| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:06 - Mar 15 with 1119 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
Also interesting that the German unit in question is named after (presumably) the Red Baron. |  |
|  |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:11 - Mar 15 with 1108 views | Churchman |
Rather interesting that the Luftwaffe mob are called 71 Tactical Air Wing Richthofen.
We should have shot them down for old times sake.
Actually, the RAF have cooperated for years, particularly during the Cold War.
Manfred von Richthofen was of course WW1s highest scoring ace with 80. He was probably killed by ground fire 21/4/18. His brother Lothar was also an ace with 40 confirmed. He died four years after the war in an air accident, ironically.
German air force in WW1 had some amazing paint schemes, a lot of them improvised. The fighter pilots in particular didn’t do camouflage, the most famous being Richthofen’s red aircraft. It was more about in flight recognition for them. |  | | |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:12 - Mar 15 with 1103 views | Churchman |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:06 - Mar 15 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Also interesting that the German unit in question is named after (presumably) the Red Baron. |
Yes it is. | | | |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:58 - Mar 15 with 1023 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Luftwaffe and RAF have been co-operating for decades. Wartime ace Gerard Barkhorn was testing the Harrier 50 years ago when he experienced a crash landing and dryly observed “that’s the 302nd allied aircraft I have destroyed” |  |
| |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 11:03 - Mar 15 with 1019 views | bracknell_blue |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:11 - Mar 15 by Churchman |
Rather interesting that the Luftwaffe mob are called 71 Tactical Air Wing Richthofen.
We should have shot them down for old times sake.
Actually, the RAF have cooperated for years, particularly during the Cold War.
Manfred von Richthofen was of course WW1s highest scoring ace with 80. He was probably killed by ground fire 21/4/18. His brother Lothar was also an ace with 40 confirmed. He died four years after the war in an air accident, ironically.
German air force in WW1 had some amazing paint schemes, a lot of them improvised. The fighter pilots in particular didn’t do camouflage, the most famous being Richthofen’s red aircraft. It was more about in flight recognition for them. |
If you're interested in this period of abiation history I can recommend the Luftwaffe museum on the outskirts of Berlin. My son asked me to take him there about 20 years ago; it's an absolute pain to get to if you don't have a car but well worth it. |  |
| |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 11:11 - Mar 15 with 1007 views | ElephantintheRoom |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:11 - Mar 15 by Churchman |
Rather interesting that the Luftwaffe mob are called 71 Tactical Air Wing Richthofen.
We should have shot them down for old times sake.
Actually, the RAF have cooperated for years, particularly during the Cold War.
Manfred von Richthofen was of course WW1s highest scoring ace with 80. He was probably killed by ground fire 21/4/18. His brother Lothar was also an ace with 40 confirmed. He died four years after the war in an air accident, ironically.
German air force in WW1 had some amazing paint schemes, a lot of them improvised. The fighter pilots in particular didn’t do camouflage, the most famous being Richthofen’s red aircraft. It was more about in flight recognition for them. |
The USAAF also didn’t bother with camouflage once they’d established air superior over Europe - allowing the bombers to carry an extra ton of bombs instead of a ton of paint - and the fighters to fly higher, further and faster. | |
| |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 13:12 - Mar 15 with 851 views | Churchman |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 11:03 - Mar 15 by bracknell_blue |
If you're interested in this period of abiation history I can recommend the Luftwaffe museum on the outskirts of Berlin. My son asked me to take him there about 20 years ago; it's an absolute pain to get to if you don't have a car but well worth it. |
I’d very much like to see that. I am interested in early aviation and in fact all aviation. Always have been. The development of aircraft 1914 - 1918 was incredible, as was what they were used for and how. There were also some fiascos worthy of Stop The Pigeon with Dastardly and Muttley.
Life expectancy was not great. If you were to go, being shot dead in the cockpit was about the best you could hope for. Being roasted alive, smashed to bits in a crash and/or jumping to your death was a common end. Some pilots carried revolvers to prevent the worst.
A workable parachute was invented quite early and by the end of the war was adopted by the German Air Force. The British refused to use them as they might encourage airmen to leave their aircraft prematurely. The cost of an aeroplane was about the same as the cost of a large calibre artillery shell. | | | |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 13:21 - Mar 15 with 823 views | Churchman |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 11:11 - Mar 15 by ElephantintheRoom |
The USAAF also didn’t bother with camouflage once they’d established air superior over Europe - allowing the bombers to carry an extra ton of bombs instead of a ton of paint - and the fighters to fly higher, further and faster. |
There are plenty of theories out there about abandoning camouflage. It certainly had nothing whatsoever to do with the Americans inviting the Luftwaffe to fight.
Basically, American aircraft did not need to be camouflaged on the ground or in the air as the allies had air superiority. Agreed, it marginally improved performance by reducing weight and drag. It also allowed faster production and easier maintenance. The protective qualities of paint were of no interest because aircraft had a short service life anyway. | | | |
Login to get fewer ads
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 14:08 - Mar 15 with 780 views | Keno |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 10:06 - Mar 15 by ThisIsMyUsername |
Also interesting that the German unit in question is named after (presumably) the Red Baron. |
was the UK Squadron Monty Pythons .......... |  |
| |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 14:22 - Mar 15 with 760 views | Churchman |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 14:08 - Mar 15 by Keno |
was the UK Squadron Monty Pythons .......... |
Ah, RAF squadrons had their own fame in both wars, not least 617 in WW2 and 56 in WW1 of McCudden and Arthur Rhys-Davids fame. The latter killed German ace Werner Voss after an astonishing fight. | | | |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 16:31 - Mar 15 with 645 views | Bluespeed225 |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 13:12 - Mar 15 by Churchman |
I’d very much like to see that. I am interested in early aviation and in fact all aviation. Always have been. The development of aircraft 1914 - 1918 was incredible, as was what they were used for and how. There were also some fiascos worthy of Stop The Pigeon with Dastardly and Muttley.
Life expectancy was not great. If you were to go, being shot dead in the cockpit was about the best you could hope for. Being roasted alive, smashed to bits in a crash and/or jumping to your death was a common end. Some pilots carried revolvers to prevent the worst.
A workable parachute was invented quite early and by the end of the war was adopted by the German Air Force. The British refused to use them as they might encourage airmen to leave their aircraft prematurely. The cost of an aeroplane was about the same as the cost of a large calibre artillery shell. |
Lord Flash' and the '20 minuters'! | | | |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 17:00 - Mar 15 with 601 views | Churchman |
| Luftwaffe and the RAF come together for the first time in history on 16:31 - Mar 15 by Bluespeed225 |
Lord Flash' and the '20 minuters'! |
Classic Blackadder:
George: Crikey! I’m looking forward to today. Up-diddly-up, down-diddly-down, whoops-poop, twiddly-dee, a decent scrap with the fiendish Red Baron, a bit of a jolly old crash landing behind enemy lines, capture, torture, escape and then back home in time for tea and medals.
The true life expectancy for RFC aircrew varied enormously depending on experience, sector, aircraft, opposition etc etc. In the spring of 1917 when losses were high, 10-15 days?
Training wasn’t a bed of roses either. Unreliable engines, worn out aircraft lack of experienced pilots to train, lack of decent types to train on and a sheer lack of understanding of how aircraft actually worked. The consensus is that 14,000 RAF/RFC/RNAS airmen lost their lives during the Great War. Over 8,000 of these fatalities came from training accidents.
Edit: training accidents were hideously high in WW2 as well for many of the same reasons. The classic was relegating the Manchester and the Beaufighter 2 to training duties. The first couldn’t fly on one engine, the engines had a nasty habit of catching fire without help, crew exits were too small for anyone in flying kit. Oops.
The Beaufighter 2 was engined with two Merlins. Whoopee you might think. Nope, the torque was so great they’d spin into the ground a tad too easily and had awful handling characteristics. Perfect for training then… [Post edited 15 Mar 2023 17:29]
| | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
