I belong to a group of men who fly alone. Very breath, you carried into the chilled vacuum, in a steel bottle. The canopy ground shut and sealed you off. You slipped into the hollow cockpit and strapped and plugged yourself into

Somehow, despite everything, that word had not become sterile. You lived and died alone, especially in fighters.įighters. He was the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe, making him one of the hunters. 'Johnnie' Johnson, RAF, regards fighter pilots. They fall into two broad categories those who are going out to shoot and those who secretly and desperately know they will be shot at, the hunters and the hunted.Īir Vice-Marshal J. Up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers. René Chambe, Au Temps des Carabines, 1955. On the ground and on the seas, by killing each other.

Men were going to die in the air as they had died for centuries Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, in his book Bomber Pilot, 1943. In other words, flying must be subconscious. Smooth landings do not affect the success of an operation it is finding the right way to the right place that matters. Flying in itself is wholly unpredominant: to have a perfect pair of hands is important, but it is only a question of degree, not the end-all and be-all. Cited in 2008 book Mannock: The Life and Death of Major Edward Mannock VC, DSO, MC, RAF.įirst and foremost I had to learn to fly learn, and then cast the thought of flying away into the background. Attributed to Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock, RAF, ranking British fighter ace of WWI, credited with 61 victories.

Air combat tactics and maneuvering