r/whowouldwin • u/noahg27 • 6h ago
Battle Could the Red Baron and his Flying Circus (WWI) take down Aegon the Conqueror's three dragons (ASOIAF)?
Taking place in the skies above 1918 France, Manfred von Richthofen's JG1 squadron, best known as the Flying Circus, takes on the three dragons Aegon I used to conquer most of Westeros: himself riding Balerion, plus his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys riding Vhagar and Meraxes, respectively.
von Richthofen will have the full strength of the Flying Circus (circa 1918) at his command, consisting of 48 German fighter planes, either Fokker D.VIIs or Albatros D.IIIs. Each plane is manned by a single pilot, and armed with two Spandau machine guns, which can fire at a rate of ~450 RPM with a capacity of 1000 rounds. Their effective range is roughly 2,000m. The planes can reach an altitude of 20,000 ft and have fuel capacity to stay in the air for 90 minutes, while travelling at speeds up to ~110 mph. The aircraft are built from plywood, and so are extremely flammable.
The Targaryens and their dragons are from the beginning of the Conquest, or 2 BC, in ASOIAF history. Each dragon is massive, with Balerion being maybe the largest to ever exist. Assume each is over 100m long, and ridden by their respective Targaryen, wearing armor/clothing that dragonriders have been shown to wear in the TV shows. Since there are only vague accounts of Aegon's dragons in the ASOIAF lore, consider the show's (particularly House of the dragon) versions as a baseline for their abilities.
Could the Red Baron and his Flying Circus defeat the Conqueror's dragons? The win condition for the Germans is incapacitating all three dragons and their riders, while for the Targaryens, it is total destruction of the fighter squadrons. No ground support is allowed for either side. It is a clear summer day.
R1: Zero prep time for both sides.
R2: 48 hrs prep time for both sides, though the additional time does not allow the Germans to add any more weaponry to their planes.