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Clive Caldwell

The SE.5A pilot (New Zealander Clive Caldwell) had a mid-air collision that damaged his left aileron (you can see the damage on the upper wing). Caldwell rode the craft down from the wing and jumped clear in the last seconds before the crash.

 

Caldwell did not have a parachute. The parachute had been invented and some German pilots wore them. The official stance of the Allied high command, however, was that pilots should be focused on aerial combat- not jumping to safety.

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Uploaded on May 12, 2021
Taken on May 7, 2021