Billy Bishop wrote, but did not originate, about "the condition"
The majority of the pilots in WWI (I assume from both sides) suffered from "the condition"
It appeared that "the condition" was the gut-wrenching paralyzing fear that your life expectancy was measured in very small digit number of flights. No only was it an almost certainty that you would die, there was an overwhelming chance that your death would be particularly nasty.
1. Die screaming as your out of control airplane smashed into the ground either through enemy action or simply because airplanes fell down a lot
2. Burning to death as you were sitting under about 40 litres of highly flammable fuel in an airplane constructed of wood and linen coated with flammable chemicals.
3. You would die screaming as you fell to the earth without your airplane because you jumped to escape burning or simply fell out during "unusual attitude" flying.
4. Slowly bleed and freeze to death if you were wounded and not one of the lucky ones who were able to die outright.
Bishop wrote that it was common for pilots to carry two small bottles with them to help with "the condition". One was Gin, the other was Milk of Magnesia. If one did not work, the other might.
My utmost respect goes out to any and all of the WWI pilots.
1. No parachutes
2. No armour
3. Little standardized training
How they managed to act like "knights of the sky" instead of "lambs to the slaughter" is a testament to their courage and their ability to simply go up again.
