WW1 Pilot Interview

[@UWfalcin]

Surreal... these men actually did this for real. What an absolute surreal memory to have and look back at.

[@uncasunga1800]

Only surreal for us not them. You must have gotten word of the day toilet paper.

[@UWfalcin]

@@uncasunga1800 One pilot was telling about his time in WW1 and said that ”it’s almost like a dream” when he was looking back at it. So was likely quite surreal.

[@PoeticProse7]

They were the epitome of courage; no one had used a plane for combat before and the concept of flying close to other planes was madness at the time with aeronautics still being perfected.

[@sinceremilkoftheword9754]

Wow that is awesome. These guys had GUTS!

[@idleonlooker1078]

....and NO parachutes!!

[@Firebrand55]

C.A.Lewis survived the War and wrote a definitive account of RFC flying in 'Sagittarius Rising' Later he co-founded the BBC. A filmed interview by the BBC in 1964, is on their site.

[@googleisshittoss]

+Firebrand55 Indeed..a great read it is too :)

[@tonyhaynes9080]

The lifespan of these guys can be summed up in one word. Short. Especially as the War Ministry wouldn't give them parachutes as they believed it would encourage cowardice, first sign of trouble they thought that the pilot would jump out.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

not to mention doping the aeroplane made it rather flammable. the irony being that leaving experienced pilots to die was a terrible strategy because more pilots died in training than in combat so if they made it to the front line with many hours of experience, those were the guys you wanted to keep alive!

[@charliebrown4799]

A brand new pilot had a life expectancy of 20 min during his first aerial engagement with the enemy. If he survived, he would then be part of the '2 week club' meaning he'd probably be dead within 2 weeks. If he survived those 2 weeks, chances are he'd make it to the end of his enlistment. As for the parachutes, I read somewhere that most pilots would flat out refuse to use them because the technology was still new and they didn't trust them. They figured they would try their luck without them, having better odds of landing a damaged/burning plane. Lol reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw once: 'NO AIRBAGS, WE DIE LIKE REAL MEN' I've always been infatuated by WW1 fighter pilots. If I had a time machine, I'd go back to that time, enlist in the German army, and fly with the Red Baron in his 'flying circus'. 20 min isn't a long time, but I think it would be the greatest 20 min of my life. What I would give to risk my life in a wooden airplane, listening to the sound of heavy caliber machine gun rounds whizzing past my head. Man, I get hard just thinking about it

[@kotori87gaming89]

I love the random greyscale Rise of Flight screenshot in the middle of the video.

[@googleisshittoss]

Actually, it's Wings over flanders fields, a great Ww1 simulator...check it out

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

This description is really gripping, & really tells how deadly aerial combat was.

[@COLEEN322]

14,166 pilots died during ww1 half of that total died during training such was the difficulty in controlling these flimsy craft made of skin, canvas and wood, rest in peace men.

[@williamleadbetter9686]

quite a few of these aircraft have been built again as exact replicas flown by pilots today most with many more hours but a few with very little. It wasn't that they were SO flimsy it is that the training techniques were in their infancy and pilots had SO very few hours before being fit to solo. I got 50 hours before I got my pilots license. That would of been unheard of back then. they were sent out almost as soon as they soloed

[@googleisshittoss]

And of course..they were shot at :)

[@zacharyradford5552]

That and they wouldn’t give parachutes thinking it would incite cowardice. Rather ignorant view when quality and experienced pilots started to dwindle.

[@PDZ1122]

Skin??

[@lingmingching1]

Such a classy interview! Thanks very much for sharing!

[@jimfoulk5765]

Great pictures and interview lots of info

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

Only problem with this video; IT SHOULD BE LONGER! ✨👏🏼😎✨

[@classicalvintagecollector]

Very cool testimony .

[@Firebrand55]

..another good RFC read is 'Winged Victory' by V M Yeates....in fact, probably the best RFC fact/fiction book of the War... " the wings may have been paper-like but the fear was real enough..."

[@malcolmherbert5127]

Firebrand55 The foreword to “Winged Victory” was written by Henry Williamson, an old school friend of VM Yeates. If any one would like a truly magnificent insight into the war on the ground in WW1 then you can do little better than read his series of novels collectively known as “A Chronicle Of Ancient Sunlight”. The war novels begin about 4 novels into the series. In attempting to keep Yeates’ forgotten masterpiece in the public eye Williamson wrote Yeates’ hero, Tom Cundall, into several chapters of these books.

[@Firebrand55]

@@malcolmherbert5127 Thanks for that!

[@billbright1755]

Fighter pilots on front line had a life expectancy of about two or three weeks.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

80 men died and 80 men tried now they,re buried togteher in the countryside

[@michaelhanna3026]

Some of these men are buried together at Greenwood cementary in Ft Worth Texas.

[@Duke_of_Luminaria_Imperialis]

You can interview me next

[@googleisshittoss]

Ah...you're over rated Manfred. Good shot...but that's about it 😂

[@mckessa17]

There were some very good Canadian pilots in that war.

[@googleisshittoss]

Indeed, not least Billy Bishop.. His antics are legendary

[@alonzocalvillo6702]

I wonder what went through their minds not being able to jump out of an airplane as it is going down.Thank God for parachutes.

[@googleisshittoss]

Indeed. The Germans used them towards the end of the war..but the allies weren't allowed to...stupid

[@ratherbefishing4225]

Some did jump, rather than stay in the burning plane.

[@charliebrown4799]

@@ratherbefishing4225 I remember watching a yt video on this. The pictures of dead pilots who had jumped... Even tho they're over 100 years old, and the quality is shit compared to today's photographs... Are some of the most powerful and tragic images I've ever seen in my life. It brought tears to my eyes. With that being said, if time travel were possible, I wouldn't hesitate to go back to that time and fly with the Red Baron

[@ronaldweed6103]

Amazing

[@charliebrown6512]

Not to make light of this man, what went thru, the sacrifices, and others like him.. but does anyone else think he sounds just like Stewart Griffin?

[@wesharris2559]

True heros

[@benpadula1407]

is there some way to know when this interview was taken?

[@googleisshittoss]

I have it on good authority, that it was around 1977

[@UWfalcin]

@@googleisshittoss Oh, it’s not the BBC interviews from 63-64?

[@rockstarJDP]

My business is also offensive. I'm watching this on the toilet.

[@kneedeepinbluebells5538]

WW1 Pilot AND Famous British Actor Jeremy Irons Talks About His Previous Life 🤣 Yeah @googleisshittoss Is Full Of Shit Already !

[@googleisshittoss]

Thanks for your comment, stupid as it is.

[@zacharyradford5552]

You stepped in what.