He did not mind
trusting his mechanicians where his airplane and motor were concerned,
but his weapon and ammunition were his own special care. He regarded as
an axiom the well-known maxim of big-game hunters, that "it is not
enough to hit, but you must shoot down your enemy with lightning
rapidity if you do not wish to perish with him...."[26]
[Footnote 26: _Guynemer tireur de combat_ (_Guerre aerienne_ for October
18, 1917, special number consecrated to Guynemer).]
Of his machine itself Guynemer made a terrible weapon, and he soon
passed his fiftieth victory. On August 20 his record numbered
fifty-three, and he was in as good condition as on the Somme. On the
24th he was on his way to Paris, planning not only to have his airplane
repaired, but to point out to the Buc engineers an improvement he had
just devised.
II. OMENS
"Oh, yes, the dog always manages to get what he wants," Guynemer's
father had once said to him with a sad smile, when Georges, regardless
of his two previous failures, insisted at Biarritz upon enlisting.
"The dog? what dog?" Guynemer had answered, not seeing an apologue in
his father's words.
Pages:
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254