I was told by a curator at the Imperial War Museum that WW1 British pilots
(both RFC and RNAS) when given parachutes tended to jump out of planes
rather than engage the enemy pilots in dogfights. Also, British pilots of
WW1 were only given 'chutes later in the war.
Being a RNAS pilot was safer than a RFC one as the RFC usually had to
contend with hitting the ground when they 'fell' out of their planes, whilst
RNAS had water to land in/on.
The same curator also said that the average life expectancy of a RFC pilot
was only 8-12 weeks!!
Harlequin Master
http://www.shopfine.demon.co.uk
Received on Sat Oct 18 1997 - 18:25:43 UTC