NARRATOR: For the
first time in history, the sky is a battlefield. [weapons firing] [explosion] In World War I, brutal air
combat with wood and canvas biplanes forges a new kind
of warrior, the dog fighter. In the freezing
air at 15,000 feet, these fearless pilots
duel to the death in dizzying aerobatic combat. Now, you're in the cockpit as
the first dog fighters invent aerial warfare. Experience the battle. Dissect the tactics. Relive the dogfights
of World War I. [music playing] [weapons firing] June 1917, 15,000 feet
above Lasalle, France on the Western Front,
a lone Albatross D III hunts for enemy reconnaissance
aircraft and observation balloons. An icy 100 mile per hour
winds stings exposed skin as the pilot searches the sky. He is 21-year-old
Ernst Udet, destined to become a top German ace,
second only to Manfred von Richtofen, The Red Baron. Here's someone who by his
own admission had no qualms whatsoever about going
head-to-head with an opponent in the interest of making
the opponent flinch first. NARRATOR: Not long into the
mission, Udet spots something. ACTOR AS ERNST UDET: From the
West, a small approaches fast. At first, small and black, it
grows quickly as it approaches. A SPAD, an fighter. [music playing] NARRATOR: The aircraft has
the distinctive brown markings and stub nose of
a French SPAD VII. The adversary's close head on. ACTOR AS ERNST UDET: At the same
height, we go for each other, passing at a hair's breadth. We bank into a left turn,
then begins the circling. NARRATOR: Udet yanks the
stick back and applies rudder. The simple but responsive
cable and the pulley controls snap the biplane
into a tight bank. Like heavyweight
boxers, the opponents test each other's defenses,
holding back aggressive moves until they determine
their enemy's skill. [music playing] It wasn't the first
pass that really gave them the initial insight into
how good of an opponent they were facing. It was the first turn. The technological advantages of
fighter aircraft in World War I weren't in the normal vertical
fly pass, it was the turn. How quickly did the guy turn? How quickly could he recover? How much altitude could
he gain in the turn without stalling the aircraft? NARRATOR: The Albatross
D III flown by Ernst Udet is a fast climbing and
maneuverable fighter that dominated the Allies
when first sent into combat. [music playing] The French built
SPAD VIII is sturdy. With a 150 horsepower
Hispano-Suiza V8 engine and a top speed of
119 miles per hour, the SPAD is 10 miles per hour
faster than the Albatross and better in a dive. But the D III is
more maneuverable, and has a better rate of climb. [music playing] Ernst UDET throws
the stick left. The rushing wind and
the staccato clatter of his Mercedes
engine are deafening. He closes on the Frenchman. [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET:
He passes me so close that his prop wash
shakes me back and forth. I can make it out, Vieux it
says there, Vieux, The Old One. That's Guynemer's sign. [music playing] NARRATOR: It is France's ace
of aces, Georges Guynemer. He's already brought
down 30 German aircraft, including a close friend of
Udet, [inaudible] Hanish. [music playing] Anger surges. Udet must take revenge
for Hanish's death. He'll attempt a half loop,
one of the first air combat maneuvers later named for
German ace Max Immelmann. Udet will pull
back on the stick, climb, go inverted,
then roll out at the top hoping to surprise
Guynemer with a diving attack. [music playing] Udet pitches up,
craning his neck around to keep his eyes on Guynemer. To his horror, the French
ace has anticipated his move perfectly and fires
into Udet's machine. [weapons firing] [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET:
Metallic hail rattles through my right wing
plane and rings out as it strikes the struts. NARRATOR: Udet reacts
through sheer instinct, choking back the
panic while struggling to regain the advantage. [music playing] You drive your car at 60
miles an hour down the highway, stick your head out the window. Now, imagine you're
going twice that fast. Now, imagine it's
0 degrees outside and it's hard to
breathe, and it's cold, and the air is biting. Throw in the fact that your seat
is on top of a 20 gallon tank full of aviation gas. That's what it was like in
a World War I fighter plane cockpit. NARRATOR: Udet
rolls and reverses. The tight turning radius of the
D III plays to his advantage. He manages to get
Guynemer in front of him for a fleeting moment. I'm sure he's coming
down with the fangs out, blood in the mouth, and
he's coming down to kill. [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET:
I pushed the button on the stick and machine gun
remains silent, stoppage. NARRATOR: His twin 7.92
millimeter Spandau machine guns are jammed. It's a common problem for
the first dog fighters. The gun jam is a huge problem. They can't put any weapon
on the enemy at that point and then they're a sitting duck. NARRATOR: Udet frantically
pounds the gun, trying to clear the jam. It's no use. [music playing] JR WILLIAMS: At that point, he
was just a target for Guynemer. So he was doing a lot more wider
circling, a lot more climbing, trying to stall the plane,
doing things that were much more evasive. NARRATOR: Udet and Guynemer roll
right and pull into each other again. [music playing] With his left hand, Udet
tries to work around through his machine
gun, but then, disaster. From overhead, Guynemer
observes the German's plight. [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET: Now he
knows what gives with me. He knows I'm helpless prey. [music playing] NARRATOR: Udet cranks over
into another left turn. He has no cockpit armor. He has no parachute. To be shot down from this
altitude in World War I is certain death. Guynemer reverses for a
final climactic head on pass. Udet knows it is about to end. [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET: He skims
over me, almost on his back. Then, it happens. He sticks out his hand
and waves to me, waves lightly and dives to the west
in the direction of lies. [music playing] I fly home. I'm numb. NARRATOR: Incredibly, Georges
Guynemer has spared Ernst Udet. [music playing] ACTOR AS ERNST UDET: There are
people who claimed Guynemer had a stoppage himself then. Others claimed he feared I
might ram him in desperation. But I don't believe any of them. I still believe to this day that
a bit of chivalry from the past has continued to survive. [music playing] NARRATOR: Pilots like Ernst
Udet and Georges Guynemer had benefited tremendously from
technological improvements that had taken place
in the three years since the start of the war. JR WILLIAMS: World War I started
11 years after the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. When the conflict began,
the aircraft that were used were nothing but
glorified kites powered with today what wouldn't even
be a decent motorcycle engine. [music playing] NARRATOR: Air combat first
developed around observation aircraft, sent
into enemy airspace to spot artillery or
track troop movements. Smaller aircraft, called
scouts in World War I, were designed to attack
these reconnaissance planes. Essential to this mission
was the use of forward firing machine guns, first added
to scout planes in 1915. HOWARD FISHER: For
the first time, you can use the
airplane as a platform. You point your airplane
at your target and fire. And so, it's far more
accurate than trying to fire to the side, or
behind, or that sort of thing. NARRATOR: The enemy soon sent
up their own scout planes to protect the
reconnaissance aircraft. And by the winter of 1915,
dogfights became a fixture in the skies of World
War I. German ace, Werner Voss is a master of
this new form of combat, racking up 48 kills
by the fall of 1917. [music playing] September 23, 1917, Werner
Voss flying a prototype Fokker triplane, wings into battle over
the Ypres Salient in Belgium. 15 miles to the southwest, six
British S.E.5s patrol the skies over the front. Soon, they will meet
Werner Voss in battle. He will pit his Fokker
triplane against the very best of the British
Royal Flying Corps in one of the most famous
dogfights of World War 1. S.E.5 fighters cruise overemh the Western Front
near Gotme, Belgium. The S.E.5s are B
Flight of 56 Squadron. They are led by Captain
James McCudden, Britain's ace of aces. B Flight descends through a
thick overcast at 9,000 feet. [music playing] Below the clouds,
unseasonably warm, humid air whips through
their open cockpits. JR WILLIAMS: They were looking
for either fighter aircraft from the opposing side
or to find an observation aircraft that was trying to
take pictures on their side. Black bursts
menacingly around them. The first
anti-aircraft guns were nothing but field artillery
modified to fire vertically. McCudden quickly spots a German
DFW, a two seat reconnaissance aircraft. The German is below B Flight
and directly in front. McCudden pitches over into
a dive to make a lightning quick attack run. At 50 yards, he opens fire with
a Lewis machine gun mounted on the top wing. [weapons firing] [music playing] The DFW's engine is hit hard. It drops out of the sky. [music playing] But as B Flight
pulls up, McCudden spots something in the distance. ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN:
We saw ahead of us just above Poelkapelle an S.E. Half
spinning down closely pursued by a silvery blue
German triplane at the very close range. [music playing] The S.E.5's tormentor is
German ace Werner Voss. [music playing] [weapons firing] He fires a burst into
the British plane. B Flight looks on. The wounded S.E.5 trails thick
black smoke as Voss engages a second S.E.5. Effortlessly, the triplane
pitches up, wings over, and drops onto the S.E.5's tail. [weapons firing] With 56 Squadron
looking on from above, the triplane has made
quick work off two S.E.5s. [music playing] Voss's Fokker triplane
is a prototype aircraft. Though slower than most
fighters on the front, it's three wings give it
astonishing maneuverability. McCudden and 56 Squadron
Scout Experimental 5a, or S.E.5.A operational
in May, 1917, is easy to fly and an
extremely stable gun platform. Both planes are heavily
armed with two machine guns. The S.E.5 with a top speed
of 130 miles per hour, is faster than the Fokker. But the Fokker is
more maneuverable. B Flight is now
above and behind Voss in perfect attack position. McCudden and Rhys-Davids
will lead the attack. Keith K Muspratt and
VP Cronyn will follow. The remaining two
members of B Flight stay up high as top cover. McCudden signals the attack
by rocking his wings. [music playing] And it was at that point
that one of the epic dogfights of World War I began. [music playing] ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN: Down
we dived at colossal speed. I went to the right,
Rhys-Davids to the left, and we got behind the
German triplane together. [music playing] NARRATOR: Confident of an easy
kill, McCudden and Rhys-Davids opened up. But Voss is anything
but an easy target. He's been trained in the Dicta
Boelcke, the first codified air combat tactics, laid down
in 1916 by German ace Oswald Boelcke. Rule five states
you should always turn into your enemies attack
and put him on the defensive. [music playing] Voss will boot
hard right rudder, and spin his machine
around 180 degrees. The bizarre maneuver takes
advantage of the triplane's stunning agility. [music playing] ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN:
The German pilot saw us and turned in the most
disconcertingly quick manner. Not a climbing
nor Immelman turn, but a sort of flap half-spin. [music playing] JR WILLIAMS: The DR1
triplane, having three wings, had an exceptional
amount of lift to it. What it allowed the
triad plane to do was to basically do what's
called a flat half-spin or an uncoordinated turn. NARRATOR: The S.E.5.s
face a torrent of tracers. McCudden and Rhys-Davids pull
into a steep climb called zooming in World War
I. But Cronyn's S.E.5. is sluggish. He drops below Voss,
his engine sputtering. [music playing] McCudden, Rhys-Davids, and
Muspratt are here above Voss. Cronyn is below the fight,
easy prey for the German ace. Voss reverses and
attacks Cronyn. Cronyn's sputtering
engine coughs to life. He now turns directly into Voss
and opens fire at 300 feet. [weapons firing] Voss breaks off his attack,
but he's not running away even if it's four against one. CRAIG SCHMITMAN:
Cronyn takes on a role in the battle at this point
not unlike the matador. He is deciding to
stay in the fight, and to stay ahead of Voss,
and to act as a distraction. [music playing] Cronyn is thrown from side to
side within the open cockpit. ACTOR AS VERSCHOYLE CRONYN:
I don't know how many times I got in a burst head on, then
dived in under him while all the while he was
drilling at and into me. [weapons firing, music playing] But damn it, why didn't
the others take him on? Did they think I
was showing off? [music playing] NARRATOR: Above the
fight, McCutcheon circles looking for an opening. McCudden will wait for Voss to
expose his 6 o'clock, then dive in and attack. Voss turns after Cronyn. [weapons firing] McCudden pitches down. He opens up with his
Vickers machine gun. [weapons firing] But in the blink of an eye,
Voss reverses, returning fire with his twin Spandaus. [music playing] McCudden hurdles past,
then zoom climbs. Voss maneuvers briefly
in spite of the odds. [weapons firing] JR WILLIAMS: In a
group combat like that, when it's one against
four, the best place to be is in the middle
of everybody else, because they're circling
around you trying to maneuver, but they have to be careful,
A, they don't shoot each other, or B, they don't
crash into each other. NARRATOR: But McCudden
is determined. He, again, noses over. [weapons firing] No sooner do than McCudden's gun
spark to life, than Voss pulls his nose to bear. Hot German lead tears
through McCudden's S.E.5. shredding fabric
and wooden spars. Voss appears invincible at
the controls of the triplane. The airplanes of that era
were creatures of the air. You felt every input that
you gave to the controls. You had cable connections
to the ailerons, the rudder, the elevators. Not at all like today where
we have fly by wire jets where you move a control
stick an 1/8 of an inch and you get a knife edge
flight all of a sudden. NARRATOR: Voss's
mastery of his machine finally catches up to VP Cronyn. [weapons firing] His S.E.5. has taken severe damage. ACTOR AS VERSCHOYLE CRONYN:
He finally got too close to me and I resorted in desperation
to the old method of shaking a pursuing machine. CRAIG SCHMITMAN: He puts his
aircraft into something that looks like a spin, almost as if
he's either been incapacitated or the aircraft has
been somehow disabled. After a couple of
revolutions, it appears that Voss actually
buys it and lets him fly away. [music playing] NARRATOR: Voss has knocked
three S.E.5.s out of the fight and landed hits on any British
pilot who's approached him. But now, three more S.E.5.s
of 56 Squadron join the fray. A startling array of pilots
now surround Werner Voss, all British aces. The light and agile
triplane could easily climb above the
combat and escape, but Voss savors the
thrill of the dogfight. [weapons firing] The German ace is destined
for glory or death. [music playing] September 23, 1917. [weapons firing] In the midst of a wild melee,
famed German ace Werner Voss holds his own against no less
than six top British aces. Voss savors the combat,
superbly demonstrating the lethal effectiveness of
his prototype Fokker triplane. [weapons firing] His stick and
throttle ability, his ability to fly a disciplined
way in a fight, his ability to stay not calm, but to
keep his wits about him in these very stressful
situations, if he were flying with us today, he'd
probably be one of the best. [music playing] British S.E.5. pilot Richard Mabery
now zeros in on Voss. [music playing] Diving on him from 6 o'clock. Voss breaks right to shake him
off, but Mabery is not thrown. At this point the battle,
things get very complicated and very confused. An Albatross joins the battle,
which, of course, helps Voss considerably, at
least numerically. [music playing] NARRATOR: A German Albatross D3
has stumbled into the action, turning easily onto
Maybery's tail. Maybery zoom climbs to
shake the Albatross. The German pilot gives chase. But even worse, Voss
latches on as well. Flying nearby, James McCudden
and Arthur Rhys-Davids move in behind the Germans. And for a moment, the
battle is transformed into a wild, twisty tail chase. [music playing] The Germans are sandwiched
between the British. The Albatross pitches up, zooms,
then drops in behind McCudden and Rhys-Davids. The German yanks the stick back. A gut churning loop puts him
squarely behind the British. Unfortunately,
for Rhys-Davids, the Albatross manages to unload
his guns into his airplane. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: But Rhys-Davids stays
in the fight, the Albatross still on his tail. [music playing] Now, at the head of the
chase, Richard Maybery well pitch up and look
back on the tale of the red-nosed Albatross. [weapons firing] Maybery yanks the stick
back, throwing his S.E.5. into a dizzying
acrobatic maneuver. He fires from point blank range. [weapons firing] The wounded Albatross plummets. [plane crashing] Voss is alone once again. He zooms, distancing himself
from the slower climbing S.E.5.s. [music playing] Voss looks down at the
plane circling below. He could easily disengage and
live to fight another day. But the enticement of the kill
runs hot through his veins. BARRETT TILLMAN: I think,
actually, he got greedy, and he was looking
at an opportunity to notch number
49 and number 50. And, furthermore, to close the
gap on his friend and rival Manfred von Richtofen. NARRATOR: Voss dives back into
the fray He fires his Spandau machine guns into
the nearest S.E.5. [weapons firing] Its engine pummeled, the British
pilot dives out of a fight. The dogfight rages
above no man's land. Voss handles the
triplane superbly, pumping rounds into each
of the attacking S.E.5.s, but it isn't enough. JR WILLIAMS: The thing
that's unfortunate for Voss is that he never
really put enough planes out of commission to gain
any sort of advantage. All the bullets he put
in all those planes, he never drew a drop of blood
from any of those opponents. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: To the British,
Voss seems invulnerable. [music playing] ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN:
The triplane was still circling round in the midst
of six SEs who were all firing at it as opportunity offered. And at one time, I
noted the triplane in the apex of a cone
of tracer bullets from at least five
machines simultaneously, and each machine had two guns. [weapons firing, music playing] NARRATOR: The British
are dumbstruck by the skill and tenacity of
the German pilot of the Fokker triplane. [weapons firing, music playing] But Werner Voss's luck
is about to run out. Voss is here. British ace, James
McCudden is here. They'll streak in, head on, but
Voss doesn't see another S.E.5. coming in from the side. [music playing] The S.E.5. on the side watches the merge. Then, opens fire. Rounds slam into the tri
plane's cockpit and fuselage. Voss stays aloft, but for
the first time in the battle, he takes no evasive action. Then, Arthur Rhys-Davids
dives on Voss from behind. He empties his Vickers machine
guns into the triplane. [weapons firing, music playing] Voss does little to avoid
the deadly arc of bullets. Given how much
he straightened up, and now the ferociousness
of his maneuvering had had abated,
that he was wounded, and was probably starting
to have some difficulty maintaining consciousness. Rhys-Davids fires another
burst into the triplane [weapons firing, music playing] Then, pulls up. James McCudden is the only
pilot to witness Voss's final moments. ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN: When I
next saw him, he was very low. I saw him go into a
fairly steep dive, and so I continue to watch. And then, saw the triplane
hit the ground and disappear into 1,000 fragments, for it
seemed to me that it literally went to powder. [plane crashing] NARRATOR: After 10 minutes
of ferocious combat, Werner Voss is dead at age 20. The German ace shot holes
through every plane that attacked him, but incredibly,
all returned to base. [music playing] ACTOR AS JAMES MCCUDDEN:
As long as I live, I shall never
forget my admiration for that German pilot. His flying was wonderful. His courage magnificent. And in my opinion, he is the
bravest German airman which has been my privilege to see fight. [weapons firing, music playing] NARRATOR: German
pilots and planes were always on the cutting
edge of tactics and technology. They were a formidable
foe for the Americans who took to the skies
above France in 1918. The United States
Army Air Service was equipped and
trained by the French, though some pilots had flown in
the French Lafayette Escadrille early in the war, most
had no combat experience. America's first dog fighters
will be tested as never before. September 14, 1918,
Mars-la-Tour, France. [music playing] American pilot,
Arthur Raymond Brooks, in a formation of six SPAD XIIIs
patrols over the Western Front. Soon they spot three
formations of German Fokker D VIIs in the distance. [music playing] The Americans move in. Instinctively, Brooks check
6 and sees a formation of 12 enemy Fokkers. [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: I saw
them as they neared us, but had no time to warn the
leader of our flight other than by just nosing down,
gaining speed, and then turning to the right over his
head and into the Fokkers. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Brooks's abrupt
maneuver separates him from his flight. Four of the German
planes continue on to attack the rest of
the SPADs, but eight stay to fight the lone American. The sky explodes to a
furious and deadly contest. [music playing] pilot Arthur Raymond Brooks wings straight into
the fight of his life. [weapons firing] He's surrounded by eight
German Fokker D VIIs. [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND
BROOKS: I was scared. But in spite of
much high tension and yelling at the
top of my voice, I calculated, by the nature
of my training I suppose, that I would get as
many Fokkers as possible before the inevitable. [music playing] Brooks is up against a lethal
adversary, the Fokker D VII. [weapons firing] HOWARD FISHER: It is
100% universally felt that the Fokker D VII was the
best fighter aircraft of World War I. It had a
wing that was thick, which allowed it to
maneuver very quickly. [music playing] NARRATOR: Brooks's SPAD
XIII, with a 220 horsepower Hispano-Suiza 8BC engine and a
top speed of 138 miles per hour is sturdy, but plagued
with engine problems. Both planes are armed with two
forward firing machine guns. The SPAD is faster
and better in a dive, but the Fokker D VII is more
agile in a turning fight. [music playing] [weapons firing] Brooks initiates violent evasive
maneuvers, skidding, looping, and diving, anything to
prevent the circling Fokkers from getting a clean shot. JON GUTTMAN: In the
heat of the fight, Brooks was probably alternating
between panic and the coolness of desperation. His mind was fixed on a
number of things at once. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Adrenaline surges
as he fights to stay alive amid the chaos of
swirling airplanes. Suddenly, one Fokker dives
towards him in a head on pass. Desperate to save
fuel and ammunition, Brooks heads directly
at the Fokker, intent on ramming the German. [weapons firing] WILLY DRESCOLL: It seems like a
real dramatic last ditch move. No telling what damage you'll
inflict on your own airplane with something like that. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Just before
impact, the German peels under and dives away. [music playing] Brooks reverses. To survive, her
must keep moving. Another Fokker bores in head on. [weapons firing] Brooks speeds bye. ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: I
turned immediately on another, feeling that a vigorous
offense was the best defense. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Brooks is here. A Fokker is firing on him here. In this kind of dogfight,
Brooks must take a shot at every opportunity. As the German dives on
him, Brooks will skid out of the stream of bullets. Then, when the Fokker
passes underneath, Brooks will roll over
the top of his enemy and bring his guns to bear. [music playing] The German bores in. Brooks pulls hard
back on the stick. The SPAD leaps skyward. ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: I
had just enough time to dip enough to see his features
before I fired incendiaries and he was aflame. [weapons firing] All he had to do was
pull himself across without having to slow
down or align the fuselage. He raked his gun right
across the plane. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: It's a brilliant move. Brooks is two 0.303
caliber Vickers make quick work of the Fokker. [music playing] [weapons firing] [explosion] One down, but he's
facing seven more. [music playing] Brooks spots a Fokker at
2 o'clock starting a pass. Then, out of his peripheral
vision, he realized-- and you wouldn't believe
you realize these things in a nanosecond, that the
geometry to-- to rack somebody else was right there. NARRATOR: Brooks
cranks to the right and peppers the Fokker
with machine gun fire. [weapons firing] [music playing] [weapons firing] [explosion] Two down. But knocking the
hun aircraft down may play to Brooks's
disadvantage. [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: It was
being surrounded that save me thus far. The Germans could
not shoot at me without being in their
own way most of the time or bringing one of their own
aircraft into the line of fire. [weapons firing] WILLY DRESCOLL: The Germans just
saw two of their squadron mates go down. There angrier now. In terms of flying
more aggressively, I'm sure it's like we're going
to finish this SOB right now. NARRATOR: The six other Fokkers
drone in like angry hornets, determined to knock the
SPAD out of the sky. September 14, 1918, American
pilot, Arthur Raymond Brooks, has knocked out two
German Fokker D VIIs. [weapons firing] But six remaining
fighters close in. Brooks must stay aggressive and
constantly on the move, never remaining a stationary
target for long. [music playing] One of the things
we typically do when-- in an outnumbered situation,
you want to switch a lot. You know, work on them and then
switch back to somebody else. ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS:
White tracer ribbons could cut through
between my wings often, so close that if I reached out
my hand, the stream of bullets would have cut it off. NARRATOR: Brooks pitches
up to evade another attack. But as he rolls over the
top, his engine sputters. His prop windmills slowly. [engine stalling] He's run out of fuel
and his main tank. He switches to the auxiliary
tanks located in the center section of the top wing. [diving hum] [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS:
I stared at the blade and instinctively nosed down
just as an enemy first swept in front of my forehead,
shattering my windshield and clattering
into my right gun, rendering it useless
except for single shots. [music playing] [weapons firing] WILLY DRESCOLL: He's in what's
called the outer stratosphere of tension and anxiety and fear. In this environment, you
don't have time to think. Too much is going on. It's very heavy,
so you're reacting. What happens is you fall back
to your level of training in a situation like this. [music playing] NARRATOR: Brooks manages
to restart the engine. As he dives for
airspeed, he gets lucky. ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS:
Two more Boche planes in their tactical work happen
to get in the way of my now single line of fire. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Brooks opens up. White hot incendiary bullets, a
new kind of ammunition designed to set enemy aircraft on
fire, rip through the Fokkers. [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: This
was still too much attention to suit me. I figured the danger
was greater for me now than with the whole
swarm, because there was less chance of the Germans
getting in their own way. NARRATOR: Brooks decides to
exploit the only advantage his SPAD XIII has over the
Fokker D VII, diving speed. His 220 horsepower SPAD can out
dive and outrun the Fokker D VII. [music playing] [weapons firing] He bobs and weaves as the
Germans lob tracers at him. He knows that if
somebody's back behind him shooting if he continues
straight and level, they're going to hit him. So he's trying to
skid the airplane and just make himself
unpredictable to get outta the plane
of those bullets. [weapons firing] NARRATOR: Finally,
the Germans break off. The grueling dogfight is over. [music playing] ACTOR AS RAYMOND BROOKS: I
don't know how I got back. One incident a bulleted
burn itself out in the main spar
of my upper wing. Five bullets went
through my fuselage within 4 inches of my back. Holes were scattered
all over my poor SPAD. The aircraft had to be salvaged. NARRATOR: During the
incredibly intense action, Brooks has fought off
eight FOKKER D VIIs, the most advanced
fighter of the war, while downing four of them. [explosion] It's a stunning achievement,
but under the victory rules of the day, Brooks is only
credited with two kills. [weapons firing, music playing] [cheering] World War I ended
less than a month after Brooks's epic battle. The four years of war saw
astonishing leaps in aviation. BARRETT TILLMANN: It's been
guesstimated that in those four years the extent of
engineering and technical and operational
knowledge that was gained was equal to what might
have been 15 or 20 years of peacetime development. JR WILLIAMS: By
the end of the war, you had aircraft with 200
plus horsepower engines. You had aluminum
frames on the aircraft, whereas before
everything was wood. You had supercharged engines,
and you had pilots using parachutes and oxygen.
Like it or not, war enhances technological
growth out of necessity. [music playing] NARRATOR: Modern day fighter
pilots streak into battle, sheathed in electronics, and
armed with incredible weapons that strike beyond the horizon. But these modern warriors
are indebted to the men who flew in open cockpits and
fought their foes face to face, inventing the dogfight. [weapons firing]
