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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0211.PDF
JANUARY 24, 1935- FLIGHT. II3 NEW BOOKS A Mannock Biography : Cathcart Jones'" Reminiscences : Our First Air Mail Mannock "Kin" of Air Fighters." A Biography of Major "Mick" Mannock, V.C., D.S.O., M.C., by Flight Lieutenant Ira Jones, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C., MM. (Ivor Nicholson and Watson, Ltd., London, 10s. 6d. net). (Reviewed by Major F. A. de V, Robertson, V.D.) Jt was high time that a biography of Major Mannock should appear, and gratitude is due to his old companion-in-arms, Fit. Lt. I. Jones, for telling the story of this great air fighter. The title of the book shows that it is meant to be contentious, or it asserts that Mannock was the greatest of all the single- seater pilots in the great war. This will not be admitted by everybody, but in support of the claim it may be recalled that towards the end of the war the Air Ministry sent an Intelligence officer to make a tour of the squadrons at the front, and this officer reported to the present reviewer that Mannock must be held the greatest of the British fighter pilots. Fit. Lt. Jones makes several claims for his friend. The first is that he was the greatest individual fighter, as he was never even wounded in air combat, and was finally killed by fire from the ground. To be fair, there are others of whom no less can be said. Secondly, he claims that he was the greatest tactical leader of fighters, perhaps even the first great tactical leader, who planned his attacks on German fighters with such I skill and cunning that they were practically " foolproof." Though McCudden was also a very skilful tactical leader, and his glory was of a slightly earlier date than that of Mannock, there are probably few who will dispute Mannock's claim to first place in leadership. Another claim is that Mannock was the most modest of fighters, and that though he admitted an ambition to set up a tale of "confirmed" victories which would beat those of McCudden and von Richthofen, he would often give credit for one of his own victories to some other member of his flight or squadron. Finally, the author claims ior Mannock and for all other British air fighters that their : offensive spirit was far greater than that of the German fighters. In particular, the author devotes a long passage to com parisons between Mannock and von Richthofen. We quote the following: — " Mannock's character and record appear to be almost the complete antithesis of Richthofen's. Mannock never made exaggerated claims: Richthofen often did. Mannock often gave credit of a personal victory to a comrade: Richthofen never did; he did the opposite. Mannock had no thirsting desire for decorations or self glorification: Richthofen lived for both. Man nock was not jealous of other airmen's achievements: Richt hofen at one time was jealous even of his brother. Mannock had no desire to kill just for the sake of killing: Richthofen's destructive and vainglorious nature made men's, birds', or animals' lives equally cheap. Mannock was the personification of modesty: Richthofen was boastful and conceited. Mannock was loved and admired by all men: Richthofen was not loved. Mannock was the spearhead of every attack, and fought where the battle raged hottest: Richthofen moved to his place of security on the fringe of the battle as soon as it had commenced. .Mannock was a leader with the ' Kelson touch ': was Richthofen? " Over-enthusiasm This list of comparisons suffers from over-enthusiasm ior the hero^ of the book, and results in charges against the Ger man which are not strictly fair. No sportsman will admit that it was discreditable in Richthofen to have been fond of I shooting game. It must also be seriously questioned if Richt- hoien could have been such an inspiration to the German flying corps as he undoubtedly was if he had been a mere scalp- hunter. His own letters certainly give the impression that he ought more for his own glorification than to win victory in the Kvf i°r Germany, while Mannock most certainly fought to «h the enemies of the Allies. But it is quite a tenable theory that Richthofen's letters do not do him justice. At any rate, ne and his fellow-pilots took such toll of the British recon- JlflssaP?e aeroplanes that thev would certainly have broken ™e spirit of any pilots less dogged than the British. That was not a service to his country, whether he described it so or t- Lt. Jones depreciates Richthofen for having made such a bag of reconnaissance machines, which were easy quarries to a skilled fighter, while Mannock used to say to his pilots, "Don't forget we are fighting scouts, and that our job is to clear them out of the sky before we attack any old, fat two- seater. " It is pertinent to remark that in a land campaign the duties of fighters are two (a) to make the air safe for their own reconnaissance machines, and (b) to forbid the air to enemy machines, with the object that their own side shall get all possible information while the other is left in ignorance. Richthofen concentrated mainly on destroying the recon naissance machines of the enemy, whom he could find in plenty on his own side of the lines; Mannock on making the air safe for his own side. The latter was far the more diffi cult and dangerous work, and more glory was to be won by pursuing it, but both were equally important duties. In glorv Mannock certainly stands higher than the German, but in service to their respective armies the two may be counted roughly equal. In one respect it is impossible to make excuses for the con duct of either Mannock or Richthofen, for each on at least one occasion fired on an enemy machine which he had forced down behind his own lines, trying to kill men who were certain to be made prisoners. Mannock was one of the very few British airmen who really hated the Germans and wanted to kill as many of them as possible, though his killing was from some motive much higher than selfish scalp-hunting. Bali wrote in letters home that he hated to see his enemies going down, but that he must do his duty; Boelcke wrote: " We have nothing against the individual; we only fight to prevent him flying against us." These sentiments found no echo in Mannock's breast. On the day when Richthofen was killed the officers of No. 74 Squadron drank "To the health of the dead Baron," but Maiinock would not honour the toast. This bitterness was in strong contrast to all the lovable character istics which he showed to his friends. He was, as the author says, a strangely complex Irish character. Tactics and marksmanship are now sedulously practised by all our fighter squadrons, but during the war there was little enough of either. Mannock insisted on the importance of both, and proved by his acts and his leadership the soundness of his theories. It will certainly be hard for anyone to dis prove his friend's claim that he was the greatest fighting leader in the air during the great war. Varied Adventures " Aviation Memoirs," by Owen Cathcart Jones. (Hutchin son, London. 12s. 6d. net.) There has recently been a spate of books from people wdio have made record flights, or who have, in the course of their daily business, done a great deal of flying. This book by Mr. Cathcart Jones is one of the more readable of this variety. He takes his readers in a breezy, light and interesting manner from the days when, as an officer in the Royal Marines, he first applied for a job in the then newly formed Fleet Air Arm. His adventures during his time as a pilot in Aircraft-Carriers make good reading, and show the reader China, Malta, and Palestine. Following his period in the Fleet Air Arm he turned professional pilot to a number of well-known people, including the late Lt. Cdr. Glen Kid- ston, R.N., with whom he made a record flight from England to Cape Town in a Lockheed " Vega." Thereafter, we are led down through a period of many vicissitudes to the England- Australia Race, in which Mr. Cathcart Jones, with Mr. K. Waller, flew Mr. Rubin's D.H. "Comet," and came straight back from Melbourne after the race. Few books which we have lately reviewed contain so much "meat" on each page, and by reading between the lines it is possible to get a great deal of knowledge, not only of the training of Fleet Air Arm pilots, but also of the places which the author visited. The book is unusually well illustrated, with photographs which Mr. Cathcart Jones has collected ci taken himself, and many of these photographs are extremely graphic and educa tive. They show the mishaps which occur to aircraft in the Fleet, and also to Communists who happen to be caught in Canton; the result is equally effective in both cases. C. N. C
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