Best flyers of World War One

[Jeff Simmons]

Who would you consider to be the best pilot or pilots of WWI? I've narrowed my list down to several candidates: Charles Nungesser (French), Eddie Rickenbacker (USA), William Bishop (Canada), obviously Baron Von Richthofen (Germany) and not so obviously, Lothar Von Richthofen, the "Red Baron's" brother who opted for hitting hard strategic targets rather than glorious dog fighting. What do you think?

 

[Naddoður]

#1 Oswald Boelcke

Properly the best tactician in WW1. The first to formalize rules of air fighting.
von Richthofen had been taught by Boelcke


# 2 Max Immelmann

He was responsible for developing a dogfight maneuver whose name - the Immelmann Turn - remains to this day, comprised of a simultaneous loop and roll design to allow him to dive back at a pursuing airman. It became standard practice during the remainder of the war.

Today, an 'Immelmann turn' starts with a half loop up, followed by a half-roll. Ironically, this was not a maneuver Max used. Fokker Es did not have the power or agility required. Max's real turn consisted of a steep climb with a tight flat turn at the top (near stall speed) to dive down the same direction he had just come.

Also Immelmann was the first pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite


# 3 Werner Voss

In just over ten months Voss achieved 48 victories. It took von Richthofen two years to achieve his 80.
Voss proved to be an excellent pilot and Von Richthofen was impressed with the young pilot. On numerous occasions von Richthofen admitted that Voss was his chief competitor.