“On Sunday, May 19th, the American Ace went aloft over Toul with
his fighting squadron. Enemy fighting machines were flying over the
American line. The latest designed Fokker aeroplane, a single-seater
triplane, appeared deep enough within our territory to be cut off
before he could escape. Lufbery darted swiftly to the attack.
“Exact details of any air combat are known only to the combatants.
Fighting machines of to-day move with a speed of 140 miles per hour.
Approaching each other they lessen the distance between them at the
rate of over 400 feet each second. Let some one calculate the fraction
of an instant given to the pilot in which he plans his maneuver, alters
his position, takes his aim, and presses the trigger!
“Lufbery’s machine fell in flames. He was seen to jump from the blazing
mass when 2,000 feet from the ground. A parachute attachment might have
saved his life as his body was found to be uninjured from the enemy’s
fire. A non-inflammable fuel tank might have permitted him to continue
his attack until the Fokker triplane dropped as his nineteenth victory.
“Deprived of these improvements, Lufbery died. With his lamented loss
the title of the American Ace of Aces passed to Sergeant Frank L.
Baylies, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who after eight months at the
front, had amassed a total of twelve enemy machines. Upon the gallant
death of Baylies, Lieutenant Putnam of Brookline, Massachusetts, with
ten official victories, headed the American list of Aces.”
Though officially credited with only eighteen planes brought down in
single combat, Lufbery was, in fact, the victor over twice that number
of enemy planes. The rule for official recognition requires that a fall
must be attested by eye-witnesses in addition to the flyer. Many of
Lufbery’s “downs” were inside the enemy lines beyond the observation of
any of his comrades, and others fell in such a way that it could not be
said positively that they were destroyed.