Du Doch Nicht!! is what German WWI ace Ernst Udet painted on the tail of his airplane. It’s not easily translatable into English; it’s sort of a really strong statement of “Not you!!” More idiomatic translations could be “Definitely not you!”, “No you don’t!”, or “You and what army?”
Considering that I took several years of German and didn’t know what it meant, and then I asked a German friend of mine what it meant and she didn’t know, I have to wonder what Ernst Udet expected English- and French-speaking pilots to make of his message. I suppose anyone could guess, though, that it’s not intended to be complimentary.
After WWI, Ernst Udet became a friend of Eddie Rickenbacker the American ace, and Udet is mentioned cordially and respectfully several times in Rickenbacker’s autobiography.
Ernst Udet was quite a colorful person, and I plan to have more information on this website about him in the future. Meanwhile, we decided that the obvious use of this phrase of Udet’s is for bumper stickers, and Ewan’s working on getting some made. Email us (designs@aeroenthusiast.com) if you’d like to be on the waiting list for a bumper sticker.
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