The Great War In The Air: Aces Of The Western Front - Part 2/4

[Music] you [Music] well Anthony Barker's square and factory was kept busy building Hine Decker's the aircraft industries of England and France unveiled some new machines that began appearing on the western front at the beginning of 1916 England's air co company introduced their de Havilland to a strongly built single seater featuring a pusher layout that accorded the pilot excellent forward visibility in a cockpit mounted machine gun this plane was Britain's first true fighter designed specifically for the job of destroying enemy airplanes the new de Havilland formed the complement of airplanes given to number 24 squadron located at Burt angles airfield the squadron was commanded by Maj Lando Hawker the Victoria Cross winner from the previous summer Albert ball was a native of Nottingham in north-central England at the outbreak of war he'd enlisted in the famed Sherwood Foresters and been gazetted a lieutenant self-assured and handy with mechanics he'd only just turned 18 years old and quickly decided that what he really wanted was a transfer to the fledgling Royal Flying Corps using his own money ball taught himself to fly he'd acquired a motorcycle and would wake himself in the wee hours to rush to the airfield where his lessons awaited and then raced back to the barracks in time for the morning revelry after soloing ball was granted the transfer he wanted and his first posting in France was to number 13 squadron piloting the slow-moving b-2s that weren't such wide use at the time where a year earlier the be2 had been one of the best planes available to the RFC it had now become something of a flying relic nicknamed the quirk by its crews the very stability that had once made the design so attractive now created a serious handicap the machine maneuvered so slowly that had presented an easy target for both aerial and ground Gunners unfortunately the clerks would continue to remain in service long after their effective time had passed flying the cork ball demonstrated an aggressive approach that often found him on the German side of the lines attempting to close on an enemy machine so his observer might take a shot in the be2 this was risky business and balls commanding officer would eventually transfer the young flier to a fighter squadron for which he was obviously better suited the new year started out good for both max Immelman and Oswald Boelcke on January 12th they were each awarded the plural Amaris commonly called the blue max imperial Germany's highest accolade at the time they each stood with a score of eight victories the national press seized the opportunity to play up the friendly rivalry that existed between these two exalted Airmen it made for good copy it would maybe distract the public's attention away from the war that seemed to be going nowhere in a great hurry in January Valka destroyed four enemy machines in combat including a victory over a Vickers gun bus a new British two-seater the surprised him with both his maneuverability and the skill of its crew in a fight that lasted for 25 minutes almost directly above the airfield at Dewey the German ace found his attacks repeatedly thwarted by the nimble handling of the gun bus by his pilot gradually the dueling planes lost height until when the British flyer was finally forced to make its run for home Botha got in a burst that killed the pilot and sent the Machine crashing on the edge of his home airfield as swearin Tony Parker continued to improve upon his eindecker the newest version of the fighter the III was now being delivered to front-line squadrons its major improvements included a more powerful engine in the addition of a second synchronized gun in truth the plane was hardly a favorite amongst the pilots using them the engines were temperamental and the machines were neither easy to fly nor very maneuverable but with the airplanes firepower now doubled the eindecker is easily outclassed any fighting machine on the other side the situation was held as the Fokker scourge by the Allied Flyers who formed the opinion at the slow-moving quirks voisins and Marines were no more than fodder for the German fighters the actual effect this scourge had on Allied operations is debatable well the advantage the Fokker pilots possessed over the British and French air crews did have a demoralizing effect the numerical superiority of the Allies ensured that operations would new in 1915 British factories had produced the total of nearly 2700 military airplanes most of them to Cedars the beginning of 1916 saw a race by the Allied air industry to develop newer more advanced airplanes by mid February the German army was ready to begin its assault on Verdun since the beginning of the year a continuous stream of German troops and artillery had choked the roads that formed the approach to this French fortress on the Meuse river the Germans had massed a million soldiers against the defending French force of 200,000 troops with the idea that a prolonged seeds would draw in the remaining bulk of the French army spread over the Western Front the German General von Falkenhayn was convinced at the back of the French army could be broken through attrition leaving a clear path for the kaisers troops to march on Paris and thus bring an end to the war if mankind had endeavored to create a hell on earth he couldn't have pulled it off more effectively than he did in Verdun the battle began on February 21st was a massed bombardment 1,400 artillery pieces arrayed along an 8 mile front began a barrage that dropped nearly 100,000 shells per hour on Verdun throughout the first day of the siege woods and buildings were blasted to splinters trenches obliterated the earth turned to a wasteland and countless thousands of men simply vanished forever under the assault of high explosives when the German attackers climbed from their trenches in advanced across no-man's land the following morning they found stiff resistance offered by French troops who'd survived a bombardment in addition an extra division of soldiers had been sent piecemeal to man the frontlines during the barrage still the sheer bulk of the German force allowed them to make some initial gains painfully grinding forward until by the third day of battle they occupied the French second trench line it was here that the defenders held their ground in the real horror began the battle for Verdun would continue on for the next 10 months a series of sieges and counter sieges that would result in the wholesale slaughter of nearly 1 million men 1 million men sacrificed for a piece of real estate occupying a scant 10 square miles of ground more than any other world war 1 action Verdun would come to epitomize the futility and waste that characterized the war the French had reached a critical moment with the Battle of Verdun as their line broke the German plan to break the back of the French army would succeed and Paris would ultimately fall at the onset of the siege French reconnaissance airplanes had been denied access to the skies over the battlefield and the defenders were forced to fight blindly without the benefit of aerial intelligence the relatively small force of the Fokker pilots led by the great German ace Oswald Boelcke ensure that no French machine was able to operate we're done airspace realizing that air supremacy must be secured over the enemy two dozen French squadrons were pulled from the north and relocated to operate from airfields behind Verdun equipped with the excellent Newport Scout including the newer improved new port 17 five new Eska drills to chase were formed and rushed into battle the famous storks Escadrille still under the capable leadership of Felix bro card was expanded to include an additional three squadrons and together these four Eska drills formed France's first group to chase bro card now responsible for entire combat group stepped up a search for the most gifted and talented fliers at his country's disposal as the terrible slaughterhouse on the ground turned on the courage and skill of the French pilots became legendary as they took the air war on the offensive soon a handful of French fliers began to emerge as aces in the overwhelming superiority of the fokker eindecker is finally came to an end two pilots who would distinguish themselves as members of the storks were captains Alfred her toe and Renee dorm before being invited to join Lissa Gomes her toe had achieved the distinction of shooting down an enemy airplane with just one bullet a colorful character her toe often amused himself in battle by thumbing his nose in making otherwise obscene gestures of the German pilots he fought he felt that by showing this contempt he could increase the enemy's hatred and hopefully drive them to the point where blind fury would overcome their sense of caution Renea dorm on the other hand established himself as a no-nonsense flyer who strove to master all aspects of the Newports he flew he could recover from a spin with no more than a quarter turn of his plane and taking no chances involved himself in all facets of the machines maintenance on the ground an exciting rivalry quickly developed between her toe and dorm as his scores increased side by side above the gruesome slaughter house of Verdun after downing six German machines in the space of a single week her toe jumped ahead of dorm and was to hold this lead until he finally met his death in combat a year later another gifted Frenchman who made a name for himself over burden was Jean Marie NAVAIR described as an angular face dark eyed collection of nervous energy NAVAIR was the son of a wealthy paper manufacturer who taken applying as a hobby before the outbreak of war originally serving in m/s 12 he was eventually posted to n67 a brand new chase Escadrille formed around the newport baby and hurried into battle at Verdun determined to lay waste to the myth of the fokker invincibility NAVAIR threw himself into the battle room ferocity or even his own water mates by the end of his first month at Verdun he had achieved a status and as April arrived with his longer daylight hours NAVAIR took to flying five or six patrols each day whenever possible NAVAIR would fly alone and by the beginning of June his score stood at 12 victories well the younger pilots in the squadron idolized NAVAIR his commanding officers were less than pleased with his disdain for authority and regulations he often had the habit of abandoning formations to go off alone after German machines he spotted and on the ground refused to file his combat reports and other paperwork expected of him on more than one occasion NAVAIR was placed under open arrest in each time he'd returned to combat even wilder and more undisciplined than before On June 17th we'll attack it in a vo-tech two-seater NAVAIR was hit by a machine gun burst that left him dizzy with shock weak from the loss of blood he managed to get his Newport back to his own lines and onto the ground before passing out already something of an eccentric NAVAIR had slipped into a deep depression and was now prone to violent outbursts of temper when eventually discharged from the hospital he spent his convalescence in Paris the site of the stooped meadow bedecked figure carrying a cane became a painful sight at the restaurants and bistros in that city as he systematically set out to drown himself in alcohol something had snapped in jean-marie NAVAIR and his self-destructive behavior increased to the point that he was committed to a sanitarium we would spend the next two years georgina mere as a member of the original stork squadron continued to hone his combat skills throughout the first month of the Verdun campaign he scored his aids victory near the end of February and then suffered the fate of being shot down himself just two weeks later when the rear gunner of a German two-seater put a burst through the Frenchman's windscreen that sprayed shards of glass across his face and slammed two bullets into his left arm momentarily blinded by the blood that covered his face and goggles inna maher jammed the control stick forward causing his baby to drop on a straight dive that carried him away from the second salvo his left arm hanging listlessly at his side the young flyer brought his Newport down for a controlled crash just inside the friendly lines minami lay in a hospital bed for weeks his frail body looking drawn and sickly as he slowly mended regaining his strength he grew increasingly restless and surely thought of nothing more than rejoining his squadron and the battle over Verdun the doctors believed him to be tubercular and on his release from the French hospital insisted he take a long convalescence at his family estate Dean Amir relented to the idea but did arrange for a new port fighter to be made available for his personal use of all sins a small emergency airfield located near the family home and so as enemy armed ended from his injuries he continued to fly scouting patrols upon rejoining the storks in June Dean Amir was alarmed at the number of new faces present in the mess casualties in the group had been especially severe throughout the preceding months and many of his old friends were dead the enemy immediately hurled himself back into the fighting with a fire that burned brighter than it ever had with the Commission to roam freely now and usually alone he began methodically stalking the front willing to pounce on any German formation regardless of the odds On June 22nd after a long day of hunting he torched an lvg over is Aris this was his ninth victory on July 6th he shot down one of the new albatross single-seaters bringing his score to ten two weeks later he scored his 11th kill in a long hard-fought battle with eight of the new albatross Scouts as the victories began to pile up the enemy grew more gaunt and worn looking but his energy in the air seemed to have no end towards the end of summer he was once again shot down in action but this time managed to limp away from the wreckage with only bruises the coming winter would find the famous flyer up with each gray dawn nervously chained smoking cigarettes and all too willing to take flight in weather conditions that would keep most men grounded as his score grew so did his fame the details of every victory were now carefully followed in the press van mal began arriving by the sack fold and he became the idol of both schoolchildren and women of all ages for the 22 year old ghena mayor the adulation was simply a distraction to keep him away from his sacred duty of clearing the skies over his homeland modest and introverted the attention shown by reporters and the endless round of photographers only served to make the young flyer grow even shire and more withdrawn [Music] when Europe plunged into war in August 1914 America had shown no desire to get involved in the conflict although President Wilson had issued a proclamation declaring his nations neutrality there were nevertheless quite a few American citizens who had no intention of staying out of the Great War hundreds of American volunteers found their way to the war by either crossing into Canada and offering their services to Great Britain or by buying their own passage and sailing to France where they could enlist in that nation service these young men drawn from all across the vast American continent came to Europe for a variety of reasons some were motivated by a sense of idealism believing the German war machine would if left unchecked eventually snuff out freedom on the continent others were driven by ancestral ties to Great Britain and France and more than a few of the volunteers were simply adventurers determined not to miss out on this war to end all wars of all the US citizens who were to serve the Allied cause none would capture the imagination of the public as completely as those who eventually came to form the Lafayette Escadrille a handful of these young Americans had already been living in France at the onset of war Williams thaw had been working abroad as a salesman for an American firm Bert Hall was making a modest living driving Parisian taxicabs and James Bach was a mechanical engineer employed by a French company others had immediately sailed for France in the opening weeks of the war in this group work iffen and paul rockwell brothers from Asheville North Carolina Robert suberin a former racecar driver and dealer Mason already an experienced peacetime flier some of these volunteers wishing to get into action as quickly as they could signed up with the French Foreign Legion the Foreign Legion was a multinational group serving with the French whose special status as mercenary soldiers would not jeopardize their citizenship in their home nations most of the Americans however found themselves serving in the American Ambulance Corps an all-volunteer organization norman prince the privileged son of a wealthy boston family arrived in france in early 1915 and immediately offered himself to the French Air Service before leaving the United States he had taught himself to fly airplanes at the Burgess flying school in Marblehead Massachusetts the idea being that the French wouldn't hesitate to admit a trained aviator into its ranks to his surprise the French politely refused princes offer there was the issue of America's neutrality and besides there was no shortage of French citizens volunteering for the air service Prince was not to be put off so easily in fact he had an even larger idea that he began promoting to anyone who would listen the idea of an all-american squadron serving the French effort although the idea was received with little enthusiasm by the French government many of the American volunteers serving in the ambulance corps and the Foreign Legion embraced the concept of an all-american front line unit Prince continued to pester important officials and influential Americans living in France until it was eventually agreed that the volunteers should be allowed to form their own Escadrille on April 18th 1916 the first American Flyers reported to Lexel airfield to begin serving in Newport 124 named the Escadrille American they were Victor Chapman James McConnell Norman Prince Tiffin Rockwell Bill thaw elliott Cowden and bert hall upon arrival at luxo the Americans were met by captain George to know the Escadrille Scamander Luksa was situated in quiet sector of the front the pilots housed in a large villa and taken their evening meals in the finest restaurants began to feel more like holiday vacationers in aerial warriors but captain tahno took the opportunity to drill the unit in the art of air fighting they flew their first patrol escorting bombers on May 13th and five days later scored their first victory in Rockwell sent a German observation machine crashing to earth a day later the Escadrille americon was ordered to Verdun and began operating from the airfield at Dehon the following day Bert hauled down two German over Verdun and on the 24th it was built laws turn when he surprised an enemy fighter and kill its pilot for all the hesitation the French government had shown the idea of an all-american volunteer squadron seemed to be proving its value on May 24th a new volunteer reported to n 124 for duty prior to joining the Escadrille Raoul oof Berry's life had been a series of adventures born in France in 1885 to a French mother and an American father leuf berry left France after the death of his mother and at the age of 19 set out to see the world his travels took him all over Europe and Africa where he worked at various jobs including a waiter deckhand stevedore and racecar driver Luke Perry's travels eventually took him to America where he hoped to find his father who had settled in Wallingford Connecticut when Luke Perry arrived he learned his father had set sail for Europe just the day before from Wallingford the young adventurer traveled to New Orleans Cuba and then eventually San Francisco where he joined the United States Army and was sent to the Philippines in the army look very quickly established himself as the best marksman in the division two years later after being discharged Luke Perry traveled on to Japan and then to China where he worked for the Customs Service in Bombay India he was employed as a ticketing agent for a shipping firm until his wanderlust carried him east to Saigon where he saw his first airplane the famous French stunt pilot mark poor had been travelling through Asia giving demonstrations with a Blair Romana plane and he and Luke berry hit it off at once signing on is porpoise airplane mechanic the pair continued traveling through the Orient and eventually on to Egypt where Luke berry followed the flyer down the Nile as far as Khartoum traveling by boat raft trained camel donkey and sometimes on foot in the summer of 1914 Liv berry and pork returned to France with the intention of buying a larger airplane but their plans were further travel were suddenly cut short by the declaration of war Corp immediately enlisted in military aviation leuf berry after first serving as a foot soldier in the Foreign Legion later joined Corp in Escadrille m/s 23 where he served as his friends mechanic once again this pairing was only to last for a short time cork was killed that December and the grief-stricken lieu ferry vowing to avenge his friend's death managed the secure posting to the flight training school at Chartres for any aspiring French Airmen the training experience began with penguins flare Romano planes with wings clipped short unable to leave the ground the students would learn to race these odd machines back and forth across a large field when they were able to traverse in a straight line they would be moved on to the next stage of their training Glaros with full-sized wings but underpowered engines these would allow them to get a few feet airborne in short hops next would come the regular Blair O's on which the hopeful pilots would learn the rudiments of flying and those who qualified would finally pass on to the advanced training schools where they would master the mysteries of stunt flying and aerial gunnery Rowell oof berry easily passed through the training schools and he was posted to a bombing squadron where he flew the lumbering Voisin bombers after hearing rumors of an all-american Escadrille that had been formed look very applied for and was granted a transfer to the unit once he arrived at the home he quickly established himself as both one of the squadrons most colorful characters and its premier combat flier before long live berry would emerge as the Escadrille greatest star eventually downing 17 German aircraft [Music] On June 18th maximal men Germany's greatest our hero was killed in the late afternoon he'd led a flight of four ein Decker's into battle against eight British fe2 bees of number-25 squadron the filles had just crossed the lines near Arras intent on photographing the German positions when in moments flight intercepted them after a long-running fight that scattered the participants over some 30 miles and women brought down one of the British machines with both its pilot and observer wounded this was his 16th victory later that evening Immelman again found himself in a battle with the pilots of number 25 squadron this time near the French town of Lentz coming on a pair of the British pushers and women immediately dispatched one of them with a burst that hit the pilot and sent the fe2 crashing down below the second machine however flown by second lieutenant gr McCubbin a South African managed to bring his guns to bear on the great German ace and in moments fokker fell to its destruction the Eagle of Lille was dead as Germany mourn the loss of its first days rumours began to emerge that he had not been vanquished by the enemy but had been killed when the interrupter gear and his Fokker failed and he shot off his own propeller this theory was widely accepted at the time the public had believed a moment to be invincible and he simply couldn't have been downed by an enemy two-seater on the British side of the lines McCubbin was officially credited with the aces death and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this action after examining the wreckage of immens machine a Board of Inquiry decided that mechanical failure not enemy gunfire had indeed been responsible for the crash Anthony Fokker was outraged by the ruling he believed the decision had been influenced by some of the powerful German firms in competition with him to supply airplanes to the flea Gertrude indeed Fokker status as a Dutch national had already made it difficult to conduct business inside the fatherland there had been ongoing problems in securing the contracts needed to supply the Dutchman with the better more powerful engines being built by the Mercedes and BMW firms the German aircraft industry particularly the albatross company with their new single seat biplane had been able to design their machines around the best engines available and the new planes being tested by Fockers team of Schwerin would have no chance of competing fairly for military contracts with the death of max Immelman the day of the eine Decker's favor had come to an end the german aviators were now distrustful of the machine and as new types of airplanes were introduced the one superior design was now rendered obsolete many of the frontline fighter squadrons were now being really decent performing scout designed by the albatross company the d1 built around 150 horsepower Mercedes engine was a wooden frame biplane that was both rugged and maneuverable introduced the count of the growing threat presented by the British to Havilland and the French Newport fighters the albatross would continue to evolve and would remain in service until the end of the war with maximum and Ed Oswald Boelcke awaz now the fatherland's most famous ace fearing the effect the loss of another hero would have on the morale of the frontline flyers an order was authorized by the Kaiser himself temporarily removing volka from flight status the air service the Pleader troop was about to undergo a major overhaul until the summer of 1916 all German air units had been under the control of the Director of Railways and Transport with all their operations dictated by various army corps commanders now a new independent air force was to be formed under the command of General Ernst von Hope nur where as fighter aircraft had previously been attached in small numbers to operational squadrons they would now form their own squadrons or yagh stofflet if mo men had epitomized the heroic fighter pilot Botha was his professions great theory ssin his well reasoned views on air tag that's appealed to the air chief of staff and his experience was drafted to help warm the new fighter service well the investigation into mo men's death was being conducted volca was sent on an inspection tour of the German air units serving on the Eastern Front well conducting this tour volka would be given a free hand to recruit pilots for a fighter squadron he would form upon his return to France volka visited units in Austria Turkey Macedonia Bulgaria and Russia during the lengthy tour he took the opportunity to commit his ideas to paper and his work air fighting tactics was submitted to the high command it was to become the Bible to the German fighter pilots polkas discourse included his famous dicta a set of fundamental rules for aerial combat these rules included such instructions as to always fight with the advantage of height and whenever if possible with the Sun to the attackers back in Russia Valka was reintroduced to Manfred von Richthofen who'd made the cross over from observer to pilot the previous January by March Manfred had been assigned to camp castrato to a squadron that flew albatross to Cedars over the battle raging at Verdun a chance meeting with Oswald volka in a railway dining car had left a favorable impression on the great ace and later when bulk a visited von Richthofen squadron now Soren and Russia he remembered the young man before he departed both the told Juan wished often about the y hasta he was forming and suggested that Manfred submit his request for reassignment to a fighter school [Music] On June 24th the British had unleashed the massive 8 day long bombardment that signaled the start of what was to be their big push of 1916 the Battle of the Somme massed along a 30 kilometre front between Arras and Albert 750,000 British troops were committed to battle against the defending German force of slightly more than half that number although the battle was to continue into November it is chiefly remembered for the casualties incurred by the time it came to an end a staggering 1 million men had fallen with 58,000 British casualties occurring on the first day of battle alone by the start of the Somme offensive the Allies had finally achieved an upper hand in the air the English air co firm after working out some teething problems with the de Havilland - had begun producing the machine in large numbers as the summer of 1916 wore on the plane became the mainstay fighter of the Royal Flying Corps another single-seat machine being supplied to frontline squadrons was the French built Newport 17 a more powerful slightly large development of the Newport baby the Scout came equipped with either a wing mounted Louis or a synchronized Vickers machine gun the plane was an immediate hit with the pilots who flew them being both fast and maneuverable and Franchesca drills began employing them alongside their babies the Royal Flying Corps also began receiving new ports and would eventually field five squadrons equipped with the plane one British pilot showing success with the new port 17 was Albert ball who'd survived nearly a year frontline flying in the slow-moving quirks before being reassigned to Scouts posted to number 11 squadron shortly before the Battle of the Somme began he scored his first victory over a rolling two-seater on the 2nd of July from here his score began to mount steadily ball style of attack has often been compared to that of the great French ace George Jean Amir like keen Amir Bal preferred hunting alone and showing nerves of steel would get as close to the enemy as possible before opening fire a favorite tactic of the young Englishman was to race head-on towards a German machine until when a collision ting eminent and the German would break off to the side ball could be afforded a brief but often lethal shot to his squadron mates ball was considered something of an eccentric we're not in the air he spent hours tinkering with his new port engine and gun well other pilots might spend their evenings in the officers mess gathered around the piano with drink in hand Albert ball could be found strolling about the barracks playing concertos on his beloved violin when fellow Flyers had complained about balls musical aspirations he moved out of the barracks and into a tent behind a hangar shy and somewhat of a loner he drew a vegetable garden was fond of reciting poetry and refused to wear a helmet or goggles in the air preferring he claimed to feel the wind in his long wavy hair by mid summer with his reputation on the rise ball took his Newport fighter to number 60 squadron where he was officially given a roving Commission this arrangement freed him from scheduled squadron patrols and allowed him to roam freely by the end of September he would have 30 confirmed victories to his credit a famous story about Albert ball concerned an incident where ball had attacked two albatross fighters far over the German lines and rather than fight they turned tail and fled outraged over their cowardice while had scribbled a note and dropped it on the German airfield challenging the airman to a fight the following day at the same location when ball arrived the next day he found the two Germans circling as prescribed but as he hurled himself towards his adversaries three more albatrosses came screaming down from overhead ball had been caught in a trap and for 20 minutes the six machines twisted and turned in a dogfight that found him losing precious altitude and beginning to run low on ammunition when balls planes suddenly dropped out of the fight and fell earthward it appeared that the Englishman had finally been hit by a German bullet as the ground raced up to meet him ball cut the throttle and brought his machine down in a large field where it rolled to a stop the flier slumped over in the cockpit wounded or possibly even dead the Germans were elated here was the great Albert ball brought down with his plane intact as two of the German victors prepared to land and take the British ace prisoner the other three raced home to this squadron to spread the news both would-be captors landed alongside the plane and began walking towards the British pilot at which point ball sat up and waved at the astonished German Airmen before opening his throttle and flying off towards the British lines by late summer Oswald Boelcke Oh was back on the Western Front leading his new squadron joste two-faced Atlanta Court in the salm region the situation above the Somme had become critical the Royal Flying Corps now dominated the skies over the region and German ground forces were reeling under the effects of British aerial observation artillery spotting and trench strafing the pilots volka had assembled Atlanta Court fourteen bunch of recruits that included Kerwin Boehm Max von Mueller Stefan kir mayor and of course Manfred von Richthofen rather than being thrown directly into combat volca never the teacher said about training his y hasta pilots and all the skills they would soon need on the ground the Flyers were treated to an endless round of lectures concerning the tactics of aerial fighting when the squadrons new albatross fighters arrived the training began in earnest as bolt had drilled his cubs in aeronautics formation flying and aerial gunnery throughout this training period volca would often rise at the first light of dawn to fly alone combat patrol that inevitably resulted in the destruction of an English airplane by mid-september when volca was finally ready to lead his students into battle his personal score had risen to nearly 30 victories on September 17th the pilots of y hasta boca tasted blood for the first time with Erwin bomba and Manfred von Richthofen each scoring their first victories over British machines von Richthofen skilled was over an Fe to be pusher belonging to number 11 squadron which the dying pilot second lieutenant Lionel Morris managed to land on a German airfield before expiring the observer Captain Thomas Reese was already dead earning him the distinction of being the first man to die under the guns of the future Red Baron by sad coincidence the Reese family suffered a double tragedy on this day when Tom's younger brother John was struck and killed by lightning at home in England a week later von Richthofen scored again this time over martensite single-seater and then on September 30th brought down another Fe to be from number 11 squadron the English pilot lieutenant EC Lansdale had joined his squadron less than two weeks earlier the gunner sergeant Albert Clarkson was one of number eleven squadrons most experienced observers haven't been officially credited with shooting down Sreedharan airplanes for victory number three von Richthofen had been flying one of his lastest new albatross D twos which offered some good improvements over the d1 including a slightly more powerful engine and stronger wings on the 1st of October Volta scored his 30th victory and he and his Flyers were suddenly treated to a week's break from the fighting when the weather turned atrocious by the seventh they were up again and this time Manfred von Richthofen scored over b12 belonging to RFC number 21 squadron the b12 was the result of a bizarre attempt by the Royal Flying Corps to create a fighter out of its outdated be2 quark design which had been produced in such great numbers with the front cockpit closed over and a more powerful engine installed a forward firing gun was mounted for the pilots use in the unlikely event that he would ever manage to outmaneuver a German machine von restorff UNS b12 had been a remarkably easy victory to win and had fallen near the village of equine court with its pilot second lieutenant William Penn were killed by a shot to the head von Richthofen ever the hunter recovered a trophy of his kill by cutting the serial number from the side of the smashed British machine the German pilot had in fact been able to collect souvenirs from three of his first four victories this practice was to continue throughout the career of the young Baron at first his souvenirs were displayed on the walls of his room but as the collection of smashed propellers machine guns aircraft markings and other mementos grew he began sending them home to his family estate ash went nuts in addition he sent instructions to a Berlin jeweller for a small silver trophy cup to be inscribed with the number type and date of each victory every tenth Cup von Richthofen requested should mark the decade by being twice as large as the others the jeweler would eventually inform the flyer that there was no more silver to be had to continue the trophies but not before he would have inscribed some 60 of the cups [Music] the thought with aviation company of Great Britain unveiled a pair of new aircrafts that debuted during the Somme offensive the one-and-a-half Strutter was designed as a fighter reconnaissance aircraft and light bomber 110 horsepower to get rotary engine powered this versatile two-seater to speeds of 100 miles per hour this Sopwith was the first British airplane to come equipped with a synchronized machine gun for the pilots use the observer protected the aircraft's tail with a ring mounted lewis gun eventually more than 5,000 one and a half Strutters would be built and delivered to the Royal Flying Corps Sopwith also began deliveries of its newest single-seat fighter the pub with a top speed of 110 miles per hour the Sopwith Pup came armed with a single synchronized vickers machine gun and was generally considered a delight to fly possessing first-class handling attributes and a service ceiling of 17,000 feet the first pups arrived in France and limited members with the Royal Naval Air Service but by the end of the year were being deployed to RFC squadrons in greater quantities a third new machine had also been developed by the Sopwith company but it would not reach service until the following year the Sopwith triplane was built along the same general lines as the excellent pup glider but with three wings of shorter landing cord it offered better maneuverability and a quicker rate of climb when the airplane eventually reached combat it would be with the Royal Naval Air Service where it would have a brief but spectacular career the French air service was also treated to a fine new fighter with the introduction of the SPAD 7 fast and sturdy the Spade was one of the most rugged machines to see action during a war powered by a hundred and seventy five horsepower hispano-suiza engine it could achieve a top speed of nearly 120 miles per hour and level flight and considerably more in a dive without losing its wings although the plane wasn't as maneuverable as the Newport fighters that were in such wide use in the French air service it could out dive anything in the air and endure a remarkable amount of punishment in battle when the famous storks group began its transition to the new fighter George Gina Mir was one of the first men to fly in combat he immediately proved its effectiveness with a spectacular string of successes by the close of 1916 Gina Mayer was France's highest ranked ace with a score of 25 victories virgeen Amir greater fame was still to come and the SPAD fighter would forever after be associated with the unassuming French hero Manfred von Richthofen knocked down his sixth Tommy on October 25th another b12 that belonged to a flight of five such machines from number 21 squadron the Englishman had been on an offensive patrol that had brought them over the lines to the vicinity of Bapaume Arthur James Fisher had been killed instantly when von Richthofen bullets had smashed into his stomach and the plane had gone straight down to disintegrate on the ground below Oswald Boelcke I couldn't have been prouder of the success his pupils were showing Yost a--to was establishing its reputation as the greatest German squadron and by now even the English were taking note of the unit's record on October 25th volka took his two best pilots Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin boma on a patrol that eventually led them into a scrap with British single-seaters belonging to number 24 squadron in the ensuing dogfight volca and boma each found themselves closing on the same British machine neither aware of the other's presence with boma above the two albatross Scouts briefly collided and Volkers machine dropped like a stone its upper wing buckled and trailing fabric minutes later the pilots lifeless body was pulled from the wreckage of a smashed airplane [Music] the great oswald volca victor of 40 aerial combat is dead at the age of 25 the pilots of y hasta 2 were stricken with shock and grief at the loss of their mentor hurling boma blaming himself for the accident and to be talked out of committing suicide as the fatherland mourn the loss of its greatest flyer volca was buried with honors at the cathedral and Cambre von Richthofen bulk his greatest student carried his leaders medals in the procession the Royal Flying Corps acknowledged their fallen opponent by dropping a wreath over can braids bearing the inscription to the memory of Captain bulk o our brave and chivalrous fo y hasta 2 was officially renamed y hasta balke a name the squadron still bears to this day in the days following Oswald Boelcke his death Manfred von Richthofen continued to drive British aircraft from the skies over the zone he scored kills on November 3rd the 9th and then on the 20th brought his victory tally to 10 when he down to British machines one in the morning and one in the afternoon after he had shot down his aids plane von Richthofen have expected to receive notification that he would be awarded the poorer merit as both Vulcan and Immelman had for this achievement to the Flyers chagrin no such award was immediately forthcoming the High Command recognizing that the nature of the air war was becoming such that a pilot might reach the 7 victory mark in a relatively short time raised the requirement to 16 victories Manfred would have to wait for his bluemax after bolta had fallen the leadership of y hasta 2 had been handed to lieutenant care Meir who had 10 victories of his own when he took charge of the unit care Mayer's command was to be short-lived on November 22nd he lost his life after a fight with two flyers from RFC squadron number 24 stationed at BIR tangulls number 24 squadron was like yeah stitute fighting unit of seasoned Flyers that had been hand-picked by England's most famous pilot major Leno Hawker originally formed around the new de Havilland fighters to counter the Fokker scourge the squadron was now primarily assigned to providing escort for the busy British two-seater squadrons operating over the front on the day after y hasta - lost its new commander two pilots remember 24 squadron the british unit was to lose its own leader as well on November 23rd Manfred von Richthofen won his 11th aerial duel over what would be the most famous opponent of his career major Llano Hawker was nine victories to his credit and holder of the Victoria Cross was leading a flight of free machines northeast to Bob palm when they'd encountered albatrosses belonging to Y hasta - as the opposing pilots paired off into individual duels Parker found himself locked in a tight spiral at the Albatross D - flown by Manfred von Richthofen around and around they went first to the right then to the left neither fly are able to gain advantage over the other as the para planes can lower and lower to the ground Parker knew that his situation would soon be critical this fuel was by now running low and prevailing winds blowin to the east would only serve to make the trip home more difficult with the ground now only 150 feet below Walker made his bid for a dash towards the British lines and von Richthofen seizing the opportunity got off a burst that hit the Englishman in the back of the head hawkers machine crashed in the shell parked landscape just a mile or so short of the front lines [Music] the Escadrille American had been in the thick of fighting since the previous spring when the squadron had taken part in the terrible battle raging at Verdun the all-volunteer squadron had suffered its first fatality in June when Victor Chapman a native of New York City had been shot down by a pair of Fockers Chapman coming from a distinguished family background and epitomized the spirit of idealism that had brought this group of young Americans to fight under the French flag after graduating from Harvard he'd been studying architecture in Paris when Germany had invaded and he'd immediately enlisted in the Foreign Legion determined to do his part to preserve the liberty of France Victor Chapman was the first American airman to die in the war a profound outpouring of emotion swept across the French people as political and military leaders honored the volunteers great sacrifice the story of Chapman's death also received prominent coverage in newspapers across the United States and the American public hungry for first-hand accounts of the war in Europe began to eagerly follow the exploits of the Escadrille American in the wake of this publicity dozens of young American men set sail for France with the intention of enlisting into the famous squadron the Battle of Verdun had proven particularly grueling for the outnumbered fliers of the French air service but when the British finally began their offensive in the Somme region and some German squadrons were redeployed to the north the situation improved in the weeks following victor Chapman's death the Flyers of the Escadrille americon began to show some success when Bert Hall Norman Prince kiffin Rockwell and captain tahno each scored victories on the last day of July Rolf berry began a for victory spree that culminated with a pair of German planes shot down on August 4th in mid-september the Escadrille was pulled out of Verdun and sent to labore J the great aviation center on the outskirts of Paris the Americans had accounted well for themselves and the squadron victory roster sat at 12 kills and labore J the squadron was to receive Newport 17s and well awaiting their new machines they drank their way through what seemed like every cafe and bar in the French capital it was during this stay in Paris that the Escadrille acquired their famous mascot whiskey a young lion that the Flyers bought for the price of one hundred and twenty five francs the sight of the drunken American aviators in the Alliant mascot prowling the sidewalks of Paris must have raised more than a few eyebrows among that city's population a few months later after deciding that whiskey needed a sweetheart a young lioness was procured which the pilots named soda when the American Flyers received a new aircraft they were issued orders sending the squadron back to Luxio the same field where they'd begun their operational flying earlier in the year almost immediately the Escadrille suffered its second loss when Kiffin Rockwell fell into a trap set by German fighters sitting in high weight above a seemingly helpless two-seater Rockwell fell just behind the French lines not a mile from where he'd scored the Escadrille first victory four months earlier when pulled from his wrecked Newport his squadron mates were horrified to see a large hole in his chest where an explosive bullet had scored a hit that same morning look Barry had escaped a similar fate when he too had attacked a German observation plane and had been swooped down on by spree Fockers only by the narrowest margin had he been able to escape the trap and had brought his machine home riddled with holes the Escadrille American had no sooner settled into their new home in luck CL when they received orders to move again this time to Kashi up north in the Somme cache she was a huge airfield that served as the home base for nearly a dozen Eska drills to chase including the celebrated storks group the brightest star in this universe was of course George ghena Mir we just blasted his 25th German from the air and was now flying the rugged SPAD fighter in late November a single Spade was given to the American squadron which captained to know exercising his prerogative as a commanding officer kept for himself more allotments of the new fighter were quickened coming and the Escadrille gradually rheic whipped shortly after their arrival at kashi the Americans were issued a directive from the French General Headquarters that the name Escadrille americon was causing problems between the French government in the US State Department America was still a neutral country and the publicity the volunteer group was receiving had become the subject of a great protest with the German council in America a new name was needed and the squadron finally settled on Lafayette Escadrille in honor of the French general who date of the United States in the Revolutionary War with their new name the Escadrille also adopted a new insignia for their aircraft henceforth the size of all the machines of the Lafayette Escadrille would be adorned with the profile of an Indian chieftain the squadron had only been at kashi for two weeks when they lost one of the original members Burt Hall originally from Higginsville Missouri had become something of an annoyance to a squadron mates crude and boorish he was the misfit in the Escadrille a braggart who routinely cheated in cards and wasn't above forging other pilots names on his bar tabs Paul had developed the unsavory habit of poaching of the pilots victories on more than one occasion when a fellow pilot had severely damaged an enemy machine called it cut off his squadron made to finish the deed this behavior was at best considered ungentlemanly and when the other squadron members took their grievances to captain to know all was transferred out of the Escadrille and into Newport 103 one of the famous stork squadrons less than a month later Hall was kicked out of the storks and sent to Russia on a diplomatic aviation mission later upon America's entry into the war Hall would be released from duty with the French for transfer to the newly formed American air service but when he never bothered to report for duty would be listed as a deserter in both nations [Music] after the war bert hall would be convicted of bilking the chinese government out of $34,000 and he would spend two and a half years in prison for the crime a frequent visitor to the Lafayette Escadrille mess hut was Charles Mingus sir he'd been involved with the war since nearly the beginning like Rao lutherie Lunger said had setup from France as a young man in a series of adventures that found working as a professional boxer mechanic factory worker Private Pilot and finally as a racecar driver in South America when the German army had flooded into France in August of 1914 a tall blond Frenchman had packed his worn suitcase and sailed for home on the first boat available with the war barely a month old Nungesser was serving as a lieutenant in the infantry when he found himself cut off behind the lines with two men he was leading while sneaking through fields and hedgerows the trio had eventually ambushed a German staff car and killed its four occupants after stripping the enemy officers of what might have been important documents nun cosa had jumped behind the wheel and begun a madcap rush back to the French lines that ended with the car riddled with bullets but indeed some valuable intelligence gathered for the French generals Nungesser was awarded the module militare and allowed to keep the collar it didn't take long for Charles Nungesser to transfer to aviation first serving as a Voisin bomber pilot before being assigned to n65 where he flew Newport Scouts in the tradition of the great French aces Mingus a generally flew alone often returning to his home field with his machine riddled with holes braved to the point of recklessness and with a superb feeling for aerobatic flying winger said quickly began knocking down enemy aircraft [Music] by the beginning of 1916 he had been awarded the Legion of Honor and was one of the pilots selected to test fly a new biplane designed by the pannier company after barely leaving the ground the Pawnee are woefully unstable fell out of a turn and dropped to the ground in a spectacular crash Nungesser was pulled from the wreckage with most of his teeth gone this jar unhinged and both his legs broken three weeks later he appeared on the flight line at his home field hobbling on crutches for ready to resume combat operations before the end of hostilities in 1918 Mingus ax would be wounded 17 times it would eventually need to be lifted in and out of his cockpit by his mechanics by the time of Verdun Nungesser was granted a roving Commission and had briefly attached himself to Newport 124 where he flew alongside the volunteers of the Escadrille American Nungesser adored the brave Americans who had come to the aid of friends and he and Ralph Barry became great friends sharing similarities in both backgrounds and fighting techniques later when the Escadrille was stationed at the huge field of kashi the french ace had become a common sight holding court in the local cafes with the Americans when 1916 drew to a close nan gizzards official victory tally stood at twenty-one making him the second highest scoring French ace trailing behind only the great George G de Miran victories as the war entered its third winter many were disheartened that mankind's bloodiest year of fighting had brought the conflict no closer to a conclusion the years two great campaigns and Verdun and on the Somme had eliminated nearly two million young men from the face of the earth but accomplished little else the Western Front still lay locked in stalemate with hundreds of miles of trenches and barbed wire separating a shattered no-man's land the war in the air however had undergone a remarkable transformation the early days of madcap trial-and-error had given way to specialized machines and organized tactics and dozens of individual fliers had emerged as aces true leaders in this new arena of warfare that had rapidly evolved 1917 would see no more ground battles with the terrible scope that had characterized the preceding year but the war in the air would continue to intensify as a technological side of aviation improved and the air forces of the opposing nations continued to grow in size and purpose you

Channel: Jan Goldstein

Views: 69,979

Keywords: over the front, arras, ypres, wwi, World War I (Event), Western Front (Event), rfc, flying corps, escadrille, lafayette, hat in the ring, bert hall, von richthofen, red baron, peter jackson, desert rain, fokker, triplane, eindekker, mannock, billy bishop, albert ball, frank luke, old rhinebeck, albatross, pfalz, bmw, airfield, combat

Id: wyHoQxYKSuM

Length: 61min 33sec (3693 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 24 2013