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Leader of Jagdstaffel 11

Event ID: 604

Categories: 

Ein Heldenleben, Ullstein & Co, 1920

27 January 1917

50.367639, 3.03435
La Brayelle

Source ID: 55

Ein Heldenleben, Ullstein & Co, 1920 p.  196 

“Dear Mum!

You are surely wondering why I haven’t written. So much has happened in the meantime that I don’t know what to write first. I have become commander of Fighter Squadron 11 in Douai. I was reluctant to leave my fighter squadron Boelcke. All my resistance was to no avail.
Squadron 11 has been in existence for as long as my old one, but it has not shot down anyone yet, and I am not enjoying the work very much at the moment. The officer corps under my command consists of twelve men. I was lucky. On the first day, I shot down No. 17, and on the second, No. 18. When I shot down my eighteenth, my wing broke during the dogfight. Miraculously, I made it back to earth without crashing. On the same day, three aircraft from Boelcke’s fighter squadron were shot down, including the nice little Immelmann – what a shame! It is not impossible that the same thing happened to them as happened to me. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to come on leave, I would have liked to show you the Pour le Mérite.”

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