Category World War I

Still sidetracked somewhat on the Great War air research. Sorry if this does not hold the interest of many of you. I have been examining the list of the first German aviators who received the Pour le Merite, commonly called the Blue Max, named after its first recipient, Max Immelmann. A total of 13 pilots were awarded the Blue Max in 1916. These first recipients are (name, number of victories, dates, date of death, age, and any notes):

1. Max Immelmann (8): 12 January 1916, KIA 18 June 1916 (25)

2. Oswald Boelcke (8): 12 January 1916, KIA (mid-air collision) 28 October 1916 (25)

3. Hans-Joachim Buddecke (7): 14 April 1916, KIA 10 March 1918 (27)

4. Kurt Wintgens (8): 1 July 1916, KIA 25 September 1916 (22)

5. Max Ritter von Mulzer (8): 8 July 1916, KIA 26 September 1916 (23)

6. Otto Parschau (8): 10 July 1916, KIA 21 July 1916 (25)

7. Walter Hoehndorf (8), 20 July 1916, Crashed 5 September 1917 (24)

8. Ernst Freiherr von Althaus (8): 21 July 1916, died 1946 (56)

9. Wilhelm Frankl (6 or 9): 16 July 1916 or 12 August 1916, KIA (wing failure) 8 April 1917 (23) – Jewish, converted to Christianity in 1917.

10. Rudolf Berthold (8): 12 October 1916, killed in Kapp Putsch 15 May 1920 (28)

11. Gustav Leffers (8): 5 November 1916, KIA 27 December 1916 (21)

12. Albert Dossenbach (9): 11 November 1916, KIA 3 July 1917 (26) – two-seater pilot at time of award

13. Hans Berr (10): 4 December 1916, KIA (mid-air collision) 6 April 1917 (26)

I believe that these are all the airmen that had been awarded the Blue Max in 1916. Of those, 11 died during the war, one died violently shortly after the war, and only one died of natural causes.

According to website The Aerodrome, 81 German military aviators were awarded the Blue Max. 76 army aviators and 5 naval aviators. They also provide a listing of the 62 German aces who won it. A total of 687 Pour le Merite were awarded during the Great War.

Let me know if there is anything I have missed in this listing. Note that I have two different dates given for when Wilhelm Frankl was awarded the Blue Max.

In early October I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach at the “Warbirds Over the Beach” airshow. This seventh post on the air show include some more Great War airplane pictures that I took and a few other pictures taken by others. It will be my last post of Great War airplanes for now.

This is a replica of SE-5a. One of the better allied fighters in the war (5205 built). It usually had one cowling mounted machinegun and one Lewis gun mounted on the upper wing.

There are videos of it taxiing here: https://aerodynamicmedia.com/taxi-tests-underway-for-military-aviation-museums-new-s-e-5a-video/

I forget what this plane is. Anyone recognize it?

This is an Albatros DVa. The Germans spell ‘Albatross’ with one ‘s.’

Nice period piece:

This is a 7/8th scale replica of a Spad XIII. I am truly mystified why someone would build a 7/8th’s scale replica. This is actually a flying model. See this link: https://militaryaviationmuseum.org/aircraft/wwi-aircraft/

In early October I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach at the “Warbirds Over the Beach” airshow. This sixth post on the air show include some more Great War airplane pictures that I took, and a few other pictures.

Fokker became famous during the Great War. In addition to inventing the first working synchronized machinegun, he also built a few nice planes. The first famous one was the Fokker Eindecker (E.I, E.II, E.III and two gunned E.IV, etc.), which was basically a French Morane Saulnier G with a metal frame and a Oberursel U.I. 9-cylinder rotary engine with 100 horsepower. This was a license built copy of the French Gnome Delta. The Morane Saulner G also used a Gnome engine (80 horsepower version). Below is a picture of replica of a Fokker E.III:

The next famous Fokker, and arguably the most famous, is the Fokker DR.1 triplane. All Great War airshows seem to have one of these. This show had two. It was the plane that Baron Manfred von Richthofen (“The Bloody Red Baron”) scored his last 17 kills with and was shot down in.

And then there was the Fokker VII. There were two copies in the museum, but none flying that weekend.

Note: As indicated in the side markings, this Fokker DVII was built by Albatross. Below is a Fokker built by Fokker.

And then there was the Fokker D.VIII, back to using a single wing after using three and then two.

Anthony Fokker was Dutch, not German. After the war he moved back to Holland and then to America. He passed away in New York City in 1939 at the age of 49. This was one of his famous post-Great War planes:

This plane made the first ever trans-Pacific flight from mainland United States (Oakland, CA) to Brisbane, Australia in 1928. It was a distance of 7,250 miles (11,670 kilometers). It did stop at Hawaii and Fiji along the way. The crew was two Australian pilots and two Americans, a navigator and a radio operator.

In early October I spent the weekend in Virginia Beach at the “Warbirds Over the Beach” airshow. This fifth post on the air show include some more Great War airplane pictures that I took, and a few other pictures. 

This is a Halberstadt CL IV. This was a late war plane introduced in 1918. Mercedes 6-cylinder water-cooled in-line piston engine of 160 horsepower. Some 700 were ordered. Two forward firing fixed machineguns (LMG 08/15 “Spandau”), one ring mounted machinegun (Parabellum MG 14) for the observer.

This version is a replica and it does differ from the original in a number of areas.

Of interest is the rear mounted machinegun on an circular ring mount. This was something the Germans were doing but the allies were not. This does appear to be a precise recreation of the ring mount.

The exterior radiators do not appear to be “standard issue.” Probably a modern addition. Below is a picture of a CL IV in the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

I do not think the high back seat is “original issue.”

And the cockpit. The windscreen is a modern addition. These airplanes did not have such a windscreen. Not sure how much of this cockpit is authentic.

A look from above with another museum piece. Note that ring mount is fundamentally different.

So this version in Virginia Beach does not appear to be a perfect reproduction, but it does fly.

Halberstadt CL.IV Takeoff – YouTube

And a Great War era picture:

For comparison, I have added a picture of the machinegun mount of a Sopwith 1 1/2 Stutter to the post on that plane.