I don't have much to add to the question of NCOs in the German air services. Whereas an NCO pilot was an anomaly in the British system, the Germans had lots of NCO aviators. Interestingly, the Austro-Hungarian air force had even more of them. Typical Austro-Hungarian squadrons had only one or two officers among the flying personnel; the others were all NCOs.

On the Entente side, the French and Italians also had plenty of NCO pilots. In fact, the English-speaking world seems to have been the exception with their preference for officers as pilots.

Congrats on the VC! And the other VC recipient, Mr. Collins, seems to be doing a stellar job at shooting down all the worlds Zeppelins! biggrin


"Upon my word I've had as much excitement on a car as in the air, especially since the R.F.C. have had women drivers."

James McCudden, Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps