The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-06-14

people who were keenly interested in aviation were arguing as to who was the greatest air fighter the war has produced. One old timer said Cap tain Immelmann, another Major Hawker, yet another held out for Rittmeister von Richthofen - of course, it was an R. F. c. officer who held that opinion-another again ar gued in favor of Captain Ball, some one also suggested Captain Bolcke.
 Then a veteran of some 25 years of age, with a long string of air fights and sundry victories to his credit, re- marked that really it was not fair to pretend that any of them was greater than any other.
 He held that one after another came into prominence and did better than any of his predecessors partly because he had better aeroplanes and better engines to fly, partly because he had better guns and ammunition, partly because he had acquired the accumulated knowledge of those who had gone before him, and chiefly be- caOse, owing to the enormous growth of all the belligerent flying services, there were more targets-otherwfse victims-to be found.
 As he pointed out, if there was only one British aeroplane and one Ger man aeroplane it would take them a long time to find one another in such a big place as the air, and neither could put up mulch of a score if he brought the other down. Therefore it is certainly not fair to reckon the quality of an air fighter by the mere brings down. One should rather es- timate his ability by the methods which he employs and the quality and quantity of his opponents.
 Consequently, if one wants to dis cuss air fighters one ought to discuss them in order of date and not by any fancied pre-eminence of one over the other, for none can tell in what or der they would stand if those who died early had lived to fly the improv- ed machines which have been used by their successors.
 Probably the first pilot to becomG famous as an air fighter was Roland Garros, but that was largely because he was already a popular hero ir France before the war, for he was brought down and captured by the Germans before he had the chance of piling up any 'fscore" of aerial vic. tories
 Following Garros in point of time comes Immemann, the first of tht German pilots to become world-fa. nous as fighter. It is sometimes debated among fighting pilots whether the Fokker monoplane made Immel mann or whether he made thu Fokker Certain it is tha the two rose to fame together in 1915 Where they had the advantage wa that they were fighting entirely ol the defensive.
 The Fokker was a perfectly dir contraption, considered as an aero plane, but it was light and it had good engine, and because it was onl used for defense behind the Hun line it only had to carry petrol for tw hours flying. Consequently it coul climb higher than the British recon naissance machines with heavy CT zines and petrol for AZ hours. I'm melmann and his contemporarie used to sit up at 10,00 feet and div on to their enemies who were crawl ing along at 1000 feet or so.
 Despite this habttual disadvantag no R. F. C. pilot has ever denied ths 1mmelmann was a great air fghte. One remembers receiving scribble note from a crack R. F. c. pilot France one day which read. "I ha a scrap with Inlmelmann the othe day. He flies a monoplane, fire through his propeller, and flies beat tifully. We got of drums of ammI milton at one another, apparent without results except plenty of holt in my machine"
 After Immelmann came Bolck though their careers overlapped some extent. Bolcke was also
 sRJxker pilot To him belongs u distinction of first developing the Ge
 man system of training a number pilots to fight in regular formatio
 on the lines of what later pecan known as a circus" His men a tackled enmasse, and achieved r markable results.
 Contemporary with Immelnnann al Bolcke, though he survived the
 both for some months, was Maj
 Lance Hawker, V. C., D. S. c.
 was the first R. F. c. officer to "
 the v.rC. for air fghtings and maj
 hold that he was the greatest of :
 Br1t1sh4 lighting pk5otsyudn that. .1e~w
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