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Georges
Guynemer
Name: Georges Marie
Ludovic Jules Guynemer
Country: France
Rank: Capitaine
Service: French Air Service
Units: Spa3
Victories: 53
Date Of Birth: December 24, 1894
Place of Birth: Paris
Date Of Death: September 11, 1917
Place of Death: South of Poelcapelle, Belgium
Memorial: Poelcapple, BelgiumGuynemer was France's most popular ace. He entered the French
Air Service in November of 1914 and served as a mechanic before
receiving a Pilot's Brevet in April of 1915. Despite his frail
physical appearance, he took part in more than 600 aerial combats
and was shot down seven times and survived. An excellent marksman
and highly skilled pilot, he was hailed as the French Ace of Aces.
Guynemer received letters from women proposing marriage, requests
from school children for his autograph and was often followed
through the streets.
One of the first pilots to receive a SPAD S.VII, he called his
plane Vieux Charles (Old Charles). On May 25, 1917, he engaged and
shot down four enemy aircraft with Old Charles in one day. Looking
for ways to improve the performance of his aircraft, Guynemer
armed a SPAD S.VII with a single-shot 37 mm canon that fired
through a hollowed out propeller shaft. He called this impractical
aircraft his Magic Machine. Despite the fumes that filled the
cockpit and the recoil of the canon, during the summer of 1917 he
shot down at least two enemy aircraft with his Magic Machine.
On September 11, 1917, Guynemer was last seen attacking a
two-seater Aviatik near Poelcapelle, northwest of Ypres. Almost a
week later, it was publicly announced in a London paper that he
was missing in action. Shortly thereafter, a German newspaper
reported Guynemer had been shot down by Kurt Wissemann of Jasta 3.
For many months, the French population refused to believe he was
dead. Guynemer's body was never found.
Quotes
"... Indomitable tenacity, ferocious energy, sublime courage:
animated by the most resolute faith in victory, he bequeaths to
the French soldier an imperishable memory which will exalt the
spirit of sacrifice." Memorial to Guynemer
Médaille Militaire
"A pilot of great spirit and daring, willing to carry out the most
perilous assignments. After a relentless chase he engaged a German
aircraft in combat which ended with its bursting into flames and
crashing." Médaille Militaire, July 21, 1915
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
"Pilot of great gallantry, a model of devotion to duty and
courage. During the course of the past six months he has fulfilled
two missions of a special nature requiring the highest spirit of
self-sacrifice, and has engaged in thirteen aerial combats, of
which two ended in the destruction in flames of the enemy
aircraft." Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, December 24,
1915
Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
"Officer of the elite, a fighting pilot as skilful as he is
audacious, he has rendered brilliant service to his country, as
much by the number of his victories, as by his daily keenness and
ever-growing mastery. Heedless of danger he has become for the
enemy, by the sureness of his methods and by the precision of his
manoeuvres, the most redoubtable adversary of all. On May 25, 1917,
he accomplished one of his most brilliant exploits in downing, in
one minute, two enemy planes and reporting in the same day two
other victories. By all his exploits he contributes to the
excitement, courage and enthusiasm of those who, in the trenches,
are witnesses to his triumphs. Forty five planes shot down, twenty
citations, two wounds." Officier de la Légion d'Honneur citation,
June 11, 1917
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