The Great War Illustrated 1917 by Wilkinson Roni;

Author:Wilkinson, Roni;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2017-04-08T04:00:00+00:00

17GW554 Georges Marie Ludovic Jules Guynemer. He scored 54 kills.

On 19 July, 1915, Georges Guynemer shot down his first enemy aircraft, a German Aviatik. After being re-equipped with Nieuport aircraft, Guynemer established himself as one of France’s premier fighter pilots. He became an ace by his fifth kill in February 1916. His greatest month was May 1917, when he downed seven German aircraft.

Guynemer failed to return from a combat mission on 11 September 1917. On the 25th a report was released by the French War Department:

Guynemer sighted five machines of the Albatros type D-3. Without hesitation, he bore down on them. At that moment enemy patrolling machines, soaring at a great height, appeared suddenly and fell upon Guynemer. There were forty enemy machines in the air at this time, including Baron von Richthofen and his circus division of machines, painted in diagonal blue and white stripes. Toward Guynemer's right some Belgian machines hove in sight, but it was too late. Guynemer must have been hit. His machine dropped gently toward the earth, and I lost track of it. All that I can say is that the machine was not on fire.

An American Red Cross report provided these details:

Information received by the Red Cross says Guynemer was shot through the head north of Poelcapelle, on the Ypres front. His body was identified by a photograph on his pilot's license found in his pocket. The burial took place at Brussels in the presence of a guard of honor, composed of the 5th Prussian Division. Such is the story told by a Belgian, who has just escaped from the Germans. The burial was about to take place at Poelcapelle, when the bombardment preceding the British attack at Ypres started. The burying party hastily withdrew, taking the body with them. The German General chanced to be an aviation enthusiast with a great admiration for Captain Guynemer's achievements. At his direction the body was taken to Brussels in a special funeral car. Thither the captain was carried by noncommissioned officers and was covered with floral tributes from German aviators. The Prussian Guards stood at salute upon its arrival and during the burial, which was given all possible military honors. The French Government has been invited to place in the Pantheon, where many great Frenchmen are buried, an inscription to perpetuate the memory of Captain Guynemer as ’a symbol of the aspirations and enthusiasm of the Army’. A resolution to this effect has been introduced in the Chamber of Deputies by Deputy Lasies.

17GW557, 17GW556. Guynemer air borne and standing by his machine, called ‘Vieux Charles’. His Spad bears a red, white and blue riband marking around the fuselage.

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