13 May 1917 – Richthofen down

Lothar von Richthofen from Jasta 11 was shot down today.

At around 1130 Lothar engaged 2nd Lieutenant F Thompson and Lieutenant Arthur Charles Champion Rawlins from 13 Squadron RFC in their BE2e (7130) and shot them down. They force landed near the front lines but escaped unharmed. The aircraft was subsequently destroyed by shellfire. Lothar was then hit by ground fire as he recrossed the lines and wounded in the leg. He crash landed and was out of action for five months. There was some compensation when he was awarded the Pour Le Mérite the next day.

Vernon Forster Stewart

The only combat casualties today were 2nd Lieutenant Vernon Forster Stewart and 2nd Lieutenant John Guthrie Troup from 16 Squadron who were shot down in their RE8 (A4245) whilst on artillery observation. Leutnant Karl Allmenroder also from Jasta 11 claimed victory.

28 April 1917 – More of the same

Captain Albert Ball from 56 Squadron was out on a lone wolf patrol in his SE5 (A4850). First he claimed to have driven down a hostile machine near Noyelles. He then destroyed an Albatros two-seater west of Cambrai. Finally he waited above the clouds for any hostile machines to appear and saw a two-seater Albatros which he promptly pursued. The enemy put its nose down and fled.

When at about 500 feet from the ground Captain Ball’s machine was hit by anti-aircraft and most of his controls were shot away and the fuselage was very severely damaged. He got into a spin but righted it and returned to the aerodrome where he made a perfect landing. In the event he was only credited with the Albatross west of Cambrai (for his 36th victory) – though German records do not record any losses that day.

Jasta 11 was also at work again. Early in the moring Manfred von Richthofen brought down 2nd Lieutenant Reginald William Follit and 2nd Lieutenant Frederick James Kirkham from 13 Squadron in BE2e 7221. Both were taken prisoner but Follit died shortly afterwards of his wounds.

Later that morning another group from Jasta 11 clashed with 16 Squadron. Leutnant Kurt Wolff shot down 2nd Lieutenant John Victor Wischer and 2nd Lieutenant Arthur A Baerlein in BE2g A2745. Both were taken prisoner.

16 Squadron suffered further casualties when Captain Augustus Wieland Bird and 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Charles Perryman in BE2e A2896 – had their patrol tank hit. They wrecked the aircraft making a forced landing near Vimy. Perryman was injured in the crash.

Eric Ogilvie McMurtry

Finally, Major Eric Ogilvie McMurtry And Lieutenant Harry Denver Mason were killed when their BE2e A2944 was hit by a British shell destroying the aircraft.

Last of all 2nd Lieutenant Clifford M Reece and 2nd Class Air Mechanic A Moult from 43 Squadron were shot down by Edmund Nathanael from Jasta 5  in their Sopwith Strutter A993.

20 April 1917 – Minor losses

The weather improved enough for some flying and various RFC units took the chance to carry out photographic work. Two aircraft were hit by anti aircraft fire and did not return, the crews were taken prisoner. These were:

George Alexander Newenham

2nd Lieutenant Alfred Ernest Crisp and 2nd Lieutenant George Alexander Newenham from 43 Squadron in Sopwith Strutter A1098.

Sergeant John Dangerfield and 2nd Class Air Mechanic E D Harvey from 16 Squadron in BE2c 2553.

We are more aware of the circumstances of Crisp and Newenham as officers captured were required to submit a report to the War Office to ensure their capture was legitimate. Enlisted men were not.

Lieutenant Billy Bishop from 60 Squadron also claimed to have shot down a German two-seater in flames near Biache-Saint-Vaast but the Germans conceded no losses and the combat was not seen by anyone else.

9 April 1917 – A new offensive

The latest British offensive opened today. The attack front runs from Givenchy-en-Gohelle in the north to a point near Croisilles in the south. The capture of Vimy Ridge, the key position in the north, has been entrusted to the right of the First Army (chiefly the Canadian Corps reinforced by the 5th Division and by heavy artillery of the I Corps). The rest of the attack will be carried out by the Third Army.

The total strength of the Royal Flying Corps along the whole front of the First and Third Armies is 25 squadrons, with 365 serviceable aeroplanes of which a third are single-seater fighters (56 Squadron will also be available shortly with its SE5 fighters). The German Sixth Army in opposition has an air strength of eighteen reconnaissance and artillery flights, five fighter flights, and seven protection flights, comprising a total of 195 aeroplanes, with alsomost half being fighters. That said, the German aircraft (and the fighters in particular are superior to the British, and have been in place in numbers since the autumn of 1916 giving the German pilots plenty of time to learn appropriate tactics. The British are bringing on a number of new types on stream but these are untested in combat.

The plan of attack followed a series of short advances, the capture of each successive objective being timed in accordance with a pre-arranged programme. Under this programme contact patrol aeroplanes (A variety of BE types) from 12, 13 and 16 Squadrons flew over the front to detect and report on progress which would be signalled by flares in response to Klaxxon horns sounded by the aircraft.

Aircraft were up from 0600 to follow the advance which took place in snowy conditions. The aircraft nevertheless were able to report progress and points of enemy resistance and most of the objectives were taken by the end of the day. Despite this intensive activity only one aircraft went missing, that of 2nd Lieutenant Ernest Buxton Smyth and 2nd Lieutenant S Cooper from 16 Squadron who were hit by a shell in BE2g 6818 and crashed in no-mans land (in the end they were found wounded in an abandoned German dugout a few days later when the advance continued).

Their colleagues 2nd Lieutenants Vernon Forster Stewart and George Ronald Yorston Stout were shot up and crashed, writing off their BE2f (2550) – both men were unharmed though.

12 Squadron wrote off two of its BE2e’s. Lieutenant Norman Thirmbeck Croft and Lieutenant John McDougall Musson crashed BE2e A3159 after being shot through by machine -gun fire. More prosaically, Lieutenant George Hall Gordon and Lieutenant Lionel Baker-Jones crashed their BE2e (7078) when they were caught by a gust of wind on landing.

Finally 13 Squadron had 6 of its aircraft destroyed. Lieutenant Kenneth Capel (Ok) & Lieutenant Jack Brooker crashed and wrote off BE2c 4493 after a forced landing. Lieutenant Douglas Herbert Bell and Captain W W Boyd did the same to their BE2d (5875). Lieutenant Frederick Albert Victor Cook and Lieutenant John Edward Albert Robertson Daly crashed their BE2c 5437 in no-mans land after being hit by machine gun fire. Lieutenant John Hamilton Norton and Captain Theodore Laird Tibbs, also crashed in no-mans land after bing hit by artillery fire. Both aircraft were destroyed. In the end though, all four crews survived unhurt.

The other two were lost when they overturned on the aerodrome on take off. Lieutenant Eric Redgrave Gunner and Lieutenant Cecil Curtis in BE2e (A2867) and Lieutenant Leslie Robin Neville and Lieutenant William Ewart Wittrick Cushing in BE2e (6262) were the guilty parties.

In the end there were only two fatalities during the day when observer Lieutenant Harold George Collins from 48 Squadron was killed on patrol. His pilot Lieutenant John Herbert Towne Letts got their Bristol F2B (A3315) back. They also claimed to have shot down two Albatrosses. Also Lieutenant Johannes Hieronymus Brink from 4 Squadron was wounded and later died when he and his observer Lieutenant Robert Ellis Heath (who was wounded) were shot down and crashed in their BE2d 5742 This has traditionally been allocated to Leutnant Karl Schaeffer from Jasta 11 but this seems unlikely as he was serving on a different part of the front at the time.

28 March 1917 – A new Richthofen

The Nieuport 17s of 1 Squadron RFC were out on observation patrol at around 1030 led by Captain Christopher Joseph Quintin Brand when they were attacked by a 5 strong patrol from Jasta 30. In the ensuing fight 2nd Lieutenant Hugh (Toby) Welch (in A6615) was shot down and killed by Oberlieutenant Hans Bethge. Bethge was then attacked by Lieutenant Cecil Christian Clark (in A6672) and Lieutenant Edwin Stuart Travis Cole (in A6603). Both attackers claimed the aircraft was forced down out of control but Bethge landed safely behind the lines and was unhurt.

Later in the day, 2nd Lieutenant Horace William Owen and Private Nolan from 52 Squadron were out on a joyride in BE2e 2560 when they got lost in the mist and came under AA fire which stopped their engine. They forced landed near Villiers and were taken prisoner. Presumably the sponsors of their aircraft – the European and Indian Staff of the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway Co were not impressed.

Later in the day around 1720, the younger brother of Manfred von Richthofen – Lothar claimed his first victory when 2nd Lieutenant Norman Leslie Knight and 2nd Lieutenant Alfred George Severs from 25 Squadron were shot down in flames in their FE2b (7715). Knight force landed in no-mans land and was taken prisoner. Severs was killed. It’s likely that Lothar was handed the victory to start his score.

Finally three members of 16 Squadron were wounded by AA fire on patrol, 2nd Lieutenant Richard Hilton Lloyd, 2nd Lieutenant Osbert Richmond Knight and 2nd Lieutenant William Drury Brooke Taylor.

21 March 1917 – The Prince

Prince Friedrich Karl

Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia was the commander of Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 258, an artillery spotting unit, but was allowed to fly patrols in a single-seat fighter with the nearby Jasta Boelcke whenever possible. He was on patrol today with four other aircraft in Albatross DI 410/16 when they attacked 4 aircraft from 32 Squadron RFC. In the fight, Lieutenant Charles Edward Murray Pickthorn in his DH2, who had just been promoted to Flight Commander, put a bullet in the Prince’s engine and shot him in the foot. For once, there was a strong easterly wind blowing and Prince Friedrich was forced down in no-mans land some 200m in front of the forward posts of Australian 26 Battalion near Vaulx Wood. He tried to make a run for the German lines but was shot in the back by fire from Corporal BG James and EJ Powell. Private CH Hall ran out and captured the Prince, joined shortly by some Light Horsemen. Soon they were joined by Captain’s RG Legge and SW Neale, who eased the Prince’s concerns about being taken prisoner by Australians. Unfortunately for the Prince, his wounds were severe and he died on 6 April 1917.

This was the only good news for the RFC today as no other enemy aircraft were claimed and the RFC lost four other aircraft.

Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones

Lieutenant Harold William Ludlow Poole 2nd Class Air Mechanic Arthur J Ball from 43 Squadron in Sopwith Strutter A2390 got int a fight with Leutnant Karl Allmenroder from Jasta 11. He shot through their petrol tank and they made a forced landing near Mazingarbe. Their aircraft burst into flames. Poole escaped but Ball was wounded and later died.

Lieutenant Edwin Louis Benbow MC from 40 Squadron was hit by AA fire and wounded in the back. He was forced to land his Nieuport 17 A6734 – near Ablain St Nazaire. Earlier that day, Benbow had emerged unscathed from Nieuport 23 A6782 when a wheel buckled and the machine overturned on landing.

Sidney Herbert Quicke

Captain Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones from 24 Squadron in DH2 A305 was badly shot up in a fight and was last seen in spinning nose-dive at 1,000 feet over Roupy. He crash landed and somehow survived despite extensive injuries. He did not serve at the front again.

William John Lindsey

Finally,  Flight Sergeant Sidney Herbert Quicke and 2nd Lieutenant William John Lidsey From 16 Squadron were shot down by Manfred Von Richthofen in their BE2e. Quicke was killed in the crash, and although Lindsey survived he died later of his injuries. Quicke was one of the original RFC men who went to France in August 1914 when he was serving as a mechanic with 4 Squadron RFC.

17 March 1916 – Mass brawls

There was intense activity in the air today.

Arthur Elsdale Boultbee

This morning the biggest scrap involved 18 aircraft – 43 Squadron RFCwere on a photo reconnaissance mission over Beaumont covered by 25 Squadron RFC- and 17 enemy aircraft including 9 from Jasta 11. The British claimed six aircraft downed, but the German’s did not report any losses. The RFC lost three aircraft. Manfred von Richthofen claimed his 27th victory in Lieutenant Arthur Elsdale Boultebee and 1st Class Air Mechanic Frederick King from 25 Squadron, though accounts at the time suggested their FE2b (A5439) was actually crippled by AA fire before von Richthofen finished it off. Both men were killed. 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Leslie Constable and 2nd Lieutenant Charles Duncan Knox from 43 Squadron were shot down in their Sopwith Strutter (A1097) by Leutnant Kurt Wolff from Jasta 11. Their colleagues, 2nd Lieutenant James Cook Rimer and 2nd Lieutenant Reginald Herbert Lownds in Sopwith Strutter A1111 were shot down by Leutnant Karl Allmenroder. All four were killed.

George Macdonald Watt

Late in the day around 1600, Manfred von Richthofen claimed a second victory when he claimed to have shot down 2nd Lieutenant George Macdonald Watt and Sergeant Ernest Adam Howlett from 16 Squadron RFC in BE2c 2814. Both men were killed.

It wasn’t all scout victories as Wilhelm Hippert and Heinrich Klose from FFA227 shot down Lieutenant W Anderson and Lieutenant Duncan B Woolley from 20 Squadron in their FE2d (A27). They were taken prisoner.

11 Squadron RFC and Jasta 2 clashed with Jasta 2 getting the better of the fight. Lieutenant Archibald Campbell Woodman and 2nd Lieutenant Reginald Charles Cox claimed to have shot down one enemy aircraft but were in turn shot down in their FE2b (4979). They crashed near Grevillers and totalled the aircraft, Cox was wounded but Woodman was unhurt. Lieutenant Norman Hatfield Read and 2nd Lieutenant Larry William Nevile-Smith in FE2b 7694 were also brought down but escaped unhurt. Their colleagues 2nd Lieutenant Russell Wilfred Cross and Lieutenant Christopher Fryers Lodge were less lucky as they were shot down and taken prisoner in their FE2b (7695). Werner Voss and Heinrich Gontermann both made claims but there is some confusion as to who did what though Cross and Lodge is traditionally attributed to Voss.

Voss also made a later claim to have shot down Lieutenant Theodore Algernon Cooch from 32 Squadron RFC in his DH2 (A2583). The aircraft was completely wrecked near Bapaume and Cooch was wounded in the back.

4 Squadron RFC were up on an artillery patrol when 2nd Lieutenant John Thwaytes and 2nd Lieutenant Gerald Hugh Temple Bourne in BE2c 2755 were brought down, most likely be anti-aircraft fire. Their plane was totally wrecked and both were killed. Their colleagues 2nd Lieutenant Norman Hay Colson and 2nd Lieutenant Harold Bagshaw Mann in BE2d 6740 were attacked by 6 enemy aircraft and shot down. Colson was injured but Mann escaped unhurt.

Aaron Appleton

Jasta 18 made 2 claims. At around 1020, 2nd Lieutenant Alex Ivan Gilson from 1 Squadron RFC was shot down in spinning nosedive near during a combat with 8 enemy aircraft. Leutnant Paul Strähle claimed the victory. Two hours later, 2nd Lieutenant Aaron Appleton and Corporal Albert Cooper from 6 Squadron RFC were shot down in flames  in their BE2d (6241) following an attack by 5 enemy aircraft. Oberleutnant Heino Grieffenhagen claimed the victory. All four were killed.

6 March 1917 – Von Richthofen shot down

Today saw one of the busiest days of action on the Western Front.

This morning, 43 Squadron RFC in their Sopwith Strutters were on a reconnaissance mission escorted by FE8s from 40 Squadron RFC. Jasta 11 scrambled to intercept them. The combat showed that a strong formation could protect against the superior German fighters.

Edwin Louis Benbow

In the ensuing fight 40 Squadron’s Captain Robert Gregory in FE8 6384, and Lieutenant Edwin Louis Benbow in FE8 A4871, claimed to have shot down an Albatross Scout Albatros Scout in flames. Captain Harold Harrington Balfour and 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Roberts in Sopwith Strutter A1097 and 2nd Lieutenant Charles Price Thornton and Lieutenant Harry Dudley Blackburn, in another Sopwith Strutter also claimed to have shot down enemy scouts.

In the event, Manfred Von Richthofen had his engine and fuel tanks shot through and made a forced landing behind the lines. His colleague Leutnant Hans-Georg Eduard Lübbert was also shot down. He was wounded but made a successful landing behind his own lines. Von Richthofen attempted to claim that on of the Sopwith Strutters hit him, but contemporary accounts suggest it is more likely that one of the FE8s hit him most likely Benbow. Presumably,  the fact of him being shot down by another fighter was to much for Von Richthofen or the propaganda machine.

Geoffrey Brichta

43 Squadron did not get away scot-free as 2nd Lieutenant Stanley James Pepler and Captain James Duff Stuart were shot down in flames and killed in their Sopwith Strutter (A978) by Leutnant Karl Schaeffer.

Gerald Gosset-Bibby

Von Richthofen describes in his book that the officer who picked him up had no idea who he was and only realised in the mess hall when he came in wearing his Pour Le Merite. At that point he “feasted me with oysters and champagne”.

George Milne Underwood

Von Richthofen was back in the air in the afternoon where his patrol encountered 16 Squadron RFC. He shot down and killed 2nd Lieutenant Gerald Maurice Gosset-Bibby and Lieutenant Geoffrey Joseph Ogilvy Brichta in their BE2e (A2785).

Earlier in the day, his colleague Leutnant Kurt Wolff had claimed his first victory over another 16 Squadron aircraft when he shot down 2nd Lieutenant Albert Edward Watts and 2nd Lieutenant George Milne Underwood in their BE2d 5856. Both were killed in the crash.

It was a bad day for the RFC as another 6 crew were killed and 6 taken prisoner.

Evelyn Paget Graves

Jasta 1 came of better in a fight with 60 Squadron RFC as 2nd Lieutenant Philip Solomon Joyce was shot down in his Nieuport 16 (A208) by Obleutnant Hans Kummetz and Major Evelyn Paget Graves was brought down in flames in his Nieuport 17 (A213) by Walter Cymera.

Jasta 2 shot down two aircraft from 57 Squadron RFC and took both crews prisoner. They were Lieutenant Francis Eric Hills and 2nd Lieutenant Alfred Gordan Ryall in FE2d A1948 and Captain William Swanson Read Bloomfield and 2nd Lieutenant Victor Oswald Lonsdale in FE2d A1953.

Their colleagues Lieutenant William Frederick Waller Hills and 2nd Lieutenant William Sutton Gardner in FE2d A1963 were less lucky as they suffered a broken propeller following an attack by Vitzfeldwebel Heinrich Büssing from Jasta 5. They crashed and were killed.

Lieutenant Cuthbert William Short MC and Lieutenant Simon MacKay Fraser of 3 Squadron wre4 shot down in their Morane P (A268). Short managed to land in friendly territory but later died of his wounds. Edmund Nathanael from Jasta 5 claimed the victory.

Denys Greenhow

Captain John Ewart MacKay and 2nd Lieutenant Denys Edward Greenhow from 45 Squadron were attacked by 5 enemy aircraft and shot down in their Sopwith Strutter A1072. MacKay was able to land the aircraft but Greenhow had been killed.  Both Karl Schaeffer from Jasta 11 and R Kralewski from Jasta 4 claimed victory.

Later in the afternoon Jasta 2 encountered 32 Squadron RFC another 2 aircraft were shot down and the crews taken prisoner.They were Lieutenant Maximilian John Jules Gabriel Mare-Montembault MC in DH2 7882 shot down by Oberleutnant Adolf Ritter von Tutschek and Captain Herbert Gordon Southon in DH2 7941 shot down by Leutnant Werner Voss.

 

17 February 1917 -More deaths

An artillery observation mission from 53 Squadron met with mixed results. 2nd Lieutenant David McConnell Kerr and 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Charles Elstob claimed to have shot down a Halberstadt out of control near Wytschaete shortly after midday, though this went unconfirmed. Their colleagues Frank William Harris Simpson and Sergeant Trumpeter Charles John Edlington were killed when their BE2c (6313) broke up in vertical nosedive after descending out of control from 9,000 feet near Nieppe. The cause is unknown.

Another BE2c (4179), this time from 16 Squadron RFC was also lost. 2nd Lt Ernest William Lindley and 2nd Lieutenant Leslie Vincent Munn 16 Squadron were out on a familiarisation mission when they strayed across the lines and were shot down by Leutnant Karl Allmenroder from Jasta 11 for his first victory. The aircraft apparently landed intact but Munn was already dead and Lindsey died later of his wounds.

Back in England, Hercules Ralph Langrishe from 13 Reserve Squadron was killed when his Avro 504 (A1995). He got into a stall and then the aircraft nose dived from only 100 feet and crashed. His aircraft then burst into flames.

In better news, Sergeant H G Smith & Lieutenant  John William Aldred from 5 Squadron shot down an Albatros Scout in flames near Hebuterne killing the pilot Leutnant Hans Gutermuth from Jasta 5.

 

 

 

11 January 1917

The weather today limited operational flying. Overnight the Germans made a rare trip over the lines to bomb 16 Squadron’s airfield at Bruay.  THere were no casualties, but 5 aircraft were damaged in their hangar.

The only casualty of the day was 2nd Lieutenant Raymond Hopper from 60 Squadron RFC who was killed in a flying accident near Savy. He was out on a practice flight in a Nieuport 16 (A187). Whilst gliding in at 500 feet  he tried to turn but was seen to nosedive into the ground. Hopper was killed instantly.

Accidents that happen on the home front are normally investigated by an inquest. As this accident occurred at the front there was no inquest and the cause of the accident is not known.  He is therefore listed as killed in action.