Quote:
Originally Posted by jsontag
Dave, you said some things I did not know and I thank you for that. So, from what you are saying, and I'm not taking anything away from the French, but the Americans were more aggressive in the air than the French?
Reading all of this in this topic, I really didn't know that the R.F.C. was an equal if not a bit better than the German Air Force. I'm new to World War I aviation, and most of the things I knew was how good the Germans were in the air. From waht I've been reading here and elsewhere it seems that from maybe mid-1916 onwards the R.F.C. and Dominion pilots were kicking some major ass. I never knew that they were changing and adopting new tactics and were using them more so than the German air force.
Thanks to everyone,
James
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Hi James,
I'm at pains to remind you of my slight problem (but equally i try not to overdramitise it) Re. the French---and how that makes me somewhat less than ideal to believe without someone giving the other side of the coin.
For what it's worth i believe the Germans considered the R.F.C./R.A.F. a more dangerous foe than the French flying services. Was'nt it Richthofen who said that he preferred those "daring fellows the English, to those French tricksters" !
The Americans, as i said, to the best of my knowledge performed exactly as you would expect them to---valiantly--within the constraints of the 'learning curve' i mentioned.
I'm not sure if you could go much better than to re-visit Russ' posts 92/94/97, wherein he makes the point of the other view--by which i mean the view that does'nt assume that the allies went in abject fear of big bad German scout squadrons----certainly not British scout---and i have no reason to believe that Corps squadrons in B.E.'s R.E.'s Ack-W's did, either.
I am one who believes-----a point I made in a very early post in this thread, or the one that ran concurrently and with a similar base---that even in April 1917 morale came no where near being weakened--and to quote you a bit---Yes---some 'major arse kicking' did go on---but the simple and terrible thing that must be remembered is if two big arse kickers get to work on each other they are both going to have very sore arses before one gives in!
Therein is the logic of that war---and of nearly any war--and absolutely any war of huge industrialised nations fighting for survival----The American Civil war--First and Second World Wars.
Given something like parity in numbers, and equal technology---mass armies will inflict and sustain mass casualties to reach a result---it really is as simple as that.
My personal belief, for what it's worth, is that the German flying sevices forgot to an extent, that they were an adjunct of the Army, and that the British never forgot it.
But their is, always, other views ---and perhaps more balanced, and certainly more learned, than mine.
Dave.
Dave.