The air war over the Western Front was going badly for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in April 1917, when 2nd Lt. Edward Mannock arrived from England to join Number 40 Squadron. It was April 6, the same day the United States declared war on Germany, and the British Army's long awaited spring offensive, the Battle of Arras, was to begin in less than 72 hours. Aircrew casualties were growing at an ever increasing rate, alarming the RFC's commander, Brig. Gen. Hugh Trenchard. In the first six days of the month alone, the 25 RFC squadrons along the Arras section of the front had lost 64 aircraft shot down with 42 aircrew killed, 9 wounded, and 36 more taken prisoner. (1) This after having lost 143 airmen killed or missing in March. (2) The RFC's counterpart, the Deutschen Luftstreitkrafte (German Air Force) (3) had lost only 12 aircraft during the same period, with 10 aircrew killed, two wounded and three more becoming prisoners of war. The aggressiveness of the RFC crews in accomplishing their commander's edict of maintaining offensive operations no matter the cost was displayed daily. But also on display was the fact that the Luftstreitkrafte, outnumbered in aircraft by nearly two to one, had the technological superiority with faster, better armed aircraft and a core of highly trained pilots who were led by the likes of Manfred and Lothar von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Werner Voss, and a host of others whose sole intent was to make the RFC pay dearly for every venture into German airspace over the Arras sector.
