We consider their aircraft as primative, but upon close inspection one sees that they were beautifully constructed. While their technology was that of its time, the quality of the worksmanship in the production of their wire, wood and canvas aircraft was astounding.

They generally patrolled at 10,000', but they could get some of those aircraft to 18,000' where the air was thin and decision making murky.

They did not wear parachutes! They had them too, but the wearing of same was considered cowardly, so if one caught on fire, it was fry or jump. They caught on fire a lot.

For those who fly you know what it means to not have trim tabs. They did not, so they held the aircraft and flying was tiring. They adjusted the trim on the ground, trying to make them fly hands off in cruising flight.

The SE5 was fast, maybe you could get 130 mph out of it, in a dive over 220. They climbed at 70 and at low altitude they could climb at over 1,000 fpm, so they were nice flying aircraft and for the time very fast!

They were also very loud. Pilots jammed cotton balls deeply into their ears and then strapped their leather helmuts tightly underneath their chins.

They froze toes. The temperature gets cooler at 3 degrees per thousand feet. So if it was 40F on the deck it was 10F at 10,000 feet and the aircraft did not have heaters. During the winter it was very, very cold and they dressed in thick leather and fur duds with heavy woolen socks, leather bootees and heavy mittens.

Their guns were iffy and jams were common. Richenbacher said that he inspected every bullet before it was loaded into the fabric straps that the rounds were pushed into that fed his guns.

There was no armor. Bullets went clear through and out the other side. There were no self sealing gas tanks. The enemy fired tracers and explosive bullets. If a fuel tank was pierced the gas would run along inside and if it came into contact with a spark or another tracer round the aircraft burst into flame. They would try to skid (push hard on one rudder to cause the plane to fly sideways) so the flames would burn away from pilot. They tried to blow the fire out, which also fanned the flames. Fire is the only fear of a fighter pilot and so is it today.

The gun sights were either scopes or a simple ring and post affair. Also the aircraft vibrated which caused the guns to fire irratically. Fighter pilots tried to fly close to their target. Ten feet was better than 50. I often wonder if they used the sights or just pointed the nose of their aircraft and pulled the trigger, which was a lever on the grip of the stick.

It was dangerous and many men were killed quickly. Quentin Renolds said the average life span of a pilot on the Western Frlont was two weeks. Men arrived on the front with 10 or 20 hours of flight time! They could barely fly at all! Then they were thrown into the sky with men who had been flying for years and in combat almost daily. The new pilots were grapes to be squished. Men like Bishop made short work of them. A new pilot's chances when in a dogfight with an experienced pilot were nil. He didn't have a chance in the world. He survived by avoiding close combat and flying on the wing of a man who knew what he was doing and over time and with luck he made and learned his craft.

As a young man I yearned to be a fighter pilot. I became one. The flying was amazing! I flew in the 60's and 70's. We still had dogfights, eventually I learned to be pretty good, but at first? I too was a grape.

It makes me proud to have Billy has my relative, and that is love of flying carries on in his great great nephew.

It is a fine bit of writing and a just tribute, to what was surely one of Canada's most heroic figures. It is a strange travesty, that Canada has always had a problem with national icons.

It is difficult to imagine America disparaging the reputation of Sargeant York, or more relevantly, the justly famed LaFayette escadrille. It is doubly a black mark, that these false accusations came not from lame arm chair warriors, but from left leaning anti-war factions, one's using public funds attributed to the National Broadcasting network.

These type of ugly distortions never quite go away, something that keenly shames one, as someone proud to be Canadain.

Though somewhat crude, it might be asked, how these left wing fanatical anti-war adherents, could out weight their limited contributions to our country, against Air Marshal William Avery Bishop's massive contribution in creating, and or, otherwise promoting the Canadian Air arm of our highly estimed Canadian Armed services. Above all, however, they and we as a people, should ask individually and collectively, how we as a whole , would have performed flying machines that were little more than canvass and light wood frames, one's offering for the most part, an extremely brief road to eternity.

Air Marsha lWilliam Avery Bishop belongs to a rare bred of men, one's who in early manhood, were called upon and demonstrated a physical courage, one well beyond the norm in a field of endeavor where the attrition rate was most high. Like the great Air Aces of other lands and places, William Avery Bishop, stood at the pinnacle, sharing pride of place with such legendary figurs as Britain's Albert Ball, a fellow V.C., and France's well-beloved Captain Georges Guynemer.

In modern times, only the battle of Britain pilots rose to such fame, and though as young and courageous, in much better and more technically advanced flying machines. Even here, the dept to William Avery Bishop, stands out and above, as the vast majority of fighter pilots trained in schools founded by his foresight and ingenouity.

In the end, one should note, that by his singular courage and devotion to country, William Avery Bishop, should have earned the right to be judged only by his peers, and they chose to bestowed the V.C., D.S.O. and Bar, the Military Cross, the Flying Cross, the ED medal, the Légion d' Honneur and the Croix de Guerre. In 1944 the Order of the Bath.

Considering the awe inspiring fact, that with the exception of the ED medal and the Order of the Bath, these are all valor oders for extreme galantry and courage, I should very much think, that a humbled people and nation, can honor the valiant and raw courage of an extremely young man, who rose to become our greatest World War 1 Ace, one who helped in a unique and singular manner to found the Canadian Armed Forces Air Arm.

In honouring William Avery Bishop, the Canadian people honour their estimed Armed Forces and the nation itself, for he embodies the best of our courage and devotion.

Faithfully yours,

Claude Cornet