Thursday, September 1, 2016

From Enmity to Amity in a Century

Link to original
The families of Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron) and his first credited kill have agreed to meet on the centenary of that fateful dogfight 100 years ago.

The painting depicts a British aircraft flown by 2nd Lieutenant Lionel Morris and Captain Tom Rees. The aircraft was a two-seater F.E.2b aircraft designed by Geoffrey de Havilland* and was a "pusher" design having its engine located behind the pilot. This allowed the gunner free use of his machine gun. 

Von Richthofen is depicted flying an Albatros D.III aircraft which was superior in every way.  At that point in time, von Richthofen was not yet a squadron leader but would soon be named one after the death of his mentor, Oswald Boelcke, in October, 1916.
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*Geoffrey de Havilland was the cousin of actress Olivia de Havilland. The latter was in the news recently for celebrating her 100th birthday.

This post used 100% recycled tags. 

22 comments:

chickelit said...

Link to original story.

edutcher said...

The Mosquito light bomber was another de Havilland classic, legendary in WWII.

PS Miss Olivia looks better at 100 than either Frumpty or Willie do at 70. Just goes to show what clean living and a cleaner conscience can do.

rcocean said...

Yeah its kinda like having an Indian squaw who married your great-great Grandfather, or learning how he made the family fortune a 100 years ago by smuggling opium into China. Or learning that your ancestors were Vikings or Pirates.

Or the Rebs and Yanks meeting at Gettysburg in 1913 and slapping each other on the back and shaking hands.

Its all in the distant past, so all is forgot and forgiven.

rcocean said...

Its now colorful and exciting.

chickelit said...

I just like the aesthetics of some of those early aircraft -- on both sides. The Albatros D.III was non-Fokker German plane. Aesthetically, it's just gorgeous, IMO.

I also like the French Nieuport 17.

edutcher said...

rcocean said...

Its all in the distant past, so all is forgot and forgiven.

Unless the Lefties disapprove.

If I found out some of my forebears owned slaves (a remote possibility), I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

OTOH, I had as many as 3 forebears fighting in the Continental cause in NY and I'm hoping at least one turns out to have fought the Iroquois in the Mohawk Valley campaigns.

chickelit said...

This posted used 100% recycled tags.

According to Lem, we are at Peak tag.

ricpic said...

Did the air war have any effect on the outcome of WW I? Maybe a better question would be did air reconnaisssanse figure in the outcome of any battle in WW I?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Totally unrelated- Florida. Is Lem ok? I know he's down south - but Drudge makes the thing look like a monster.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

According to Lem, we are at Peak tag.

That is an excellent way of phrasing it.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Oh good. You're not underwater.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The Hurricane is about to make land fall around midnight or so... here right now is just some breeze. it did rain heavily earlier.

We are a fairly good distance away. So we should be fine.

ndspinelli said...

Lem is Antediluvian currently.

edutcher said...

ricpic said...

Did the air war have any effect on the outcome of WW I? Maybe a better question would be did air reconnaisssanse figure in the outcome of any battle in WW I?

AFAIK, it didn't.

Most of the big offensives seem to have caught the other side off guard. Then, too, no real medium or heavy bombers and Ma Deuce had yet to make the fighter all that formidable. Also, air transport wasn't developed; when you consider George Kenney flew I Corps into Papua at a very crucial point or that 10th Air Force resupplied the garrisons at Kohima and Imphal while they were besieged by the Nips, you begin to see how much air developed between the wars.

Granted, a young colonel named Marshall was toying with the idea of a parachute drop behind the German lines had the war dragged on into 1919...

ampersand said...

Will Snoopy be there?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Snoopy is not allowed there.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

Ampersand and Lem, I want Snoopy to be there!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Everybody there is hunkering down.

chickelit said...

Did the air war have any effect on the outcome of WW I? Maybe a better question would be did air reconnaisssanse figure in the outcome of any battle in WW I?

Arguably, Billy Mitchell's aerial bombardment tactics at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in late 1918 hastened the end of the war.

There were lessons which became very important in the next war: Both sides learned what air supremacy meant during the war; The Germans enjoyed it during the Fokker-scourge when they dominated because of Fokker's synchronized firing; The Brits invented the aircraft carrier at Gallipoli and sunk a Turkish ship with an air-launched torpedo; There never was another trench war, mainly because of air power and the extreme vulnerability of ground troops; and yes, air reconnaissance was important.

Chip Ahoy said...

His castle is here in Denver dontchaknow.

Check it out, Checkitouters.

Chip Ahoy said...

I'm sick with a head cold. First one I've had in a century.

Possibly three years.

HEY! TIME'S NOT MY BAG, AW'ITE?

edutcher said...

chickelit said...

Did the air war have any effect on the outcome of WW I? Maybe a better question would be did air reconnaisssanse figure in the outcome of any battle in WW I?

Arguably, Billy Mitchell's aerial bombardment tactics at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in late 1918 hastened the end of the war.


The war's end was hastened when the Michel Offensive failed in the Spring of '18. Once the Americans took the field, it was the German Home Front that collapsed.

PS Good Google link, Chip.