A little more than a decade after the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kittyhawk, the demands of war transformed the airplane into a weapon of death. Made of wood, canvas and wire, these early fighters took to the air filled with gasoline, ammunition and the likelihood that too steep a dive would rip the wings to shreds. It is no wonder that the pilots of these flimsy fliers measured their life expectancy in weeks. These early pioneers of the air did not have the luxury of a parachute. Just strapping oneself into the cockpit and taking to the air was an act of bravery. Careening into a mid-air duel-to-the-death with an enemy opponent required a special courage. Raoul Lufbery had this special courage. His flying career began in 1911 when he became the mechanic for French pilot Marc Pourpe. The pair barnstormed their way through China, Japan, India, and Egypt finally landing in Paris just as war broke. Pourpe joined the French Air Service while Lufbery tagged along as his mechanic. To avenge Pourpe's death at the end of 1914, Lufbery applied for pilot training and earned his wings. He joined other American pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille and scored his first kill in August 1916. By the end of 1917, Lufbery was a leading ace with 17 official kills. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/luf.htm http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/us_lufbery.html
