Canadian pilots played an enormous role in air warfare during World War I. Many of them were farm boys who came from right across the country. Raymond Collishaw from Nanaimo, B.C., was credited with 60 victories. William Barker, credited with 50 victories, was born in Manitoba. Billy Bishop, Canada’s greatest flying ace, with a record 72 victories, came from Owen Sound, Ontario. Although he only recorded 10 victories, Arthur Roy Brown of Ontario was heralded with the most successful one of all. On April 21, 1918, he was credited with shooting down Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, although the actual facts of that incident are still disputed. Recent information indicates that an Australian machine-gunner on the ground may have shot the Baron after Brown’s skirmish with the German ace.
Learning how to fly a plane and how to fly in combat differed for these young Canadian men. Some, like Raymond Collishaw, had to pay for their own flying lessons before heading to England and France. In some cases the Royal Naval Air Service paid for the pilot’s licence at the Curtiss Aviation School near Toronto, where pilots were trained using the Curtiss Jenny 4 (JN-4 or Canuck). Others did not receive training until they arrived in England or France. Some men had as little as 12 hours in the air before heading into the skies on their first mission.
Unlike most of their fellow British officers, the Canadian pilots did not come from well-to-do or titled families. Nonetheless, in battle and in the air, the Canadian pilots earned the respect of the British officers. Pilots came from various countries in the British Empire and squadrons were usually mixed. There were exceptions. No. 10 Squadron of the RNAS, for example, had all Canadians. Raymond Collishaw’s Flight B, Black Flight — one of three flights that comprised No. 10 Squadron — consisted of five men (including Collishaw himself). These men flew in Sopwith Triplanes and named each of them to match the Black Flight theme: Collishaw’s Black Maria, Ellis Reid’s Black Roger, Mel Alexander’s Black Prince, John Sharman’s Black Death and Gerry Nash’s Black Sheep. These men alone downed 87 German aircraft in the three months from May to July, 1917.
Aviation was a hazardous activity in the early years of flight, even without the complications of war. On a monthly — even daily — basis throughout the war, engineers experimented with how they might make faster, more efficient planes. Ideas and inventions flourished. Before the arrival of synchronized machine guns, for example, pilots tried everything — hurling grenades, bricks, and in one case a grappling hook from the cockpit, in order to bring an enemy down. The synchronized machine gun, an invention that allowed bullets to be fired through a running propeller, greatly increased pilots’ ability to fire straight ahead while flying.
Some inventions were successful while others resulted in disaster. At times, it was the pilots themselves who made suggestions to the engineers for improvements. It was truly a period of trial and error, with creativity spurred by the demands of war. Just when one country produced a plane with more power, an opposing nation might create an aircraft with better manoeuvrability. For example, the nimble, high-flying Gotha bombers enabled Germany to attack England at night and even in the daytime. Britain’s answer was the Sopwith Camel, a machine that could not only operate well at high altitudes, but was incredibly versatile in the air.
At times, the life expectancy for new pilots at the Western Front was abysmal: as low as 2 to 3 weeks. Crash landings, mid-air collisions and flying at night were among the hazards pilots experienced. The Sopwith Camel accounted for hundreds of non–combat-related deaths.
Dogfights could be exhilarating but extremely stressful, and pilots often required stress leave to calm their nerves and catch up on sleep. Attentiveness was crucial to survival in the air, and pilots who were exhausted or overly stressed made mistakes that endangered their own lives as well as those of their companions. Some men tried to ease their stress by drinking large amounts of alcohol; some even drank alcohol while flying.
First World War pilots firmly believed they had a better existence than the soldiers on the ground. They chose to be in control of a machine in the freedom of the open skies, despite the obvious dangers. In addition, pilots typically ate better food and slept in huts with proper bunks. They did not have to hunker down in often squalid trenches, as soldiers did at the front lines.
The public tended to see pilots as “knights of the air” — jaunty, clever, courageous and daring. Such popularity tempted some young men in their late teens and twenties to enlist. It was also not uncommon for pilots to meet their future brides when they visited French and English towns.
The purpose and usefulness of aircraft grew with every year of the war. In 1914, planes were used almost exclusively for reconnaissance — to see from the air what the enemy was doing on the ground. Enemy movements were reported back at base, and troop adjustments were made accordingly. It wasn’t long before photographers went on reconnaissance flights as well. Untold thousands of aerial photos were taken.
Airplanes also took on the new role of protecting England’s major cities from Zeppelin attacks. Although Zeppelins accounted for only a small amount of damage in World War I, they created a great deal of anxiety for citizens. This was especially true at night, when the giant dirigibles dropped their bombs on London and other cities. They were a terrifying spectacle, and seemingly unstoppable in the skies. Airplanes soon became a mainstay of home defence against Zeppelins for the duration of the war.
First World War flyers fought through extreme conditions, provided vital reconnaissance information, and participated in shaping the inventions and mechanisms that would change the course of warfare in the skies.