# What was the strategic reason behind WW1 dogfights? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2026, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397 "2026-09-26T11:38:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/21 "2026-09-28T21:36:11Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > the whole romance of “knights of the sky” engaging in chivalrous duels is pretty much entirely bunk The actual practice of chivalrous duels is certainly bunk, but governments and media of the time definitely played up the heroic knights of the air aspect for all of the propaganda reasons you would expect. 100+ years later, and if you asked a random American to name one WWI combatant it would be the Red Baron\[1\] (Billy Bishop if you pick a random Canadian). If you want 2.5 hours on the subject, the Our Fake History podcast just finished Season 11 with a two part series on WWI fighter pilots. > **[Season 11 – Our Fake History](https://ourfakehistory.com/index.php/season-10/)** > **[Episode #252 - Were the Knights of the Air a Myth? (Part I)](https://art19.com/shows/our-fake-history/episodes/9a5a9bb0-c3be-4619-ac9f-237a6b9a84aa/embed?theme=dark-blue)** > **[Episode #253 - Were the Knights of the Air a Myth? (Part II)](https://art19.com/shows/our-fake-history/episodes/a8e545ae-d460-445d-89e1-14b251656d5f/embed?theme=dark-blue)** * * * 1. possibly due to Snoopy or frozen pizza as much as anything else ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/22 "2026-09-28T22:19:30Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > there were observation balloons of various sorts used by the belligerents; My eyes are not that great at the best of times, and certainly not when skimming. As I was doing when I read the above quote as: “there were water balloons” of various sorts used by the belligerents. No wonder they switched to machine guns. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/23 "2026-09-28T22:30:32Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > It’s for this reason that a lot of aces didn’t use tracers: Not only do tracers reveal your existence, they also provide a pointer to your direction, which is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/24 "2026-09-29T03:48:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not only do tracers reveal your existence, they also provide a pointer to your direction, which is even worse. Oh no! He’s right behind me! If you listen to or read stories of fighter pilots, most surprise attacks come from behind. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/25 "2026-09-29T08:08:03Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > The actual practice of chivalrous duels is certainly bunk, but governments and media of the time definitely played up the heroic knights of the air aspect for all of the propaganda reasons you would expect. As seen in the classic Blackadder sketch with Lord Flashheart. He later does explain that the average lifespan of a new WW1 pilot was just twenty minutes… [youtube, 2:45 mins long](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UlaAHdcRMg) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/26 "2026-09-29T10:44:50Z")
Or coming from sunward, which was also a popular tactic. Or maybe suddenly emerging from clouds. And “behind” doesn’t necessarily mean exactly 6:00 level. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397/27 "2026-09-29T18:18:28Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > As seen in the classic Blackadder sketch with Lord Flashheart. He later does explain that the average lifespan of a new WW1 pilot was just twenty minutes… Always great. The actual lifespan on a new pilot, under the Bloody April 2017, was around 10-12 days or about 20 flying hours. In say 1914/15, it would be longer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-strategic-reason-behind-ww1-dogfights/1033397.md?page=1)