I want to deploy a greater number

    Event ID: 817

    Categories: 

    Air Combat
    English
    Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 - Volume 1 - Bruno Schmäling - 2024 Aeronaut Books

    06 March 1917

    D621, 59552 Courchelettes, France
    La Brayelle

    Source ID: 71

    Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 - Volume 1 - Bruno Schmäling - 2024 Aeronaut Books p.  140 

    ISBN: 978-1-964637-05-1

    Opponent was  

    flying the     

    VS

    MvR was flying the   

    “Schwarm I, led by Richthofen, took off at around 10:00 am, and as Schäfer later wrote: ‘It was pretty hazy that morning. Geschwader II conducted a long flight without seeing a single Englishman. Schwarm I took off at 10:00 and saw only a few thetherd balloons standing peacefully at a low altitude. But far, far over the lines there was a lot of activity above the British airfields. The Lords, individually and in small groups, could be seen circling at low height, and none was coming forward. We all expected that Richthofen would resolutely wait, perhaps for hours and up to our last drop of fuel, for them to approach because the weather had turned beautiful and the business would surely have to start now. So there was great surprise when our lead airplane suddenly made a sharp turn towards home. Perhaps he had engine trouble or had not seen the English way over there. So I and two others stayed put. But Richthofen was there again, circling us and unmistakenly signaling with a wave: home. He called us together at the airfield: ‘Gentlemen, we’ll take ten minutes to refuel. There will be bloody business at the front in less than half an hour and I want to deploy a greater number of assembled aircraft. Please make sure everything is ready when we set off.’ It soon became clear how right he was.'”

    Comments (0)

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Back To Top