Aviation Personalities

A brief discussion of two pioneers in aviation history.

René Fonck began flight training in early 1915 and when the war started, "he was assigned to the engineers and spent several months digging trenches, building bridges, and fixing roads..." (Sherman, 2012). He progressed and became a pilot later on in the year. In July of 1916, he took down his first enemy aircraft. Throughout the war, he took down an immense number of enemy planes. Later on in life, he earned his nickname "The Ace of Aces" with France's record of 75 enemy kills. After the war, he continues to fly and hoped of one day flying across the Atlantic Ocean. He contributed to aviation because he was able to defeat a tremendous amount of enemy planes in WWI. Georges Guynemer began as a French mechanic who worked his way up to become a pilot in June of 1915. He took down a number of German aircraft during the war. "All the while, he used his mechanical know-how to make technical improvements to his aircraft. One particularly audacious creation was the so-called “avion magique,” a specially designed Spad XII fighter that sported a 37mm single shot cannon..." (Andrews, 2018). This machine claimed at least 2 victories. He ended the war with over 54 downed enemy planes. He also contributes to aviation because he defeated many enemy planes as well.

References

Andrews, Evan. Famous WWI Fighter Ace. 31 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/news/6-famous-wwi-fighter-acesLinks to an external site.. Sherman , Stephen. “René Fonck.” René Fonck - Top French Ace of WW1, 15 Apr. 2012, acepilots.com/wwi/fr_fonck.html.