France
Georges Guynemer
1894–1917 Fighter pilot, Escadrille N.3 (the Storks), 1915–1917
Born in Paris on 24 December 1894 to a wealthy aristocratic family, Georges Guynemer was a sickly child whom the army rejected several times for frailty before accepting him as a mechanic in late 1914. He joined Escadrille MS.3, later N.3 (the Storks), in June 1915 and scored his first victory on 19 July 1915. He had 25 victories by the end of 1916 and reached his 50th on 28 July 1917. The cannon-armed SPAD XII was built at his suggestion. Credited with 54 victories (some tallies give 53), France's second-highest-scoring ace and a national hero, he failed to return from a patrol near Poelkapelle on 11 September 1917, aged 22. A popular myth in France held that he had flown so high he could never come down.