French Air Service, SPA3 Escadrille, September 1917
French Ace of Aces Georges Marie Ludovic Jules Guynemer was revered by the people of France as the veteran of over 600 air combats. Twice wounded and awarded 26 citations, the recipient of the highest honours for galantry France could bestow, his official victory total is 53 but it has been suggested that the true figure is nearer 100. A list of his victories reveals a pattern of intense activity interspersed with gaps of sometimes several weeks. Some are accounted for by the periods of inactivity that often happen in war, but constantly on the brink of nervous collapse others mark Guynemers absences for treatment of more than merely physical wounds. Given the consideration of a later more enlightened age Georges Guynemer might have been relieved from combat in March 1916, to live out the balance of his life a much decorated but obscure French airman with eight victories and a proud record in the service of his country.