Hauksbee 103 Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) You will recall the respect that Waldo and Ezra Stiles had for Ernst Kessler? Here's the man himself (Udet) in fine form. Edited December 13, 2015 by Hauksbee 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+whiteknight06604 934 Posted December 13, 2015 damn...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 13, 2015 (edited) Yeah, I posted this some time ago - it is a most amazing stunt surely! A German actress said in an interview, that Ernst Udet must have promised his soul to the devil for this ability of flying. And he did walk with the devil later. Goering "bought" him with two brand new American Curtiss Hawk, which Udet studied for his ideas about dive bombing (Udet invented the Stuka, incl. the "Jericho trumpet"). He also used them for air show stunt flying. One of these planes can still be seen, in the Aviation Museum, Cracow, Poland. Edited December 13, 2015 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 13, 2015 ...which Udet studied for his ideas about dive bombing (Udet invented the Stuka, incl. the "Jericho trumpet"). Right. The Chicago Air Show had to make a choice that year between inviting Ernst Udet or Gerhard Fiesler (designer of the Fiesler Storch) Fiesler specialized in aerobatics done slowly and near to the ground. Pretty dangerous stuff. Udet favored the screaming power dive. Thrilling, but on two occasions vibration caused the fuselage to fail and the tail assembly to tear off. Udet got the nod. He was already aware of the U.S.Navy's dive-bombing studies. When he arrived in America he was offered a chance to try out the new Curtiss Hawk. He was much impressed and told Goering that Germany needed one of these to study. Goering bought him two, but the price was Udet had to join the Nazi government. It cost him his life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch_P47M 9 Posted December 13, 2015 On Discovery channel was a nice docu a couple of years ago, about that Udet did give his soul to the devil, think a short youtube search would bring this docu up!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itmAdu7xsWU here it is!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 5 Posted December 13, 2015 By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot? (Great video by the way). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 13, 2015 By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot? (Great video by the way). Not, when it looks like you cannot stop it from doing so, Wayfarer! Which I assume it DOES look like to your CO... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wayfarer 5 Posted December 13, 2015 Not, when it looks like you cannot stop it from doing so, Wayfarer! Which I assume it DOES look like to your CO... Ah ... I knew it was too much to hope for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 13, 2015 By coincidence, my RE8 always does that when I come in for a landing ... does that make me an ace pilot? Any landing you walk away from is a good one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) Udet took the then teenager Eric Brown up for a trip in a Bucker Jungmann and he was most impressed and then decided to learn German and to fly himself. Udet was a terrific pilot by all accounts. See "Wings on my sleeve" by Capt. Eric Brown Edited December 14, 2015 by JimAttrill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 14, 2015 ...and, in a post-war move that has never been adequately explained, Udet was allowed to circumvent the stringent Versailles Treaty prohibition on military aircraft and had his own Fokker D.VIII which he used to tour air shows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 14, 2015 Not sure there - he took one or two aircraft with him, but I thought he had to hand them to the Allies, short after the war ended? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 14, 2015 Not sure there - he took one or two aircraft with him, but I thought he had to hand them to the Allies, short after the war ended? Hmmmm...not sure where I read that, so it would be hard to fact check. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) Just checked Udet's book "Mein Fliegerleben". He had indeed taken a "Fokker Parasol" with him, Ritter von Greim took a Fokker D.VII. The two performed dogfights on air shows for the Kriegs- gefangenenhilfe (Aid for Prisoners of War). It is not clear for how long this went on - possibly for weeks - but when Ritter von Greim got his Fokker caught in telephone wires and crashed into a lake (he remained unharmed), the air combat show had an end. "I had to hand out my Fokker the other day" wrote Udet. He didn't say to whom. Strange indeed - I would have expected, that at least the Fokker D.VII would have been confiscated by the Entente military. Could it be, that the Entente military also received money from the Kriegs- gefangenenhilfe? The book does not explain that. Edited December 14, 2015 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 14, 2015 Well researched, Olham! It would be interesting to know how they got away with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 14, 2015 (edited) He wrote of the final closing day of the Jastas of the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte, that he and Ritter von Greim debated a long time with the "Materialverwalter" (custodian for gear and equipment). But Udet didn't say, if this administrator/custodian/caretaker was a German, or an Entente officer. Edited December 14, 2015 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 21, 2015 The DVII was the only aircraft specifically mentioned in the Versailles treaty. Apparently Göring had his pilots taxy their aircraft into a hangar wall at Darmstadt rather than hand them over. Can't remember where I read that though. I do remember it was Darmstadt as that is the HQ of Software AG and I was using their database software at the time so it stuck in my memory. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites