Dragon Breed Data
|Physical Characteristics:||Blue with very long wings tipped in orange and edged in black and white; yellow-orange eyes|
|Special Abilities:||Acid spitter|
|Known Members:||Lily, Excidium, Mortiferus, Conterrenis, Gentius|
According to Sir Edward Howe, the Longwing breed was the result of a sustained cross-breeding effort to find an answer to the lack of pyrogenic species in the British Isles. The British Sharpspitter, a small, low-flying English breed, was crossed separately with the French Honneur-d'Or for size and the Ironwing, a venomous Russian breed. Interbreeding among the offspring, with frequent infusions from the three parent breeds, led to the first dragon that could properly be termed a Longwing during the reign of Henry VIII.
Traditionally very picky about their captains, Longwings were at first often lost to service because suitable captains could not be found. Not until Elizabeth I put one of her female servants aboard a Longwing was it was discovered that they took to female companions more readily. However, for some time Longwings' female companions were addressed only as Miss and, at least in theory, did not hold command. Instead, a male captain was assigned to each Longwing along with the dragon's female companion.
By the early 1800s, women were being trained in the Aerial Corps as Longwing captains in title as well as reality. This fact was kept from public knowledge by the Corps.
Unlike the French Flamme-de-Gloire, Longwings are nearly impossible to decoy. This is because of their exceptionally long wings (hence the name) which are typically around 120 feet long, while their bodies are about 60 feet long. As a result, British aviators must learn strict formation flying designed to support the Longwing in battle.