During the war, all of the pilots had to wear heavy clothes to keep them warm while flying. They wore goggles and they wore long fur lined coats. They also had to have oxygen cylinders due to the lack of oxygen at the high altitude. They were different from other officers in that they dressed how they wanted to (eg. Uniforms that weren't pressed and unpolished boots). Another way they showed their individuality was carrying unregulated weapons such as the Lüger, colt. 45, or Weblys.

There were many types of airplanes at the time of the war. There were planes used for firing machine guns, types made for bombing, and types made for observation, etc. When the pilots were firing their machine guns they had little control over the plane, not that they had very much control anyway, and would often crash into barracks, tents, and other things. Any landing you could walk away from was considered a good landing factoring in how difficult it was to land.

Germans obtained their first experience with military aviation with observation balloons, known as Luftschiffer Detachement.

The Fokker D.VII is widely regarded as the best German aircraft of the war. When introduced, the D.VIII was not without problems. On occasion its wing ribs would fracture in a dive or high temperatures would cause the gas tank to explode. Even so, the D.VII proved to be durable and easy to fly. When equipped with the BMW engine, the D.VII could outclimb and Allied opponent it encountered in combat. Highly maneuverable at all speeds and altitudes, it proved to be more than a match for any of the British or French fighter planes of 1918. Hermann Göring was one of the first pilots to fly the D.VII in combat.

Many of the French and British aces began their careers flying the Nieuport 17. The highly maneuverable aircraft was a larger, improved version of the Nieuport 11. Like its predecessor, it was initially equipped with a Lewis gun but was upgraded to a synchronized Vickers machine gun. Helping end Germany's domination of the air war, the Nieuport 17 easily outclimbed and outperformed the FOkker E. III. The superior design was so successful that German high command ordered it copied. With 40 victories, English ace Philip Fullard scored more victories with the Nieuport 17, Nieuport 23 and Nieuport 27 than any other ace.

An agile, highly maneuverable biplane, the Sopwith Camel accounted for more aerial victories than any other Allied aircraft during World War I. Credited with destroying 1, 294 enemy aircraft, it was called the Camel due to the himped fairing over its twin machine guns. Noted for its tendency to kill inexperienced flyers, many pilots maintained full right rudder to counteract the torque the rotary engine. Failure to do so often resulted in a ground loop with the Camel crashing on its starboard wingtip. During World War I, 413 pilots died in combat and 385 pilots died from non-combat related causes while flying the Sopwith Camel.

The most famous ace of the war, Manfred Von Richthofen briefly served in the trenches before transferring to the German Air Service in 1916. He was a fast learner and achieved immediate success. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had six victories against Allied aircraft. As his reputation grew, he painted the fuselage of his Albatros D. III bright red to flaunt his prowess in the air. The British called him the "Red Baron". He was shot down as he flew over the trenches in pursuit of Wilfred May on April 21st, 1918. Although Arthur Brown was officially credited with the victory, evidence suggests a single bullet fired from a machine gun in the trenches hit Richthofen.

Bishop attended the Royal Military College before joining the 8th Canadian Mounted Rifles at the beginning of the war. After serving overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in December of 1915 and received his pilot's certificate in 1917. Flying the Nieuport 17 and S.E.5a, he was considered by some to be a mediocre pilot, but his amazing eyesight and consistent practice earned him a reputation as a crack shot. As the commanding officer of the "Flying Foxes", he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after scoring 25 victories in just twelve days. On the morning of June 2nd, 1917, his single-handed attack against a German aerodrome on the Arras front earned him the Victoria Crossm, making Bishop the first Canadian flyer to receive this honour.

There were many other famous pilots in the war and these are a few of the top aces from each country as well as their victory count:

Country	Pilot Name	Victories
Australia	Robert A. Little	47
Austria/Hungary	Godwin Brumowski	35
Belgium	Willy Coppens	39
Canada	William A. Bishop	72
England	Edward C. Mannock	61
France	Rene P. Fonck	75
India	Indra Lal Roy	10
Ireland	George E.H. McElroy	46
Italy	Francesco Baracca	34
New Zealand	Keith L. Caldwell	25
Russia	Alexander A. Kozakov	20
Scotland	John I. Gilmour	39
South Africa	Andrew F.W. Beauchamp Proctor	54
United States	Edward V. Rickenbacker	26
Wales	James Ira T. Jones	37

Aviation of World War I

BACKGROUND INFORMATION