A close shave for Manfred

[Olham]

Here's some excerpt from the book "The Red Baron", that may show, how close the shave sometimes is.

Had he burnt that day, he would have been an ace with 28 victories - most people wouldn't know his name now,

and 52 planes wouldn't have been shot down by him..

 

March 19th, 1917, Manfred von Richthofen received a brand new aircraft, the Albatros DIII;

which he wanted to try out immediately. His flight encountered 9 F.E.8s of No.40 Squadron,

patrolling over Oppy, west of Douai.

 

"Now I am 50 metres away, a few good shots and then success is inevitable. So I thought.

But all of a sudden, there is a big bang; I have barely got off ten shots when again there

is a smack on my machine. It is clear I have been hit. At least my machine has been, [although] I personally have not. At the same moment it stinks something terrible of gasoline, also the engine slows down. The Englishman notices it, for now he shoots even more. I must break off immediately.

I go straight down. Instinctively, I have switched off the engine. Just in time. If the fuel tank is punctured and the stuff squirts around the legs, the danger of fire is indeed great.

Up front there is an internal combustion engine over 150 "horses" strong; glowing hot.

One drop of fuel (on it), and the whole machine will burn. I am leaving behind me a trail of white mist. I know it very well from opponents. It happens just before an explosion."

 

Richthofen was lucky. His engine quit altogether, minimizing the risk of fire, and his opponent withdrew. But he was still vulnerable, and checked constantly to be sure he was not followed. [...] Richthofen set down in a small meadow along the road to Hénin-Liétard.

 

On this day, April 21st, 1918; 11h50, the was hit by the bullet with his name on.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Olham

[+Polovski]

Add to that the bullet in the head before he was finally killed, and you realise how lucky a top Ace really had to be!

[Creaghorn]

Add to that the bullet in the head before he was finally killed, and you realise how lucky a top Ace really had to be!

 

even more often. he said how he on some days found holes in his flying jacket. once even through both of his boots.

[UK_Widowmaker]

Makes you wonder whether destiny had decided to keep him alive...or to take the lives of a further 52 men?... or both of course!

[Hauksbee]

Add to that the bullet in the head before he was finally killed...

That gets my vote for the most miraculous escape....

[JFM]

Hello!

 

All these subjects and more are meticulously detailed in an upcoming new book: http://www.airpowereditions.com/our-books-red-baron.html

 

For my two cents, MvR didn't "almost die" when he made a forced landing after his fuel tanks were punctured (which, for the record, happened 6 March 1917, not 19 March). Perhaps metaphorically, but not biologically; he wasn't even injured. Afterwards, he took an hour nap, dined on oysters and champagne and then later that day shot down his 24th. Neither did he almost die after being shot 6 July 1917. Neither time was he in danger of physical expiration.

[Olham]

Hhmm - did we read about the same event? Cause, in my book, it says he was driven to Arras

by an officer, who saw him; from Arras he phonecalled his Jasta and got brought back to his field,

were he entered another plane, and chased after the British planes again...

 

And I didn't mean to say: he got almost killed; I wanted to say: he could have got killed.

Excuse my English - I'm German.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Olham

[JFM]

Hhmm - did we read about the same event? Cause, in my book, it says he was driven to Arras

by an officer, how saw him; from Arras he phonecalled his Jasta and got brought back to his field,

were he entered another plane, and chased after the British planes again...

 

And I didn't mean to say: he got almost killed; I wanted to say: he could have got killed.

Excuse my English - I'm German.

 

Hallo!

 

Yes, we did. That's how Manfred describes it in his autobiography, except they drove to Hénin-Liétard. There, while waiting to be picked up, is where he napped and then ate lunch as a guest of the man who drove him from the landing site. Indeed, later that day MvR flew a sortie and shot down a BE2e.

 

Please don't apologize for your English! I know you are German, as I've read many posts, but your command of English is so superb that it never even dawned on me that you intended to write something else. So, I apologize to you.