An Albatros DII piloted by Manfred von Richthofen attacked right away when he saw a British F.E. 2b near the back of the British formation
On September 17, 1916, two aircraft formations converged close to Marcoing, France. One was a flight of 6 F.E. 2bs from No. 11 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, which was led by a group of 8 B.E. 2cs from the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The British formation was only attempting to come home after completing a bombing raid on a railroad station that was under German control. The renowned Oswald Boelcke, whose dicta Boelcke are still regarded as the fundamental principles of Air combat, commanded a German formation of 20 Albatros planes of Jasta 2 to intercept this formation.
Only Oswald Boelcke had so far led his new team to victory, scoring seven of them since the beginning of the month. The entire Jasta found the formation over Marcoing on this mission, which was their first time flying as a unit, and they launched a mass assault on it. A British F.E. 2b was knocked down by Hans Reimann and Boelcke personally.
The battle veered south of the intended location, and Manfred von Richthofen, flying an Albatros II, attacked right away when he saw a British F.E. 2b in the back of the British formation.
From his patrol report, in his own words;
‘WHEN PATROL FLYING I DETECTED SHRAPNEL CLOUDS IN THE DIRECTION OF CAMBRAI. I HURRIED FORTH AND MET A SQUAD [THAT] I ATTACKED SHORTLY AFTER 1100. I SINGLED OUT THE LAST MACHINE AND FIRED SEVERAL TIMES AT THE CLOSEST RANGE (TEN METERS). SUDDENLY THE ENEMY PROPELLER STOOD STOCK STILL. THE MACHINE WENT DOWN GLIDING AND I FOLLOWED UNTIL I HAD KILLED THE OBSERVER WHO HAD NOT STOPPED SHOOTING UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT. NOW MY OPPONENT WENT DOWNWARDS IN SHARP CURVES. AT APPROXIMATELY 1200 METERS A SECOND GERMAN MACHINE CAME ALONG AND ATTACKED MY VICTIM RIGHT DOWN TO THE GROUND AND THEN LANDED NEXT TO THE ENGLISH PLANE.’
The following is what we may infer from this combat report.
- Richthofen singled out the last British aircraft in the formation after being alerted to their position by German flak.
- Richthofen closed in and attacked from a range of only 10 meters.
- The British observer remained shooting until the last moment.
- Richthofen attacked from the Fe2b’s blind spot.
- Richthofen riddled the engine and killed the observer.
- A second German machine tried to shoot down the F.E. 2b. then landed next to it.
- The machine landed at the German airfield at Flesquieres, north of Villers Plouich.
- Richthofen watched the dying and dead observer be removed from the craft.
- Richthofen refused to allow the other aircraft to claim the victory. As an Officer and lifelong hunter, Richthofen was likely enraged that another pilot attacked what he regarded as HIS “Englander” as a dying Morris glided his helpless aircraft onto a safe landing at a German aerodrome.
- Richthofen scored his first confirmed victory.
Despite suffering from severe injuries, 2nd Lt. Lionel Bertram Frank Morris was still able to land his F.E. 2b. Richthofen, who had landed at the same German airport, watched his journey to the hospital. Shortly after being removed from his aircraft, Morris passed away at the age of just 19. The Germans gave 2nd Lt. Morris Full Military Honors, and von Richthofen personally attended the funeral and laid a stone on his grave. Outside of Cambrai, France, in the Porte de Paris Cemetery, Morris is laid to rest.
Captain Tom Rees, the F.E. 2b observer, attempted to protect his aircraft, but his tenacity was unable to counteract Richtofen’s attack from a position of strength. Paradoxically, he received his promotion to Captain on the day of his passing. John, Rees’s brother, died the same day after being struck by lightning in a horrific double family tragedy. Captain Rees passed away at the age of just 21 and he is interred at France’s Plouich Communal Cemetery.
Overall, the British lost 2 of the 8 BE2.cs and 4 of the 6 FE2.bs in their formation. The Jasta 4 had also engaged, killing one F.E. 2b near Equancourt, while the two B.E. 2cs were destroyed by ground fire.
Manfred von Richthofen painted his Albatros bright red to give himself a distinctive personal aircraft scheme that everyone on both sides of the Trenches of World War I would know, leading to his becoming famous as the Red Baron.
Photo by B. Huber and F. W. Lanchester via Wikipedia and Eduard