AIRMEN IN THE WEST.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 2 October 1917, Page 5

AIRMEN IN THE WEST.

The death of Lieutenant Guynemer closes probably the most remarkable record in military aviation. For over two years this gallant young Frenchman has been engaged in the strange warfare of the air. His daring and resource have become known throughout the world, and his final sacrifice will be deplored far beyond the aerodromes of the British and French Flying Corps. The regulations of the Allied air services do not sanction public mention of individual officers, but the rule is occasionally broken, and French communiques have period ically related with justifiable pride the exploits of Guynemer. The air was his natural element. He was not an inventor of new methods, nor of mechanical improvements, but fought with his native skill and courage, according to the best French teachings. In this respetc he was typical of the men of the “fourth arm,” which this war hits created. Along the western front there are hundreds of British and French aviators who by such methods as those which Guynemer so splendidly demonstrated, are maintaining the supremacy of the air. The struggle for air power has been one of the determining phases of the war, and though Germany’s advantage of superior preparation, improvements in the machines, and perfection of organisation has been important, it i s the human factor that has been decisive. It was the individ* ual supremacy of the British and French pilots, in the constant duels they fought with the German airmen, which forced the enemy to surrender the air to the Allies. Guynemer fully earned every honour that has been paid him ; but there are hundreds of others, unknown because their achievements were not on so grand a scale, who have patiently and diiige)atly prepared the way for the launching of that aerial offensive which is daily contributing to the success of the Allied campaign.