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MvR makes an emergency landing

Event ID: 431

Categories: 

Jagd in Flanderns Himmel, Karl Bodenschatz, Verlag Knorr & Hirth München, 1935

30 October 1917

50.920335335023864, 3.114266435050253
Zilverberg, Roeselare

Source ID: 58

Jagd in Flanderns Himmel, Karl Bodenschatz, Verlag Knorr & Hirth München, 1935 p.   

“On the last day of October, in rainy weather and a very cloudy sky, the Rittmeister, flying around with his regular squadron 11 high in the grey, wet wasteland looking for Englishmen, notices that one of his squadron’s planes is making rather strange noises. Is it stalling, breaking down, or what’s going on? The aircraft descends in a fairly fast glide and the Rittmeister gives a short jolt. It’s his brother Lothar! Something doesn’t seem right. And since he never abandons a comrade in a dicey situation, he doesn’t abandon him either and swoops after him in any case.

The descent is steep and the cavalry captain soon realises: his brother has to make an emergency landing, Satan knows why. So he has to make an emergency landing too. They both touch down in less than perfect terrain, first Lothar, then Manfred. Lothar makes a completely smooth, flawless landing. And that’s the last thing the cavalry captain sees, because he himself falls victim to some damn trick.

His aircraft touches down with a crash and bursts, splintering into several large and many small shreds and is, to use the language of aviation: ‘completely destroyed’. Somewhat baffled, the commander climbs out of the mess unscathed and his brother looks on, equally baffled. The Rittmeister doesn’t say a word and Lothar explains the situation somewhat sheepishly: his engine has failed, completely failed, and that’s why he had to get down as quickly as possible.”

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