Jump to content

Fokker Dr.1 - Manfred von Richthofen, 03-09-1917


flight1
 Share

Recommended Posts

Advert


I was surprised when reading Richthofen’s diaries to find out how critical he was of the Dr1. He thought the build quality was poor and the plane structurally weak. He said that British aircraft were better. It’s certainly true that he was a brilliant pilot who got the best out of whatever he flew. The reputation of the German Air Force was based on a small cadre of exceptional pilots who were brought together into elite units. He was the best of those. However the comparison of the overall German fighter force wasn’t so good and the RFC/RAF overall was more effective. Worth remembering that the top scoring fighter of WW1 was the Camel, although there’s arguably a good case for saying that the SE5A was top dog. It wasn’t in any way outclassed by the DVII when it came along and the SE was considerably faster. I’ve recently got hold of the brilliant Hargreaves book about fighters of the 1914/18 war, my favourite “borrow”from the library in the sixties. Still fascinated by the amazing pace of development of fighter planes in WW1. Isn’t it fantastic that we are able to see film of these planes in service a hundred years later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted by Tom Sharp 2 on 13/01/2018 00:10:24:

Very impressive bit of film, much information, like oiling the rockers before starting, not seen this at a scale competition.

I notice Goring was amongst the pilots standing around Manfred.

Priming the engine with neat fuel in the exhaust ports, I think...

Goering was in the mix, but I don't think he was at Manfred's "Team Briefing" (obviously announcing the Jasta's rewards scheme and performance bonus details...)

The RFC pilot looked a little dishevelled and confused - not surprising if he'd just been shot down. His open jacket suggests he's been frisked as well (bet they nicked his watch). The gurning loon on the left is Anthony Fokker...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...