#wwi aviation

[prettiestpilotpoll]

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN

For over a century, people have been arguing over who the greatest pilot of the Great War of 1914-1918 could be. They have been judged by number of victories, of medals, by how daring their deeds were, how far they furthered the development of tactics, and by how well they led their men.

Well, it's time we argued over something different. We're here to find the hottest WWI pilot.

Submissions are now open, and they will close on the 1st of February 2025.

Feel free to submit as many pilots as you like, even if you think someone else has probably submitted them!

[chamomilecaptain]

I was planning to post this artwork for quite a while, but I can't come up with right words. I love this fellow and it was amazing experience to draw my crush as a project in my art school (oh, and it was exciting to explain to everyone around me why on earth I decided to draw some almost unknown guy from another century and another country)

Oil on canvas, 100×80 cm, etc :)

[petermorwood]

When fully inflated, one of these balloons looked like this:

The Germans called them "Drachen" - dragon - and for rather obvious reasons, "Mädchensfreude" - maiden's delight - though the second nickname never turned up in any "Biggles" WWI air-combat stories I read as a kid.

Odd, that. :-P

The Allies called them "sausages", for equally obvious reasons (and because they were German). The main balloon was filled with hydrogen, while the secondary tube at the rear was a airflow-inflated wind sock to give directional stability.

Allied balloons looked like this, with the opening for its inflatable fins just visible on the lowest one.

The military function of balloons was reconnaissance and artillery observation, which made them important targets.

They were also extremely dangerous ones, since they flew at a set height for accurate mapping and artillery correction. This meant the anti-aircraft guns protecting them could also be zeroed to the heights at which attackers were likely to approach, which made those approaches more than usually lively.

Despite that, several pilots became balloon-busting specialists and some - including Belgian Willy Coppens, top balloon-buster of WWI - actually survived. Many didn't.

The three-fin design was re-used in WW2 for the barrage balloons seen above most British cities.

Their heavy steel tether cables (sometimes with attached explosive charges) would rip the wings off enemy aircraft. Avoiding those cables forced them to fly higher, reducing their bombing accuracy while once again putting them into the pre-zeroed zone of anti-aircraft guns.

The array of fat silvery balloons was also good for morale - or bad for it, depending on who was looking.

Drachen type observation balloon of the Austro-Hungarian army during inflation, Ukraine, 1917. From the Budapest Municipal Photography Company archive.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Lieutenant Adolf Auer and his gunner in their plane. The Star of David was painted on to annoy fellow pilot Hermann Göring who made anti semitic remarks to his Jewish co-pilot Willi Rosenstein.

[worldhistoryfacts]

The trenches were the most distinctive part of World War I, but they looked different from the air. Here’s a captivating example of one of those aerial photos, taken after the armistice in 1918:

And another, taken in France during the war. You can see the trenches in the upper left-hand corner, with their telltale zig-zag pattern (designed to prevent enemy soldiers from entering the trench and then firing down its length):

{Buy me a coffee} {WHF} {Medium} {Looking Through the Past}

More on the world of the trenches:

[nocternalrandomness]

A flight of Airco De Havilland DH.4 Bombers of RAF 25 Squadron set in 1918 by Brian Knight

[illustratus]

Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, First World War

[tacticallyaware]

Heinkel He 111

[theworldofwars]

French airfield and Farman MF.11 at night, 1916.

SOURCE: Provincial Archives of Alberta

[browsethestacks]

Enemy Ace

Art by George Pratt

[driveintheaterofthemind]

G-8 And His Battle Aces

Art by Francesco Francavilla

[prettiestpilotpoll]

THE CONTESTANTS

(images in no particular order)

Adolf Ritter von Tutschek Albert Ball Alfred Heurtaux Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor Charles Nungesser Cyril Crowe Eddie Rickenbacker Edgar McCloughry Edward "Mick" Mannock Eugene Bullard Frank Luke Fritz Beckhardt Georges Guynemer Hardit Singh Malik Harry Cobby Hobey Baker Indra Lal "Laddie" Roy James McCudden Jean Navarre Karl Allmenröder Karl-Emil Schaefer Keith Caldwell Kurt Wolff Leefe Robinson Lothar von Richthofen Louis Dubuis Louis Strange Lyubov Golanchikova Manfred von Richthofen Phillip Fullard Pyotr Nesterov Raoul Lufbery Roy Brown Stan Dallas Thomas Charles Richmond Baker Valfrid Nykänen Wilhelm Frankl Willi Rosenstein William Barnard Rhodes-Moorhouse Willy Coppens Wilfred "Wop" May Zhu Binhao aka Etienne Tsu

Round 1 begins Valentine's Day!

[chamomilecaptain]

Years are passing by but Albert Ball is still my favourite boy

[aviationgeek71]

Major John Charles Bradley Firth, while posted at Ste-Marie-Cappel, 1917.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Royal Flying Corps pilot shows off his mascot while standing in front of his No 149 Night Bombing Squadron F.E.2b at Saint-Omer in July 1918

[kafkasapartment]

U.S. NAVAL AVIATION. C. 1920. Schmidt Lithograph Co., San Francisco.