Udet to Invade U.S.?During the upheavals flanking the birth of the Weimar Republic, Germany's highest-scoring ace to survive the war appears to be looking beyond his home country for career opportunities. It's unclear to me if Ernst Udet actually ever landed an agent for this proposed American endeavor, but he would spend the next decade living the life of an international playboy. He did land in the United States in 1931 when he was "
...invited to the National Air Races held in Cleveland, Ohio. He accepted and treated the crowd to a spectacular air show performance. After his flight, he was introduced on the stage by the American ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Also brought up on stage was {American fighter pilot} Walter Wanamaker, who shook hands with Udet. Udet then presented the serial numbers to Wanamaker that he cut from his plane thirteen years before after shooting him down." That incident was Udet's 39th victory, which occurred over Bezu-St. Germaine on 2 July 1918.
(respectively from the Evening Capital News and the Washington Herald, 26 and 27 April 1919):
(image via nationalmuseum.af.mil)