Flying ace after he became the first pilot to down five German aircraft. The British initially used the term "star-turns" (a show business term), while the Germans described their elite fighter pilots as "Überkanonen" (which roughly translates to "top guns"). The successes of such German ace pilots as Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke were much publicised for the benefit of civilian morale, and the "Pour le Mérite", Prussia’s highest award for gallantry, became part of the uniform of a leading German ace. In the "Luftstreitkräfte" the "Pour le Mérite" was nicknamed "Der blaue Max"/The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the
The Flying Ace The Flying Ace The Flying Ace (1926) is a black-and-white silent film with an all African-American, or "colored", cast. This six-reel film, made by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, features Laurence Criner as the fighter ace, Captain Billy Stokes, who returns to the United States after World War I, with Kathryn Boyd, as Ruth Sawtelle, his admirer and flying pilot. Her character is based on African American aviator Bessie Coleman. It is an inspiring film that is based on real people that fought in World War I. The basis of the movie is rooted to World War I when many