The caption reads, “This queer device was invented by Eddie Rickenbacher especially for the Corona race. The same story was illustrated with this photo: A 1914 LA Times story, “All the Dope on the Drivers,” contained the following description of Rickenbacker (note that he had not yet changed the “h” to a “k” to make it sound less Germanic):
He shot 26 enemy aircraft out of the sky and earned the Medal of Honor when he encountered seven German planes while by himself and, incredibly, shot down two of them before streaking away.īefore the war, Rickenbacker had found success as a professional race car driver when the cars racing around the track bore names like Stutz and Duesenberg and death was a common occurrence. Rickenbacker, known as the “Ace of Aces”, was a World War I pilot who flew 300 combat hours, more than any other American, at a time when those early planes were cobbled-together and highly combustible.
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