizzle Wonk!" i think it's very "in character".

I like people who can be honest about even flaws in their character.

Mannock is a more complex, complicated character than one might assume. Might I suggest that one reads the Aces section of the game RED BARON 3D (it's the same in RED BARON 2): you'd think Mannock was Jack the Ripper!
Did he use incendiary ammo against human targets? Well, there's one account where he advises a squadron novice AGAINST the use of such ammo, and for humane reasons. (I'll send it in as soon as I find it). MvR, on the other hand, DID use such ammo, and it wasn't hunting for balloons! (We have his own words in this case).
Sharing claims? Well, in one interview, another ace claims that that is just what Mannock did: let another, newer pilot finish off a kill that Mannock had started. But it wasn't a question of sharing a victory, but of giving confidence to the novice...
Still, I love Mannock's reasoning on why he became a sapper, something to the extent that "I wants to blow'em up!" And you can't get more honest than that!