Originally Posted By: Hasse

Being a pilot or an observer in WW1 was probably one of the safest and most comfortable ways to spend the years of that bloody conflict and still participate in the fighting (of course having a nice desk job in some HQ chateau behind the lines was even safer). There were some more dangerous periods, like Bloody April, when some squadrons suffered abnormally high casualties, but generally speaking it was nothing like what the infantrymen had to endure in the trenches. Most pilots and observers survived the war more or less unscathed, at least physically.


It seems that 90% of the PBI actually survived the war - less for the junior orficers though. It is true that a whole lot of trainee pilots were killed in training before the PTB (Powers That Be) changed the training courses altogether.

I think the worst casualty rates in ANY war were those of RAF Bomber Command in WWII - closely followed by the U-Boats and the Waffen SS.

I suppose one of the safest jobs in both wars was to be in Aircraft Maintenance - after all it takes 2-3 years to train a decent technician whereas you can train a pilot in a few months stirthepot

signed: Attrill, J Cpl Aircraft Technician RAF (retd) biggrin


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