tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post8889364274364716209..comments2024-03-27T10:17:14.784+00:00Comments on Eclectic Ephemera: My heroes: Leutnant Werner Voss (German Air Service) 1897-1917Bruce Partington-Planshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11336280062885272950noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post-49420101566867054172023-10-26T15:06:59.245+01:002023-10-26T15:06:59.245+01:00Thanks for your comment. I grant you that MvR mad...Thanks for your comment. I grant you that MvR made that remark about the Dr.1 and don’t doubt that he found many positive traits in it, however it doesn’t necessarily follow that he liked it unconditionally. I don’t think he would have appreciated early models’ propensity to lose their top wing in a dive (a manoeuvre that, as a self-professed hunter, he would undoubtedly use in dive-and-zoom, hit-and-run attacks), something that resulted in the death of two pilots and also very nearly killed his brother Lothar. Even after this was fixed the Dr.1 was not without its other flaws; although its three-wing layout did make it a manoeuvrable, fast climber it also made it slower than most comparable Allied fighters of the period – all of which would not have suited MvR’s preferred tactics (although I do accept he would have probably adapted them to meet the type’s strengths). Also, as a result of its early failings it was only at the Front for a relatively short space of time, from November 1917 to May 1918, and MvR only scored 19 of his eighty victories on the type. He may well have had his “pick” of planes but even he would have had to make do with what he had and there’s nothing I’ve read to indicate that he “chose” the Dr.1 over any other machine.<br /><br />You must remember that, as mentioned at the start of it, this “article” was a personal project about a subject that interested me (and still does) but which, as a mere 20-year-old as I was then, I was continuing to learn about. I would not have been confident enough to make such a statement as a matter of opinion – everything I wrote then, as now, would have been informed through a variety of reliable sources. My remark about MvR disliking the Triplane was drawn from several comments from different books in my collection. I’ll cite them below in case you would like to read them more closely:<br /><br /><i>Richthofen: A True History of The Red Baron</i>, William E. Burrows, Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd., 1970, p158: <br />‘Richthofen came to prefer the Dr.1 for its handling qualities but never liked it as much as many writers have said. He still leaned towards the Albatros D.V for its speed and diving characteristics.’<br /><br /><i>Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of The Red Baron</i>, Peter Kilduff, Arms & Armour Press, 1994, p181-2:<br />‘Richthofen noted his concerns in his letter of 27 February to Fritz von Falkenhayn:<br />“I am of the opinion that… rotary engines are no longer suitable for this war. Therefore I set no high value on having rotary engines in my <i>Geschwader</i>, even when they produce 200 horsepower. As the situation is now, I would prefer to have the Fokker [D.VII] with the BMW engine.”<br /><br /><i>A Brief History of The Royal Flying Corps in World War I</i>, Ralph Barker, Constable & Robinson Ltd., 2002, p366:<br />“Richthofen was not greatly enthused by it [the Dr.1]”<br /><br /><i>Marked For Death: The First War in the Air</i>, James Hamilton-Paterson, Head of Zeus Ltd., 2015, p196:<br />“Richthofen flew several different kinds of aircraft, only piloting his Triplane for a limited period when it accounted for a mere 19 of his 80 victories. The type he most favoured was the Albatros D.V, although he would almost certainly have switched to the formidable new Fokker D.VII when it came into squadron service in May 1918.”Bruce Partington-Planshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336280062885272950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post-57122477827282550072023-10-25T13:53:59.624+01:002023-10-25T13:53:59.624+01:00I've never, ever heard of MvR disliking the Fo...I've never, ever heard of MvR disliking the Fokker triplane before this article. Indeed, his initial comment on the aircraft was "It climbs like a monkey and manoeuvres like the devil".<br />Also, as a highly respected squadron leader, he would have had his pick of planes - yet he chose several triplanes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post-39881090344223531632021-08-17T02:30:57.042+01:002021-08-17T02:30:57.042+01:00I read about Werner Voss and the great WW1 aces wh...I read about Werner Voss and the great WW1 aces when I was a kid, back in the late 60's. Werner Voss was probably the greatest of all. You only have to look at photos of these pilots to see the stresses they endured. Voss looked more than 20 that's for sure. I fly combat flight sims and my favourite plane is the Fokker Dr1, so agile. Greetings from Australia.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17518473517878138516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post-16110544584726945542020-09-21T13:01:06.269+01:002020-09-21T13:01:06.269+01:00Hi Pipestrello. Thanks for the comment - yes I ha...Hi Pipestrello. Thanks for the comment - yes I had heard of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, I know they do a lot of displays there with original and replica aircraft from Peter Jackson's company the Vintage Aviator Ltd. Definitely somewhere to visit if I ever get to that side of the world, I agree. I'm very lucky in that there's a similar museum not half an hour's drive away from me <a href="https://www.stowmaries.org.uk/" rel="nofollow">here</a> with similar moving displays and fascinating dioramas. It's fast become my favourite place to visit and I intend to do a blog post about it at some point. Bruce Partington-Planshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11336280062885272950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6655974554267650893.post-12863232187448202592020-09-20T01:41:19.345+01:002020-09-20T01:41:19.345+01:00I wonder if you've heard of the Omaka Aviation...I wonder if you've heard of the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in NZ? Perhaps somewhere you may like to visit in the murky Future? While WWI aces are, unsurprisingly, not my forte, I spent hours there utterly engrossed on a visit some years ago. There's a striking set piece of a British pilot standing with his German captors beside his crashed aeroplane, all parties showing the admiration and respect for the unbelievable bravery and skill required of these young pioneer pilots.Pipistrellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07904613196101010022noreply@blogger.com