When he later achieved a less than desirable hit rate along a training course, as well as being taunted by a rival squadron, Bader took to the air to reclaim some of his honor. His superiors forbid such hazardous maneuvers but Bader ignored them. Here, he pushed himself even further, flying illegal and dangerous stunts. The latter would go on to achieve 29 aerial victories for the Luftwaffe ace Unteroffizier.Ī short time later, Bader became a pilot officer in № 23 Squadron RAF based at Kenley, Surrey. This award was a real blade given to the best cadet of the group. He competed with his rival Patrick Coote for the “Sword of Honour” award. By Eric Kennington Ī natural daredevil and quick learner, Bader managed to qualify for solo flight after only 11 hours and fifteen minutes of flight time. These were all considered illegal in his service, and Bader was nearly expelled after being caught one too many times.Ī head and shoulders portrait of Bader in RAF uniform and a cravat. An avid sportsman, he also enjoyed motorcycling and would race with other cadets in dangerous activities like speeding, pillion racing and buying and racing motorcars. He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter ace during World War II, credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Īfter joining the RAF in 1928, Bader was commissioned in 1930. Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader was born in February 1910. An eyewitness, Sergeant Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, claimed his last word was “kaputt”. On April 21, 1918, while over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River, he was fatally wounded. In his career, Richthofen was credited with 80 aerial combat victories. The two were embroiled in a long dogfight, and when Hawker attempted to retreat, Richthofen struck the finishing blow. In November 1916, he went to head-to-head with his most famous opponent, British ace Major Lanoe Hawker VC. He would dive from above, using the sun for concealment while he squad mates covered his rear. What set Richthofen apart from many of his peers was the more mechanical nature in which he forewent flashy, acrobatic tactics in place of cold efficiency. Manfred von Richthofen with other members of Jasta 11. These were a set of aerial combat maneuvers formulated by his squadron leader Boelcke. Unlike his brother, Richthofen adhered to his own set of rules, which were known as the “ Dicta Boelcke”. Richthofen’s brother, who was known for utilizing more aggressive and risky tactics, had collected 40 aerial victories. Rather than have trophies of a lesser quality, Richthofen stopped having the cups produced altogether. He continued this trend until he had amassed 60 cups but was forced to stop when the supply of silver in Germany had dwindled. When Richthofen had his first aerial victory confirmed, he had a jeweler in Berlin make a silver cup engraved with the date and model of enemy aircraft. A month later, Boelcke was killed in a mid-air collision with a friendly aircraft. His first aerial combat victory while in Jasta 2 was over Cambrai, France, in September. In 1916, Richthofen became one of the first members of Jasta 2, one of the best-known German Luftstreitkräfte Squadrons in World War I. The red Fokker Dr1 of Manfred von Richthofen on the ground. In search of candidates for a new unit, Boelcke approached Richthofen and drafted him into one of Germany’s first fighter squadrons. Despite this, he would hone his skills and soon received another visit from Oswald Boelcke. Some time later, Richthofen took to the skies and piloted his craft through a vicious thunderstorm despite the advice of his more experienced colleagues, an act he later regretted. He used this experience to set him on a trajectory to becoming a better pilot. Surprisingly, Richthofen did not appear to be a natural: he crashed during his first flight mission where he was in control. He then began training as a pilot in October. While in the Air Service, Manfred (not yet a legend) met another German ace fighter, Oswald Boelcke. After taking an interest in German airplanes, he decided to transfer to Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (Imperial German Army Air Service). However, when trench warfare made traditional cavalry operations obsolete, Richthofen became bored.
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