Thats a stretch.
 

The subject has been brought up a couple of times - how tall were the Great War aviators? It seems many were below average height, MvR, Voss, Fonck, Ball- on and on. Now, for the other side of the coin.
For those of you who have the last issue of "Over the Front" check out page 31. A photo of American observers (and a pilot) serving as members of the French Squadron C46. We know from the article that Valentine Burger (who wrote the piece and is one of the men in the photograph) was 6'1'' . The man to the far right of the photo is one Horace A. Lake, nicknamed "tiny". Compare him with Burger. If he was not standing on a soap box or the Squadron mascot he had at least 5" and probably more on Burger. Which would have made him a minimum of six and half feet tall.
If I am not mistaken I believe Cecil Lewis was 6'4". If Lake wasn't the tallest aviator of the war he was at least the tallest I am aware of.

There's altitude and then there's height!
 

Some years ago I recall reading a pilot's (modern -- 1980's) evaluation of a WW1 fighter (I think it was a Camel) and was impressed by the rating of "pilot comfort" and some comment to the effect that if you were over
5'10" or so, you were going to feel cramped in those cockpits. Over 6 feet must be outright painful! (I am 6'4" but haven't had the privilege to find out, though I have been tempted to "cross the line" and climb into the cockpit of a museum plane!

Of course the average height and weight in those days were less than in our age (of McDonald's, etc.) -- you can see this by the diminutive tunics on display at museums (or did the dry cleaners shrink things so drastically?). I think it is demographically accurate the Yanks were a cut larger because of diet and growing up on a great big continent!
marc

I would agree. I belive the Americans as a group were taller than their peers. My theory is that there were two main factors at play. The first and foremost being that they WERE just bigger, period. For whatever reason , being it diet or enviroment or a combination or whatever.
The second reason is that American involvement came later in the war and thus later in the development of aircraft and powerplants. I feel early on there was a definite preference for smaller guys to serve as pilots. With the comparative lack of horsepower size and hence weight were important if not critical to aircraft performance. With the increase of power size of the pilot was less of a factor.

Those guys had tiny heads, too! I've got a few vintage WW1 flying helmets, and when I try to put them over my freakishly large skull, its comical!:p

russ

Observers had to Weight at Least 160 Pounds
 

Dear gang, I have seen numerous photographs of WWI British Recon crates and they all seem to have the words to the effect " Warning You Need at least 160 lbs in the Observers seat" stenciled on the side of the fuselage. But considering equipment, clothing and body weight, that is not all that much. Scott

Russell, the average guy was smaller than us because of their diet. Just look at the small Civil War uniforms in museums that were worn by actual soldiers from 1861-1865.

That's a stretch
 

Lt. Eugene H. Barksdale of 41 Squadron RAF, and later 25th Aero Sqdn. USAS, was 6'4" tall. 2/Lt. "Tiny" Wingate, who was a pilot that had gunnery training at Furbara, Italy, although I lost track of him after 8 June 1918, was 6'3" tall.

I would agree that Horace Lake appears to be taller than 6'4". It's hard to make an accurate assessment from the p. 31 photo, because Burger is wearing what appears to be an American officer's cap, with his visor pulled low over his forehead, whereas Lake appears to be wearing a soft French Air Service cap (that doesn't match his American service uniform and Sam Browne belt!) perched high on his head. Burger is also standing slightly behind Lake instead of shoulder to shoulder. You also know that Burger weighed 190 lbs., so Lake, in perspective, was one big dude. (Unlike, say, Barksdale, who looked skinny as a rail.) But I would also have to agree that Horace Lake is the biggest observer I've ever seen. I also agree with other commenters that it's unlikely Lake could have completed pilot training, due to his size. I don't think he could have fit into the cockpit of a Nieuport single-seater at Issoudun.