Here is historic silent newsreel footage of Georges Guynemer (24 December 1894 – 11 September 1917 missing) who was a top fighter ace for France during World War I, and a French national hero at the time of his death. Guynemer entered the air service in November 1914 as a mechanic before he received a pilot’s brevet the following April. As a member of the elite Storks squadron the somewhat frail looking Guynemer amassed some 54 victories until his death on 11 September 1917. As a self-described ‘Boche hunter’ he was a first-rate marksman shooting down four German aircraft on one day, 25 May 1917.
Ever seeking ways of improving the fighting efficiency of his aircraft, a SPAD S.VII, Guynemer attached a single-shot 37mm cannon to the machine in the summer of 1917, which fired through a hollowed out propeller shaft. He named the finished product his ‘Magic Machine’. Surprisingly Guynemer managed to shoot down at least two German aircraft with the Magic Machine.
However the strain of continued aerial combat eventually wore down his constitution and chipped away at his combat abilities. As a consequence his death, shot down while attacking a two-seater Aviatik neat Poelcapelle (near Ypres), could not be regarded as a great surprise.
Having been awarded the Medaille Militaire, Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur and Officier de la Legion d’Honneur, Guynemer had previously been shot down seven times (out of approximately 600 combat missions) and survived.
The German authorities credited Kurt Wisserman of Jasta 3 with Guynemer’s downing, although much of the French populace refused to acknowledge his death. His body was never found.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
