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MilesC · 1 May 2002, 07:36 PM

I'm not sure that the number of "victories" in such a short period of time is a valid argument for whether he achieved these victories. After all, many of the major British and Commonwealth aces racked up their victories in the last six months of the war, many of them in a very short period. We should remember that the spring and early summer was an incredibly hectic period in the air with the Germans attempting to stop the British counterattack to their spring offensive, and the British flying as much as possible to counter the Germans in the air and on the ground. So, there was a heck of a lot of air activity by fatigued aviators who are likely going to make a lot of errors, as well as relative newcomers thrown into the fray because there was no one else. This would present a lot of relatively easy pickings for one inclined to knock off the unwary.

So, I don't buy the arguement that his number of victories are excessive for this particular period. They are high, but so are the scores for other pilots in the spring of 1918.

Miles

1 May 2002, 07:36 PM	#107 (permalink)
MilesC Scout Pilot Contributor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Posts: 305	I'm not sure that the number of "victories" in such a short period of time is a valid argument for whether he achieved these victories. After all, many of the major British and Commonwealth aces racked up their victories in the last six months of the war, many of them in a very short period. We should remember that the spring and early summer was an incredibly hectic period in the air with the Germans attempting to stop the British counterattack to their spring offensive, and the British flying as much as possible to counter the Germans in the air and on the ground. So, there was a heck of a lot of air activity by fatigued aviators who are likely going to make a lot of errors, as well as relative newcomers thrown into the fray because there was no one else. This would present a lot of relatively easy pickings for one inclined to knock off the unwary. So, I don't buy the arguement that his number of victories are excessive for this particular period. They are high, but so are the scores for other pilots in the spring of 1918. Miles __________________ Miles Constable Canadian Air Aces and Heroes (www.constable.ca)