Guynemer

Georges Guynemer, Knight of the Airby Henry BordeauxThe Chevalier of Flight: Captain Guynemerby Mary R. Parkman’Until one has given all, one has given nothing’Georges GuynemerThis special Leonaur edition contains two accounts of one the most most honoured French fighter aces of the First World War, Georges Guynemer. Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Guynemer was a sickly child and was initially rejected for military service, but through determination and perseverance he was first accepted as a mechanic in the opening year of the war and later qualified as a pilot flying a Morane-Saulnier aircraft in Escadrille MS. 3. In 1915 the squadron was renamed Escadrille N. 3 and re-equipped with Nieuport 10 fighter aircraft. It was while flying the Nieuport that Guynemer became an acknowledged ’ace’ and established himself as a hero of his nation. By the end of 1916 he had 25 ’kills’ to his credit and his face-and his famous aircraft with the stork insignia-had became iconic. Lionised by the press and now influential, Guynemer involved himself in aircraft development and in 1917, flying a Spad VII-one of the aircraft he had helped improve-he was the first pilot to shoot down a German Gotha GIII heavy bomber. By July 1917 Guynemer had chalked up 50 kills. Shy and embarrassed by the attention he received as a national figure, Guynemer struggled with his fame, but this, ironically, made him even more attractive to a public eager for a ’chevalier’ to divert their thoughts from the industrial scale, grinding attrition of the trenches. Georges Guynemer was reported lost in action over Belgium in September 1917 at the age of 22. Awarded many of his country’s highest honours he remained an inspirational figure to the French throughout the Great War.Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.