On  the  20th  of  April,  1917,  Bishop  was  promoted  to
a  captaincy.  He  had  shot  down  his  fifth  machine  and
had  established  a  reputation  for  skill  and  judgment  that
had  won  the  approval  of  his  superiors  and  the  esteem
of  his  comrades.  Captain  Ball  at  that  time  had  shot
down  his  thirty-fifth  aeroplane  and  stood  prominently
above  his  fellows  as  the  most  brilliant  knight  of  the  air.
Bishop  was  to  survive  to  more  than  double  the  score  of
his  old  commander.
Following  the  natural  custom  of  all  the  belligerents,
the  best  of  the  British  air  fighters  were  sent  to  the
sectors  where  the  best  of  the  enemy  aeroplanes  were
stationed.  Captain  Bishop  therefore  had  few  green
freshmen  of  the  enemy  forces  with  whom  to  engage  in
single  combat.  On  the  contrary  his  most  frequent
encounters  were  with  the  members  of  the  von  Richt-
hofen  Circus  whose  identity  was  distinguishable  by  the
red  noses  of  their  machines.  Several  of  this  group  fell
before  the  superior  tactics  of  the  Canadian.  With
equal  disdain  for  concealment  Bishop  had  his  own
fighting  plane  painted  a  bright  blue  so  that  his  enemies


THE  BRITISH  ACES  139

would  know  whom  to  thank  for  the  steady  decimation
of  their  fighting  squadrons.
