Oskar Seldmaier

[Waldemar Kurtz 1]

I got really lucky with this one. I got shot down twice. the first time I was taken prisoner for 20 days but managed to escape.

 

such was my tremendous good fortune that I elected to go with the most outrageous paint scheme I could think of.

Edited August 22, 2010 by Waldemar Kurtz

[Waldemar Kurtz 1]

1/;6/;1915 ;8h;19 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;east of Lens, at 8:30 I noticed that anti-aircraft shells were bursting at around 5,000 ft. I lead my flight to go investigate. as we followed them for about 10 minutes, we caught up with them several miles north of Douai. they turned to engage us and a lengthy battle began. these were British machines of the single-bay biplane construction. all of these machines bore a black "1" on the upper right wing to the left of the British roundel. additionally there was a union jack flag behind the roundel on the fuselage. I battled with these three without results for about 10 minutes. turning did no apparent good. I saw that these machines had inferior weapons to ours: a single Lewis gun mounted on the left fuselage off-set to fire past the propeller. so finally I allowed one to get on my tail. I knew that if I zig-zagged in front of him he would have great difficulty hitting me even though he had the superior machine. I signalled to my men to attack him. they dutifully jumped right on the Briton's tail and opened fire. he broke away and I was able to jump on the tail of a British machine chasing one of my men. I fired over 100 rounds at a range of 300 ft and saw his lower right wing tip break away. he then fell behind our lines north of Douai at 8:46. my witnesses to this victory were Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener, spotter Status : Rejected ;74

 

1/;6/;1915 ;8h;19 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;over Douai aerodrome at 9:30 I spotted anti-aircraft shells bursting about a mile or two away. when I approached the unknown aircraft they were clearly British biplanes. they had a long thin fuselage and thick wings. two of them were brought down by anti-aircraft fire and fell in a crumpled smoking ruin. I caught up with the last one, which was of the ubiquitous BE2c type, and got ready to open fire. this machine was dark green all over and had a white stripe running along the fuselage. it also had a serial number in white on the tail fin, just in front of the rudder, which read "7631". I fired over 100 rounds into this machine at a distance of less than 100 ft. he burst into flames and fell behind our lines north of Douai. this victory was observed by a German spotter scarcely 3,000 ft away.. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener, spotter Status : Rejected ;74

 

2/;6/;1915 ;7h;59 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;at 8:10 I spotted anti-aircraft artillery shells bursting several thousand feet above our position. the most intense activity in front of us at 1 o'clock high. I could faintly make out three little specks in the distance and decided that even though there was four of us, I would rather withdraw from the attentions of these three machines. I hoped that if I flew away from them that the bursting of AA shells would distract them from our presence. after reversing direction I saw that the shell bursts were still drawing nearer to our formation and I decided to climb. I wanted to gain as much altitude as I could so that if the enemy were to overtake us we would have more options. by 8:15 it had become clear that one of the machines had been blown out of the sky by shell fire. I now saw the familiar sillohuettes of two BE2c approaching. so my attempt to climb proved advantageous. I swung around and got on the tail of the trailing machine and got within 100 ft of him before opening fire. after I had fired 60 shots he began spewing a thick black trail of smoke. I took this chance to attack the lead BE2c before resuming this combat. I made two more attacks on the trailing BE2c before it burst into flames at 8:18. this victory was witnessed by Herbert Ruge and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

2/;6/;1915 ;7h;59 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;after I had successfully attacked the trailing BE2c and left it staggering through the sky I turned my attentions to the flight leader. I pressed in below and behind him within 60 ft before opening fire. after I fired 60 shots the BE2c burst into flames. this victory was witnessed by Herbert Ruge and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

2/;6/;1915 ;7h;59 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;at 8:25 our flight was attacked from 10 o'clock high by three Bristol Scouts. after a long battle with much frustrating turning fights I found myself having fired off most of my ammunition with little to show for it. the Bristol Scout climbs faster and turns more readily than my Fokker. however, I soon found that if I favored right-hand turns that the Bristol Scouts were nearly powerless to hurt me-- and since the battle was happening on our side of the lines I waited and waited for a good chance to strike back. finally I saw that one of my men was in trouble. I got in behind one of the Bristol Scouts and fired on him. he turned away and after a lengthy series of nose-to-nose engagements I finally damaged him enough where he leveled out and began to descend. I must have attacked him a dozen times or so from 5,000 to 50 ft. finally as he was a few hundred feet above the ground I put in a long burst at him from his 2 o'clock high. he crashed into a forest north of Douai at 8:37. this victory was witnessed by Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

3/;6/;1915 ;12h;42 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;at take off we see that there is flak bursting directly over our heads. the time is 12:40 and we fly off in pursuit of these shell bursts hoping to intercept the enemy. after some 14 minutes of pursuit I catch up with a BE2c north of Houplin aerodrome. I have to circle back one so that my comrades can get closer. I then approach the BE2c from below and behind and get within 50 ft before I open fire. after firing 50 shots the BE2c bursts into flames and falls. it crashed north of Houplin aerodrome at 12:56. victory witnessed by Fedor Ruehl.. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Fedor Ruehl Status : Confirmed ;

 

3/;6/;1915 ;17h;27 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;at 17:40 I observe flak bursts at 10 o'clock high a few miles behind our front lines in the vicinity of Douai. I lead my men to investigate and discover that there are three BE2c in the area. they are flying in a V-formation and drop their bombs south of Douai. we meet them at nearly 8000 ft and attack. I select my first opponent and get in behind him and use the blind spot under his tail to get within 100 ft of him. I fire a 50 round burst and he begans to slowly descend. after this I turn around and attack another machine and send it down in flames. I return to the first fellow and set him on fire with a 100 round burst. after several long minutes of gliding he burned all the way down. he crashes south of Lagnicourt at 17:58. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herberg Ruge, Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

3/;6/;1915 ;17h;27 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;attacked a BE2c over Lagnicourt. he went into a series of zig-zags and I followed him. after I had fired 100 rounds into him he fell south of Lagnicourt at 17:55. this victory was witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Rejected ;68

 

3/;6/;1915 ;17h;27 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;at 18:00 I spotted the last remaining BE2c and saw that it was struggling to evade falk bursts. it was gradually descending, so I decided to dive on it's tail and send it down. after firing over 150 rounds into this machine it fell south of Lagnicourt, utterly destroyed. victory witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

4/;6/;1915 ;12h;16 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;fought with three Bristol Scouts south east of Lens at 7000 ft. after ten minutes of turn-fighting I got behind a Bristol Scout and fired over 200 rounds into this machine. it crashed SE of Lens at 12.37. victory witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

4/;6/;1915 ;12h;16 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;spotted three BE2c flying towards the Front east of Arras. pursued them all the way to Hesdigneul aerodrome. got within 30 ft of the trailing BE2c and shot it down in flames. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Rejected ;67

 

4/;6/;1915 ;12h;16 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;shot this aircraft down in flames over Hesdigneul aerodrome after firing 100 rounds into the enemy machine. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

6/;6/;1915 ;10h;51 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;attacked a Bristol Scout north of Douai at 11:10. fired about 50 rounds into it and it went down in flames. it crashed north of Douai a minute later. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

6/;6/;1915 ;10h;51 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;over the front lines east of Arras, we spotted three BE2c heading west. we dove down on their formation and attacked. I selected the trailing machine and shot him up until he started burning. he crashed behind enemy lines at 11:28. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener.. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

6/;6/;1915 ;10h;51 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;attacked the second of three BE2c over Arras. got within 50 ft of the enemy machine and shot him constantly until he began to burn. he crashed north of Arras at 11:28, mere seconds after my previous kill. this victory was witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

6/;6/;1915 ;10h;51 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;attacked the third, and final, BE2c over Arras at low altitude. we had passed over the trenches and had suffered from machine gun fire in our pursuit. I was fortunate that I wasn't brought down in flames as I was a few days ago. I got in very close, perhaps 30 feet, and fired about 100 rounds in one long burst. the BE2c erupted in flames and left a thick black trail of smoke behind it. it crashed at 11:29 north of Arras. witnessed by Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, and Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Fedor Ruehl, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

7/;6/;1915 ;6h;4 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;encountered three BE2c west of Lens. approached from below and behind and caught my first victim completely unawares. I got up at point blank range and fired 150 rounds into the British two-seater and it burst into flames. witnessed by Moritz Frank. Witnessed by: Moritz Frank Status : Confirmed ;

 

7/;6/;1915 ;6h;4 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;after destroying my first adversary I turned my attentions to another. once again, I closed within point-blank range of the enemy two-seater, and shot at him until he began to burn. the BE2c crashed west of Lens at about 6:30. witnessed by Moritz Frank . Witnessed by: Moritz Frank Status : Confirmed ;

 

7/;6/;1915 ;6h;4 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;our flight was attacked from above by three Bristol Scouts around 7 o'clock. I lost sight of two of my men. but Moritz Frank skillfully shot down two of the Bristol Scouts during our battle. I picked one Bristol Scout and fired 200 rounds into him at a range of 300 ft. he crashed at 7:05 west of Lens. witnessed by Moritz Frank. Witnessed by: Moritz Frank Status : Rejected ;69

 

29/;6/;1915 ;12h;3 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;at 12:35, east of Arras, I spotted a trio of British two-seaters at low altitude heading towards Arras. I dove on this formation and attacked the trailing machine. I fired over 50 rounds into the BE2c which promtply crashed at 12:40. witnessed by Udo Eisermann, Waldemar Diener, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge. Witnessed by: Udo Eisermann, Waldemar Diener, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge Status : Confirmed ;

 

29/;6/;1915 ;12h;3 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;attacked a second BE2c immediately after the first vicitm. I opened fire when about 200 ft away. after having fired 200 bullets the enemy crashed just inside of enemy lines at around 12:43. this victory was witnessed by Udo Eisermann, Waldemar Diener, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge. Witnessed by: Udo Eisermann, Waldemar Diener, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge Status : Confirmed ;

 

29/;6/;1915 ;16h;29 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Reconnaisance ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;found a Bristol Scout attacking a balloon south of Cappy. I dove on the enemy and fired over 200 rounds into the enemy machine, which burst into flames. it crashed south of Cappy. witnessed by Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Rejected ;72

 

1/;7/;1915 ;7h;4 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Balloon Busting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;attacked a Bristol Scout at a height of 4,500 ft east of Etrun at 07:22. after firing over 200 rounds into the machine, it crashed at 07:23. this victory was witnessed by Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge, Waldemar Diener Status : Confirmed ;

 

5/;7/;1915 ;15h;35 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Patrol Behind Friendly Front Lines ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;after a very long pursuit of several BE2c our flight was then attacked by three Bristol Scouts. one of our men was shot down and we were in a bad spot. I attacked on Bristol Scout at close range, firing about 75 rounds into him. he crashed at 15:58 east of Phalempin. witnessed by Phillip Lauffer. Witnessed by: Phillip Lauffer Status : Confirmed ;

 

6/;7/;1915 ;7h;31 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;while our flight was battling Bristol Scouts at 07:50 I saw a flight of BE2c high above us. after Moritz Frank and Waldemar Diener both shot down a Bristol Scout in flames we went hunting for the British two-seaters. after nearly 40 minutes of fruitless searching we saw flak bursts east of Bapaume. I began to climb and headed towards the lines in hopes of cutting off their escape. I attacked an olive green BE2c from RFC 7 squadron at a range of 35 ft. I fired about 50 rounds into the BE2c and it burst into flames. witnessed by Waldemar Diener, Moritz Frank, Peter Schaefer, and Herbert Ruge. Witnessed by: Waldemar Diener, Moritz Frank, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge Status : Pending ;72

 

6/;7/;1915 ;7h;31 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Artillery spotting ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;RAF BE2c . ;I attacked the enemy BE2c north of Beugnatre. I pressed in very close to the enemy two-seater and fired over 50 rounds into him. the BE2c burst into flames and crashed near the trenches. witnessed by Waldemar Diener. Witnessed by: Waldemar Diener, Moritz Frank, Peter Schaefer, Herbert Ruge Status : Pending ;72

 

6/;7/;1915 ;12h;20 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Balloon Defense ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;our flight became involved in a large dogfight with Bristol Scouts south west of Douai at 12:30. after a long battle I finally got on the tail of a Bristol Scout who attempted to evade me by going into a high speed diving turn. I fired 40 rounds into him and he straightened out and dove straight into the ground at terrific speed. he crashed at 12:38. the enemy machine was utterly destroyed. witnessed by Otto Parschau, Oswald Boelcke. Witnessed by: Otto Parschau, Oswald Boelcke, Konrad Eberle Status : Pending ;78

 

6/;7/;1915 ;12h;20 ;Flanders ;Douai ;Balloon Defense ; Flying: Fokker EIII. On this day claims: ;1 ;Bris Scout A . ;close to the front lines we found another flight of enemy machines. Max Immelmann attacked one who promptly dove away. since my flight was lower, I took this opportunity to prevent his escape. I got on his tail and fired 200 rounds or so into him over the course of a one minute battle. the Bristol Scout burst into flames at 13:00 and crashed later. witnessed by Konrad Eberle. Witnessed by: Otto Parschau, Oswald Boelcke, Konrad Eberle Status : Pending ;78

[RAF_Louvert 101]

.

 

And so ends the life of another young OFF pilot who had a brilliant start. A sharp looking plane too, Waldemar Kurtz, sad that he will no longer be flying it. Also, I observe a definite difference between your Oskar's record and my Paul's. You have 18 confirmed kills and 28 claims in just over 21 hours, while I have 10 confirmed kills and 19 claims in 78 hours. Dare I say that Oskar may have been a bit too aggresive in his tactics, thus adding to the likelihood of his early demise? Food for thought. BTW, nice write-ups in your claim forms, Sir.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

.

[Morris 2]

well done Mr. Kurtz.

 

[Waldemar Kurtz 1]

oh yeah, I forgot to mention how he died. he was attacking a Bristol Scout at his preferred distance of... 35 ft! y'know how sometimes when you shoot down an enemy plane they lurch up and go into a Dead Man's spiral. well... that lurching up part is what got Oskar killed!

 

normally I dive off to one side (usually the right) to avoid collisions before preparing another attack. breaking right also makes it harder for Bristol Scouts to get on my tail.

 

with this last attack I started climbing off to the left side... this was an obvious mistake because if the Bristol pilot had not just gotten himself killed he could have gotten on my tail if he were any good.

 

so... yeah, food for thought.

 

I knew some of the claims would never get accepted because my wingmen were over 1000 ft away... but I went for the kills anyway out of... um "strong moral convictions"?

 

yeah, that's it. that's the ticket.

[Hellshade 110]

oh yeah, I forgot to mention how he died. he was attacking a Bristol Scout at his preferred distance of... 35 ft! y'know how sometimes when you shoot down an enemy plane they lurch up and go into a Dead Man's spiral. well... that lurching up part is what got Oskar killed!

 

 

Sounds like my kind of pilot. I shall mourn his passing, as he was obviously a credit to his nation.

 

Hellshade

[Olham 164]

Some good achievements there, Waldemar! Not easy to make on the E.III, surely.

And one day, when the "young pilot's temper" has cooled down a bit, you may

consider RAF_Louvert's hint, to care for yourself a little more - you will be able to

make it for a much longer time then.

Good paint sheme!