1. Dallas Kennedy
Mr. Johnshrud
World History Hr. 7
George Guynemer
The Man that rose up to the Challenge
During 1914 of WWI France lost as many men as the US would for the whole 20th century.
There was one French man that seemed indestructible though. That man
was Georges Guynemer. He had a dream from the first time he was in a
plane to fly, he used his skills to help the French in the First World War,
and finally he accomplished a lot in his life.
George was never an athletic boy. He was not very good at sports
and often got sick during his adolescent years. He did have something
going for him though. He was good with a rifle and had an ambition to fly. George was born
December 24, 1894 to a very wealthy family in the great city of Paris, France. In the year of
1911 a friend of his who was a pilot took him up for 20 minutes. From that time on all he
wanted to do was to fly airplanes. In 1912 he was focusing on his studies and obtaining high
honors. During that time he became very sick and his parents took him out of school and
down into Southern France. By the time he regained strength WWI had broken out and he
was determined to be a fighter pilot.
2. George went to enlist in the war as a pilot on August 3rd, 1914. When he took the
health exam they would not let him because he got sick very easily and frequently. He had to
take it 4 times until he passed. He then signed up for a mechanic job on November 23rd,
which worked on planes. He was going to learn as much as he can so he can prove that he
can work as a pilot. He started doing flight training and on March 10th, 1915 he earned his
flying license. Later on May 8th he was promoted to Corporal was assigned to Escadrille MS.3
at Vauciennes. He flew his first mission two days later. His observer Private Jean Guerder
said, “The new pilot displayed no fear from either ground fire or the occasional rifle fire they
encountered from passing German reconnaissance planes.”
On July 19, Guynemer and Guerder encountered an Aviatik
two-seater, and Guynemer promptly attacked, while Guerder
blazed away as opportunity permitted. Ultimately the duo succeeded in shooting down the
enemy plane between the lines, killing its crew. Both Guynemer and Guerder were awarded
the Médaille Militaire for scoring MS.3's second air-t. Early in the year 1916 Guynemer
received a new plane “The Nieuport 11 N836.” In May 23rd, 1917 he had the greatest month.
He shot down 4 German aircrafts. All in all George had a very successful and 2nd most in
France during WWI. But on September 11, 1917 on a combat mission over enemy territory his
plane was supposable shot down and the mystery is
that neither his plane nor he was ever found. Some say
that is plane was demolished by Artillery Shells and
others think he may have survived the wreck only to
be shot up in no mans land. I guess the world will never know.
3. George had some very amazing achievement. From the amount of people he brought
down to the popularity of the French people. George had
René
killed 53 people which were the second most in France at Fonck
the time. René Fonck was the top ace at the time with 75
kills. The only problem was the people did not like him at
all because of his arrogance and cockiness. He once said "I
put my bullets into the target as if I placed them there by hand."
This is one of his quotes which prove how cocky he is. That
is why George is the most popular Ace in France. Also
George was a first rate marks men. He had in training a 10 out of 10 shot. This was part of the
reason he was so successful during the war.
George’s life was full of hardship but he found a way to overcome it and become a
better and more successful person in the end. It all started
off with a plane ride with a friend, which led to a very
successful career in airplanes, and ended with a life full
of great accomplishments. He lived a full life in the short 22
years that a regular man lives in a lifetime. He defiantly
left his mark on the world and the world will remember
him as one of the best pilots that flew a plane.
4. Work Cited
Duffy, Michael. "First World War.com - Who's Who - Georges Guynemer." First World War.com - A Multimedia
History of World War One. 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2010. <http://firstworldwar.com/bio/guynemer.htm>.
Whitehouse, Arch, Stephen Longstreet, Ezra Bowen, and Enzio Angelucci. "George Guynemer." WW2 and Aviation
Facts, History, and Pictures. Ace Pilots, 2007. Web. 28 Aug. 2010.
<http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/fr_guynemer.html>.
