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Air Aces of W.W.1
Charles Nungesser
I have long admired the raw courage of the first Fighter pilots, they flew in aircraft made of wood and linen, powered by engines that were at best, unreliable. They had a life expectancy in hours rather than years, but still they flew and an immortal few became Aces, these are what this series of articles is about, the elite few.
Captain Charles Eugene Marie Nungesser was born on March 15th 1892 in Paris. As a child and later as a young man he excelled in competitive sports, first as a boxer and athlete, and when he was old enough a racer of fast cars, and later aircraft.
His service in the French air force was a little chequered, on the one hand he was a brilliant pilot, who before his injuries put a end to his flying temporarily, he had downed 43 enemy aircraft making him the 3rd French highest scoring ace, these were confirmed victories, he probably had many more.
His conduct on the ground however, was not quite as good. His first kill an Albatros, was in a plane that he had borrowed without permission, for this breach of discipline, he was placed under house arrest for eight days and awarded a medal. whenever he was given the opportunity he would speed off to Paris to go drinking and clubbing and would often return somewhat the worse for drink, in his tuxedo with a glamorous woman on his arm. But it never stopped his flying exploits.
Although regarded as something as a hell raiser, as a pilot, he took similar risks, it was said that he had every bone in his body broken at least twice due to crashing his planes. He called himself the ‘Knight of Death’ and his insignia was quite macabre, a black heart with a white outline, inside the heart was a white skull and crossbones, above a closed coffin with candles either side. This insignia almost led to his death, a british pilot attacked him and he had to shoot him down. after that he had red, white and blue stripes painted on the upper sides of his wings.
He survived the war, and later took part in the race to fly the Atlantic from Paris to New York, he and his navigator left Paris on 8th May 1927. His plane named L’oisou Blanc and carrying Nungesser’s macabre insignia flew up over the atlantic and was never seen again. To this day it remains a mystery!
As a matter of record, the American Charles Lindburgh scooped the prize, flying the ‘Spirit of St. Louis’ the opposite way. New York to Paris.
(C) Damian Grange 2017
The Photographs – Courtesy of Pinterest
Salute!
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Thank you! if it goes down well i have a host of these in hand.
Many thanks for your comment.
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This reminds me (even if… yes, it doesn’t have anything to do with it) of that film “Aviator” about the crazy Hollywood producer who had this genius thing about flying… ok… I leave… 😄😄😄
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Fair comment, in i think 1925 Nungesser actually went to Hollywood and made a film about his exploits There was also a Robert Redford film, I’m nor certain of the title I thank it is ‘The amazing Waldo Pepper’ which is about an imaginary WW1 ace and how he tries to live off his exploits after the war. Thank you for your interest and comments, they are always welcome!
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Wow! this was a fascinating read! well done!
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Thank you so much, It was something i thought I’d give a try, the reaction has been surprising
There will definitely be more, It’s a subject dear to my heart. Thank you for your comment.
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Really loved this post. WW I flyers were bold and daring. I’m a history buff so you had me before I started reading.
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There will be more, I’ve been really surprised by the reaction i have received, I thought it might be a bit of a gamble but happily I’ve been proven wrong. So it will be a Thursday feature, i will spotlight Aces from all countries and all theatres. Thank you so much for your encouragement.
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Enlightening, educating and Entertaining what a brilliant Combination. Xxx❤👍👍
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Thank you sweetie XXX
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Very interesting post.
I had never heard of this particular World War I flying ace before.
His macabre insignia and his mysterious disappearance.
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He was the 3rd highest scoring French Ace, If it wasn’t for the amount of times he was injured, he might have been the No.1, I am interested in featuring the lesser known aces rather than the over publicised.
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There will be more, it appears a lot of my followers found it interesting, so for the time being it will be a Wednesday feature, Thank you once again for your comments.
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Thanks for sharing!
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Great post very informative.
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Thank you! i have had an amazing response, there will be more.
Thank you J for your comments and support.
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Great post. What an amazing moment in history.
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Thank you! I’ve had an amazing response to this. there will be more.
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I find aces intriguing – as you describe them as immortal, and I quite agree.
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Thank you Ka, There are more to come, I will be featuring the Aces of all the combatant nations
including a lot of lesser known ones, Thank you so much for your interest and support.
Regards Malkie
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To be honest you’d have had to get me drunk before I went up in one of those things, even before the shooting started!
Excellent post.
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That’s one of the reasons why I admire them, i know at one period a novice pilots life was measured in minutes not days.
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Yes, it was a terrible time.
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