Knights???

Hi everyone,

Now, while it is common for us today to call the fighter pilots of WWI 'Knights', was this term used also by the waring countries of the time (France, Britain, Germany, U.S., etc)?

regards,

Darren

[Gregvan]

Hi Darren,

The metaphor was fairly common in Germany at least, I think, especially among journalists. Prof.Dr. Georg Wegener, a writer for "Die Kölnische Zeitung", spent time with Jasta 11 in the middle of the glory time of Bloody April, and in his article he made a direct comparison between the heraldry of the aircraft color schemes and that of a knight's coat of arms. As translated by Kilduff, he wrote, "In Richthofen's eyes shine the pride of the warrior knight, whose shield and helmet ornament are known and feared by the opponent....In fact, we perceive very strongly how much the old knightly gallantry has come alive again in the conduct of modern aerial combat...These young combatants have a bearing quite like the medieval lords, of whom the 14th Centry chronicler Froissart so colourfully recounted, with their shimmering banners, coats of arms and battle flags, which they displayed with pride and closed helmet visors."

Then, of course, some aces like your friend von Schleich, von Tutschek, von Greim and others even won the title "Ritter" along with certain military orders - which I assumed heightened the association.

I must confess to ignorance about matters RFC and RAF, but didn't some member of Parliament make a speech in which he referrred to British airmen as "Knights of the Air"?? Sorry I don't have the exact info at hand, but I'm sure some of our British members do.

Greg

[TomVrille]

Originally Posted by Gregvan

I must confess to ignorance about matters RFC and RAF, but didn't some member of Parliament make a speech in which he referrred to British airmen as "Knights of the Air"?? Sorry I don't have the exact info at hand, but I'm sure some of our British members do.

Greg

Lloyd George, addressing Parliament in 1917, referred to RNAS and RFC flyers with this flowery image:

"They are the knighthood of this war, without fear, without reproach; and they recall the legendary days of chivalry, not merely by the daring of their exploits, but by the nobility of their spirit."

[Gregvan]

Thanks, TomVrille. I knew it was something like that!!

Greg

[FliegerJG1]

Barely 10 years after Richthofen's death, Floyd Gibbons wrote the biography, The Red Knight of Germany. It would seem that the association with aces and knights was popular from the very beginning.

VBR...FliegerJG1

[Ginger.]

Our chaps were mostly 'Lords'.

Thanks Gentlemen for the helpful insight. Now that we know that the British and Germans were making the connection, can we assume that the French and Americans did likewise?

regards,

Darren

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Ginger.

Our chaps were mostly 'Lords'.

Ginger, although it is well established that the German pilots referred to their English opponents as "Lords", was this term really used by the British to describe themselves? (And before you criticize, I realize being an American, I tend to confuse English with British ) R.

[Ginger.]

I think it was just the German's nickname for our blokes, I've never read about anybody in the RFC/RAF using the term. Although it is recorded that the uppercrust occifer types did tend to look down their aristocratic snotboxes at commoners like McCudden.

[TomVrille]

Originally Posted by wingedwarrior

Now that we know that the British and Germans were making the connection, can we assume that the French and Americans did likewise?

One French reference that comes to mind was the tribute to Georges Guynemer given by General Anthoine, Commanding General of the French First Army. This was rendered on November 30, 1917, at the aerodrome at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, and states (translated) in part:

'In assembling on the very spot whence he darted toward infinity, we pass above the customary rites of sadness which crown the end of a man's life, and we mean to salute the entrance into immortality of the Knight-of-the-Air without fear or reproach.'

As for the Americans, there was some journalistic usage of the chivalry image during the early years of the air war, when American volunteers flying with the French and British were the only US contribution to the war effort. The image does not seem to have been very important once the USAS took part in the fighting. This may be due in part to the fact that the European belligerents had centuries of tradition with chivalry while the Americans were more likely to think of 'The Code of the West'.