Dogfights, Udet vs Guynemer Poll

Balloon_Buster · 24 August 2007, 07:44 AM

We've all heard about the fight between Udet and Guynemer, but seeing it on the History Channel was cool. But it raises a question- should Guynemer have spared Udet? History is 20-20, but one has to wonder, considering Udet would go on to become one of Germany's highest scoring aces. Guynemer quite possibly could've ended it right there.

TomVrille · 24 August 2007, 09:52 AM

If, as Udet maintained, Guynemer was being chivalrous, nobody knows what his motive was. So who can say whether or not it was the right thing to do?

P.S. .... It was a nice sequence to watch. I thought the aircraft textures looked very good!

Balloon_Buster · 24 August 2007, 10:52 AM

Yes, this is another "what if" question. I'm just wondering- and no I'm not a cold hearted butcher- but considering how Udet turned out- whether or not taking advantage of any opportunity to shoot down an enemy should be taken.

Do you think this kind of thing would happen in air combat today? Or would one be glad to have the upper hand?

Willi Von Klugerman · 24 August 2007, 01:11 PM

I don't think their isn't any air-to-air combat taoday.

rainbase · 24 August 2007, 03:30 PM

No, that sort of act wouldn't happen today. I can't imagine the airborne technician of the modern age deciding to show chivalry to a blip and some hieroglyphs on a screen of some object he'll probably never see with his naked eye. There's just no need for mercy in a video game.

retread · 25 August 2007, 04:07 AM

Guynemer was about as hard hearted as they come, or at least that was his public persona. My bet is that if this incident took place as described G.G. had either suffered a jam in his own weapons or he was out of ammunition.
As to whether "chilvalrous" acts could take place in the skies or anywhere else in modern conflict - in my opinion yes, absolutely. Given the right combination of circumstance and the people involved it is as likely today as it ever was (which is to say not very). People have not changed. The scenery is different , same stage.
A highly enjoyable episode of "Dogfights".

Iwik · 31 August 2007, 03:04 AM

Hi there!
We know NOW how Udet turned out. Guynemer didn't. Moreover, how would he have reacted by the "end" of his career? Would he have been so digusted at seeing his buddies die that he still would have spared Udet's life? I doubt it.
I do believe though that he did spare his life out of chivalry. Many pilots of this period came from aristoctratic families.
However, why he didin't forced him to land in allied territory is beyond me.
Different times, different methods. Numerous pilots of all nations didn't do the same during WWII. Many shot at pilots hanging from their chutes or swimming in the water...
Ciao
Iwik

Kirk · 31 August 2007, 09:44 AM

My take is that Guynemer probably had a jam or problem of some kind himself. Let's face it, there was veeeeeery little chivalry involved in WWI aviation. Many pilots had problems psychologically because in many cases it seemed like cold blooded murder as opposed to war. The idea of diving out of the sun or sneaking up behind an enemy and shooting him down before he knows you're there is part of the Dicta Boelcke but is about as unchivalrous as it gets. Chivalry and the "Knights of the Air" is a concept perpetuated by dramatic writers since the end of the war in order to sell books and has become thought of as fact through the years. I'm sure there was chivarly in the air, but no more or less than on any battlefield anywhere else before or since.