Guest Gary Davidson Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Among the American and Allied pilots in WW1 I know that many were shockingly young - many still in their teens. In reality, what was the age spread? I'm curious. What is the oldest Ace that you know of? Cheers, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Gary The oldest ace I can think of is the French observer Sergent Adolphe du Bois D'Aische, who was born in 1874. He became a pilot in June 1918 but, as far as I know, he didn't fly operationally. Otherwise, it was exceptional to find front-line pilots who had seen their 30th birthday. The RFC/RAF ace Major Edward Mannock, born on 24 May 1887, was considered old by his contemporaries. Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary Davidson Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Gareth -- Somehow I knew you’d have the answer for that one. So, be honest, how do you KNOW all this stuff. Do you live in the middle of a WW1 archive? I’m constantly amazed by the vast amount of WW1 knowledge contained within the minds of the members of this forum - to the staggering benefit of novices like myself. Cheers, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Gary I've been collecting and reading literature on the Great War, with an emphasis on the aviation side of things, for over 40 years. The computer is in the library with lots of relevant books around it. If you haven't done so, you might like to consider joining Cross & Cockade and/or The League of WWI Aviation Historians. Both are excellent value. See: http://www.crossandcockade.com/main.htm http://www.overthefront.com Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary Davidson Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Gareth -- Great advice. I intend to do both. Just recently ordered a signed edition of Winged Victor (by the ever gracious Gordon F. Atkin). Which I believe is a Cross & Cockade publication. 40 years of collecting and reading... I've quite a bit catching up to do. Cheers, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyBoy Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Hi Gary, This is the oldest ace I can come up with: http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/evans.html I believe he is the first Allied ace to be killed in combat. (I'm sure someone will prove me wrong here....) Regards Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted 12 January , 2005 Share Posted 12 January , 2005 Matt, I was just getting ready to send in details on Evans, who I actually have in my list of Canadian aces. He was born in Surrey in 1879, but came to Canada as a youth; served in the Canadian army in the Boer war, and joined up again in 1914 (Alberta Dragoons). After service at the front in 1915 with the CEF he transferred to the RFC, first as an observer and then a pilot. His DSO was for his victories in a two week period from 20 Jult to 9 August,1916, quite a feat that early in the war.At this point even Albert Ball only had about seven victories. Of nearly 200 aces on the Canadian list, Evans is one of the very few British-born ones, which is at odds with the huge percentages of UK-born men in the CEF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary Davidson Posted 13 January , 2005 Share Posted 13 January , 2005 Matt -- Thanks for that. 37. Getting up there. I thought we'd find at least one over 40. But maybe not. Cheers, Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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