I have had an experience which might perhaps be described as being shot down. At the same time, I call shot down only when one falls down. Today I got into trouble but I escaped with a whole skin.

Find the enemy and shoot him down. Anything else is nonsense.

The murder of a man is still murder, even in wartime.

My dear Excellency! I have not gone to war to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.

It is better that one's customers come to one's shop than to have to look for them abroad.

The quality of the box matters little. Success depends upon the man who sits in it.

The important thing in aeroplanes is that they shall be speedy.

One can become enthusiastic over anything. For a time I was delighted with bomb throwing. It gave me a tremendous pleasure to bomb those fellows from above.

Of course, with the increasing number of aeroplanes one gains increased opportunities for shooting down one's enemies, but at the same time, the possibility of being shot down one's self increases.

In the heat of the Russian summer a sleeping car is the most horrible instrument of martyrdom imaginable.

As a little boy of eleven I entered the Cadet Corps. I was not particularly eager to become a Cadet, but my father wished it. So my wishes were not consulted.

The English had hit upon a splendid joke. They intended to catch me or to bring me down.

It is a pity that my collection of trophies contains not a single Russian.

What's the hurry? Are you afraid I won't come back?

The duty of the fighter pilot is to patrol his area of the sky, and shoot down any enemy fighters in that area. Anything else is rubbish.

Everything depends on whether we have for opponents those French tricksters or those daring rascals, the English. I prefer the English. Frequently their daring can only be described as stupidity. In their eyes it may be pluck and daring.

I never was good at learning things. I did just enough work to pass. In my opinion it would have been wrong to do more than was just sufficient, so I worked as little as possible.

Sometimes, however, the Gaelic blood asserts itself. The Frenchmen will then attack. But the French attacking spirit is like bottled lemonade. It lacks tenacity. The Englishmen, on the other hand, one notices that they are of Germanic blood. Sportsmen easily take to flying, and Englishmen see in flying nothing but a sport.