THE FLYING CIRCUS

No telling of the story of Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen would be complete without including the world’s most famous flying formation. Robin Schäfer charts the inception, development and implementation of Jagdgeschwader Nr.1

Without a doubt, the most famous flying formation in the history of warfare was Manfred von Richthofen’s ‘Flying Circus’. Officially designated Jagdgeschwader 1, the unit was a roving force which could be rapidly deployed en-masse to wherever Allied air power needed countering and subduing.

In April 1917, the Idflieg (Inspectorate of Flying Troops) established an experimental Jagdstaffel-gruppe (comprising Jasta 3,4,11 and 33) to determine if command and control could be applied to large formations of fighter aircraft in an attempt to counter Allied domination of the skies above Flanders. It was a great success and the temporary formation was disbanded after a few weeks and the first Jagdgeschwader of the Luftstreitkräfte formed on 24 June 1917.

Jagdgeschwader Nr. 1 (JG 1) was a permanent grouping combining four previously existing Jagdstaffeln: Jastas 4, 6, 10 and 11. As Hermann Göring, the last commander of JG1, stated:

‘It was apparent that during aerial battles in Flanders, the English often simultaneously appeared with more than 50 aircraft, and we could not oppose such a mass with any combat group led in a unified manner and in the necessary strength.’

The powerful new Jagdgeschwader could be deployed to hotly contested sectors of the front to locally break Allied aerial superiority, making safe deployment of German ‘working’ aircraft possible and taking pressure off hardpressed ground troops. This highly mobile unit could muster up to 60 aircraft, specifically to seek out and destroy Allied aircraft.

Command of this powerful new formation was given to Manfred von Richthofen and was soon known colloquially as ‘Jagdgeschwader Richthofen’, a title which became its official designation after the Rittmeister’s death. On the

Allied side, however, the formation became known as ‘Richthofen’s Circus’, or ‘Richthofen’s Travelling Circus’, based on the notion that the Jagdgeschwader - like a shock-unit - travelled up and down the front to wherever its presence was most needed and Allied aerial activity the greatest. This way, they secured the sky over the battlefields of Messines in June 1917 and Cambrai in November that same year.

INFLUENCE AND PRESTIGE

On assuming command, Richthofen established the manner in which the new unit would operate and he continued to lead by personal example – as was expected of all Jasta leaders. He continued to use his enormous influence and prestige to attract and source new and promising pilots from other units, whereas pilots who did not live up to his high standards were quickly posted.

In addition, Richthofen continued to train, teach and mentor his men while watching over them and their performance in combat. Under Richthofen, and for the first time in history, massed air power was employed at Geschwader or ‘wing’ level. Using the techniques he successfully employed while commanding Jasta 11, he quickly set about organising formations, developing and pioneering tactics and doctrines for his Jagdgeschwader and establishing a command and control system which allowed flexibility in responding to British aerial activity based on observation reports.

Acting with utmost independence, he created a simple and extremely effective interception system - maximising his pilots’ opportunities to engage successfully in combat, but keeping stress levels and the tiring effects of constant flying to a minimum. As General Ernst von Hoeppner, Commanding General of the German Air Service, said of Richthofen:

‘...in the personage of Rittmeister von Richthofen, JG1 received a commander whose steel-hard will in relentlessly pursuing the enemy was infused into every member of the Geschwader.’

With this fighting unit, Richthofen could dispatch individual Jastas on their own missions, or alternatively send all of them up together on a full Geschwader sortie although this seems to have only happened once.

Once in the air, the tactics were simple: Jastas would gain the ideal attack position above the enemy, preferably cutting the Allied formation off from their own lines. So great was the importance of positioning that it was not uncommon to let Allied formations cross over German lines unhindered and intercept on their return. Jagdstaffeln would dive down on their prey, following their commander and aiming to break-up the enemy formation with the force of the attack. Thereupon, individual dogfights ensued, in which the hand-picked, well trained and expertly led pilots of JG1 would often (if not always) hold an advantage. If an attack failed to have the desired effect, the German formation would regroup and reposition itself for another try.

POWERFUL FRIENDS

Over the course of two weeks in July 1917, three Jastas of JG1 (excluding Jasta 10 - see below), scored more aerial victories than the entire fighter force - 12 Jagdstaffeln - in the sector of the 4. Armee. After Richthofen’s death, the Geschwader was formally redesignated Jagdgeschwader ‘Freiherr von Richthofen’ Nr.1, and following the Rittmeister’s wishes, command was given to Hauptmann Wilhelm Reinhard, then commanding Jasta 6.

Although there were more ‘illustrious’ pilots with higher victory scores, Richthofen chose Reinhard because he was a seasoned and caring commander who led by example, and also because he set the same high standards. Tragically, Reinhard was killed on 3 July 1918, while test-flying the new all-metal Dornier Zeppelin-lindau D.I fighter at the Adlershof fighter trials. His successor was chosen within five days: Oberleutnant Hermann Göring. By then, he was the leader of Jasta 27 and a 21-victory ace.

The reasons why an ‘outsider’ was chosen and several highly decorated aces of Jagdgeschwader Nr. 1 were passed over in his favour are unclear, but Göring was well connected with powerful friends in the right places. One was Hauptmann Helmuth Wilberg, then Kofl (commander of aviation) of 4. Armee, the other was Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, the Kaiser’s eldest son.

The two first met in 1915, when Göring was serving as an observer in Feldflieger-abteilung 25. Prince Wilhelm, the nominal commander of 5. Armee, took a liking to Göring’s very direct and outspoken attitude - one so strong that

he and his pilot (Bruno Loerzer) received several personal invitations from the Prince that year. Göring is one of only four aviators mentioned by name in the Prince’s memoirs published in 1923. Interestingly, Manfred von Richthofen is not among them.

In July 1918, and now the nominal commander of Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz, Wilhelm could exert the influence needed to push Göring into command of Germany’s most prestigious flying formation. This is not to say, however, that Göring was unqualified to do so. While his name is stained by infamy for crimes against humanity during the Third Reich period, the young Hermann Göring of 1914-1918, was a capable, determined and highly successful fighter pilot and commander. However, Göring’s tenure in command was a relatively short one.

On 9 November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands, and the following day, with the Armistice due to take effect on 11 November, Göring organised the withdrawal of JG1 to Germany.

On the morning of the 11th, the Staffeln of JG1 took off from Tellancourt and headed for Darmstadt, Germany.

On arrival, Göring was ordered to fly the Geschwader’s machines to Strasbourg and surrender them to the Allies. To make sure this would not happen, most JG1 pilots took off on unrelated flights from Darmstadt and on landing back again, wrecked their aircraft - now mostly mounting sabotaged machine guns - in ‘landing accidents’. Those transferred to Strasbourg had similar ‘accidents’.

On 19 November 1918, the men of JG1 - 53 officers and 473 other ranks - assembled for the last time in the Stiftskeller at Aschaffenburg. Speeches were delivered, farewells said and vows made to meet again.

Jagdgeschwader Nr.1, Richthofen’s Flying Circus, had disbanded.

JAGDSTAFFEL 4

Of the component units of the ‘Flying Circus’, Jasta 4 was established on 25 August 1916, around what was Kampfeinsitzer-kommando (KEK) Vaux. Its first commander, the indomitable ace Rudolf Berthold, handed command to Oberleutnant Hans-joachim Buddecke on 1

September 1916. In the person of Buddecke and Leutnant Wilhelm Frankl, Jasta 4 already had two Pour le Merite holders in its ranks. Frankl, who scored his first victory with a semi-automatic rifle, had been decorated with the coveted award after his 8th victory on 12 July 1916.

While Frankl was born into a Jewish family, and is often described as the only Jewish PLM winner of the German air force, he converted to protestantism in 1913 to marry his Austrian girlfriend. When shot down and killed on 8 April 1917, he had 19 confirmed victories.

Many of the great aces flew in Jasta 4 - men like Pour le Merite holders Oberleutnant Otto Bernert (27 victories), Leutnant Hans Klein (22 victories) and Vizefeldwebel Kurt Wüsthoff (27 victories). In May 1918, command was given to none other than the legendary Leutnant Ernst Udet, Germany’s second highest scoring ace.

Udet scored his first victory in March 1916 in an Albatros D.III, and after being commissioned in January 1917, served in Jasta 15 and, from June, in Jasta 37 where he raised his score to 20 victories. Asked to join JG1 by Richthofen, Udet briefly commanded Jasta 11 and later Jasta 4, steadily increasing his score to a final tally of 62 confirmed victories.

After the war, Udet became famous as an airshow performer, adventurer and public figure, travelling to exotic countries in order to make flying and travel movies. Talked into rejoining the Luftwaffe in 1935, he took up a post heading the technical office of the Reichs lu ft f ah rt mini st erium(RLM ), becoming responsible for the supply and development of aircraft, weapons and equipment to all branches of the Luftwaffe. The pressure of office and the political intrigues of his superiors, such as his former comrade Hermann Göring, drove him to depression and drug and alcohol addiction.

Ernst Udet, ace fighter pilot, joker, cartoonist, stunt pilot and ladies-man, forced into a role that wasn’t his and made a scapegoat for the failure of others, took his own life on 17 November 1941.

In total, Jasta 4 generated 15 aces and scored 192 victories. It lost 11 pilots killed, 9 wounded and 2 as POW.

JAGDSTAFFEL 6

When Jasta 6 was formed from Fokkerstaffel Sivry on 25 August 1916, it was commanded by Rittmeister Josef Wulff.

One of the more unusual characters serving in Jasta 6 at that time was Vizefeldwebel Carl Holler who, under the name of ‘Niels Sörnsen’, had made a career as a comedic

musician before the war and later became known as the ‘Sänger Flieger’.

The performance of Jasta 6 remained slightly sub-par, scoring no victories during the ‘Bloody April’ of 1917. This changed with the arrival of the Bavarian ace, Oberleutnant Eduard Dostler, who took command on 11 June, already having eight victories to his credit.

Jasta 6 ultimately became a fine unit, ending the war with 201 confirmed victories, having lost 12 pilots killed, 14 wounded and 3 as POW. Its most successful member was Leutnant Hans Kirchstein, who from mid-march to the end of June 1918, scored 27 victories.

On 5 August 1918, Jasta 6 became the first to receive the brand-new Fokker E.V ‘Parasol’ monoplane, and on 16 August, Leutnant Emil Rolff scored the first victory in the new type when he shot down a Sopwith Camel of 203 Squadron. Even though the performance of the aircraft was outstanding, frequent engine problems were caused by low quality Ersatz oil. Even worse were structural problems, caused by shoddy workmanship.

On 19 August, Rolff fell to his death after the wing of his E.V broke apart in flight, an investigation leading to all E.VS

being grounded while Jasta 6 reverted to Fokker D.VIIS. A strengthened version of the E.V (now designated D.VIII) was accepted in October, but never seems to have been used in action.

JAGDSTAFFEL 10

Jasta 10, formed on 28 September 1916, suffered an extended period of ‘bad luck’ and scored only very few victories. To change this, command of Jasta 10 was given to Pour le Merite holder Oberleutnant Freiherr von Althaus on 6 July 1917. Yet things failed to change. Jasta 10 failed to score, and Althaus was relieved of command only a month later.

The 9-victory ace was suffering from failing eyesight, this becoming the ‘official’ reason for his removal. However, recent research by German historian Dr. Hannes Täger has uncovered a different story.

Althaus was well-known for gambling and as an enthusiastic pursuer of women and had accumulated major debts. Täger uncovered that Althaus embezzled and sold Army goods to pay those debts and this, in combination with failing eye-sight and his Jasta’s lacklustre performance, resulted in his sacking and transfer as instructor to Jagdstaffel-schule II. Later, he went before a court martial in December 1917. Found guilty, he was sentenced to one year in prison, but in a turn of events -if not in fortunes - he was pardoned and transferred to serve in Infanterie-regiment 103 in August 1918.

In October, he was captured by American troops and only released in September 1919. A unique and hitherto unknown ‘career’ for a ‘Knight’ of the Pour le Merite. Interestingly, after the war Althaus pursued a legal career, studied law in Konigsberg, Berlin and Rostock and became a lawyer and later a judge. After having fully lost his sight in 1937, he became president of the district court of Berlin during the Second World War.

On 30 July 1917, the days of ill-success were over when a ‘very young and wiry’ 34-victory ace transferred from Jasta Boelcke to take command of Jasta 10.

Twenty-one year old Leutnant Werner Voss, a close friend and former comrade of Manfred von Richthofen, he was also Richthofen‘s closest rival. Voss, a former Hussar, had been decorated with the Pour le Merite on 8 April 1917, but soon began raking in victories to bolster the score of Jasta 10: first in a Pfalz D.III, later in an Albatros D.V fighter and ultimately in his famous Fokker Dr. I.

Between 10 August and 23 September, Voss scored 13 victories, bringing his total to 48, but is most famous, however, for fighting the most legendary dogfight of the war. On 23 September 1917, flying his green Fokker F.I (103/17), he clashed alone with the renowned 56 Squadron ‘B’ Flight, comprising such luminaries as James Mccudden and Arthur Rhys David. All seven pilots in ‘B’ Flight were accreditedaces(jamesmccuddenandarthurrhysdavid among them), each flying an S.E.5A.

Using superior manoeuvrability, Voss fought the British pilots for some ten minutes, dealing out serious damage. Every SE.5A was hit, one having to force land, others so badly damaged that they barely managed to get down while two SE.5S were total write-offs. Voss, however, did not survive the engagement - his Dreidecker going into a shallow dive, its propeller stopped. Nobody knows the reason, but it allowed Arthur Rhys Davids to empty a ‘whole Lewis drum and a corresponding number of Vickers into him’ with the Dreidecker smashing into the ground at Plum Farm, near Frezenberg, in the Ypres Salient.

The leading ‘Kanone’, however, was Oberleutnant Erich Löwenhardt, having 54 confirmed victories with Jasta 10 between 24 March 1917 and 10 August 1918 (from 1 April as Staffel Kommandeur) when he was killed in a flying accident.

During the war, Jasta 10 was credited with 118 enemy aircraft and 33 balloons, while 21 of its pilots were killed.

JAGDSTAFFEL 11

On 26 January 1917 Manfred von Richthofen took command of what - under his command - would become the highest scoring German Jasta of the First Word War. By then it was based at Brayelles, near Douai.

Under command of the Rittmeister, the unit was hammered into shape to become the sharpest sword in Germany’s fighter force arsenal, raking up an impressive 89 aerial victories in April 1917 alone, quickly reaching legendary status both at the front and in the Heimat.

Jasta 11’s last commander (from 13 August 1918), was Oberleutnant Erich von Wedel, a former Ulan comrade of Manfred von Richthofen, who inititally joined Jasta 11 on 23 April.

During the course of its existence, Jagdstaffel 11 was credited with 350 enemy aircraft shot down, but lost 17 of its pilots killed in action, 19 wounded, 2 taken POW and another 2 killed in flying accidents.

POWERFUL BUT IRRELEVANT

Motivated by the incredible success of JG1 during the autumn of 1917, the Army High Command planned the organisation of the Luftstreitkräfte in German offensives for the spring of 1918, a decision made that each attacking army would have its own subordinated Jagdgeschwader, supported by Jagdgruppen on Armee Korps level.

Thus, on 2 February 1918, Jagdgeschwader Nr.2 ( Jastas 12, 13, 15 and 19, commanded by Hauptmann Adolf Ritter von Tutschek) and Jagdgeschwader Nr.3 ( Jasta B, 26, 27 and

36, commanded by Oberleutnant Bruno Loerzer) were formed.

Bavarian Jagdgeschwader Nr.4b was formed on 3 October 1918 (Jasta 23b, 32b, 34b and 35b, commanded by the ‘Black Knight’, Hauptmann Eduard Ritter von Schleich) while the German Navy had the Marine Jagdgeschwader, formed on 2 September 1918 (Marine-feld-jagdstaffeln I, II, III, IV and V under Oblt.zur See Gotthard Sachsenberg).

Several other Saxon, Bavarian and Wurttembergian Jagdgeschwader were to be formed, but none seem to have seen operational service before the war ended.

From early on, Germany continuously evolved and retained a fighter force tactically superior to that of the Allies by investing limited German industrial and human resources into the formation and evolution of elite fighter units. These could achieve parity against the Allies by using a more agile and efficient organisation and fighting mostly on a defensive footing.

The German elitist approach worked well up to 1918, against a foe who had so far neglected tactical standards and avoided concentration of talent, seeking instead to create a large conventional force, where average units and average training were good enough, and focussing on extension and growth instead.

TACTICAL EXCELLENCE IRRELEVANT

In the final year of the war, German expertise and flexibility could no longer reverse the numerical advantage of French, American and British air power. The Allies, with the RAF in the lead, had won control of the skies - not by outfighting or defeating the German air force (a dangerous foe until the final day of the war) but by overwhelming it and filling the sky with the output of the excellent British procurement and supply system in the SE.5A, Camel, Dolphin, Snipe and Bristol etc.; Allied industrial power and superior strategy now rendered German tactical excellence irrelevant.

All told, a staggering 644 Allied aircraft fell to the guns of JG1’S pilots, and even though highly successful, the Circus was also a prime example of elitism inherent in the whole of the Luftstreitkrafte, absorbing the best pilots and best aircraft, but nevertheless turning it into the most effective fighter unit of the war.

Yet, by doing so, it drained limited resources from other ‘average’ Jagdstaffeln and Jagdgruppen that comprised the ad-hoc and temporary groupings of Jastas. However, the ‘Flying Circus’ remains the most famous flying formation of the war - arguably in the entire history of military aviation.

■ A stunning photograph of Leutnant Julius Bender of Jasta 4 in the cockpit of his Fokker D.VII. A theology student, Bender volunteered for service at the outbreak of war, serving in Baden Leibdragoner-regiment Nr. 2 before joining the air service in 1916. On 16 June 1918 the incendiary phosphorus ammunition stored in the ammunition boxes in his Fokker’s engine compartment ignited when the engine overheated. Bender survived by bailing out with his parachute. He passed away in 1966, then being county bishop of the protestant church in Baden. (Colour by Johnny Sirlande)

■ Leutnant Hans Klein of Jasta 10 in front of his Pfalz D.III fighter at Marcke in November 1917. In the cockpit is Leutnant Kurt Schwarzenberger, chief test pilot for the experimental fighter division of Idflieg. The older officer on the right, probably Idflieg staff, has not been identified. (Colour by Johnny Sirlande)

Luc Heinrich) ■ The ‘Singer Flyer’ Vzfw. Carl Holler, Uffz. Kurt Petzold, Fw. Friedrich-wilhelm Morzik, Vzfw Fritz Krebs, Vzfw. Fritz Bachmann and Vzfw. Kullmer of Jasta 6.

■ Oberleutnant Ernst Udet as commander of Jasta 4 in front of his Fokker D.VII (4253/18, w/n 2954, BMW IIIA No.1288). (Colourised by

■ Fokker D.VII of Friedrich ‘Fritz’ Friedrichs who joined Jasta 10 in January 1918. Friedrichs quickly built up victories, bringing his total to 21 in the first week of July. His CO, Erich Löwenhardt, called him ‘the tireless balloon killer’ (11 of his victories were against balloons) and the two often flew together. Friedrich was killed on 15 July when the phosphorus tracer ammunition in his Fokker was ignited by the engine heat. Friedrichs bailed out, but his parachute harness was caught by the tailplane and deployed the canopy, breaking the shroud lines with Friedrichs falling to his death. In the summer heat, several such incidents happened and Hermann Göring temporarily suspended phosphorus incendiary tracers in JG1 on 17 July. The coat of arms on the fuselage is that of Northern-frisia.

■ Oberleutnant Ernst Udet, the top-surviving German ace of the First World War with 62 victories. An untameable, brave, exuberant, witty and extremely humorous man, he continued to live a boisterous and colourful life in an adventurous span of decades that ultimately ended in tragedy in 1941. (Colour Johnny Sirlande)

■ One of several ‘Sanke’ photographic postcards of Leutnant Lothar von Richthofen. (Colourised and edited by Johnny Sirlande)

■ Oberleutnant Hermann Göring in his red and white, Bmwengined Fokker D.VII (F), probably 4253/18, flown previously by Ernst Udet. Göring had the rear fuselage repainted in his white personal colour, leaving the forward part in Jasta 11 red. The sheet metal baffles in front of the cockpit were installed to deflect ejected cartridge cases away from the pilot. The cutdown cockpit rim on the left side of the fuselage was standard on most of Göring’s aircraft to ease entry as he suffered from the effects of an old hip wound and arthritis. (Colour by Johnny Sirlande)

■ Fokker Dr. 1 of Leutnant Richard Wenzl (11 victories) shown here as part of Jasta 11 at Lechelle aerodrome. Next to it on the left is one of Manfred von Richthofen’s all-red Dreideckers (probably 152/17).

■ Former Schlachtflieger pilot Vizefeldwebel Willi Gabriel of Jasta 11 in his Fokker D.VII. He scored 11 victories between March and July 1918. After disciplinary problems and clashes with Hermann Göring (disobeying orders by flying on patrol without orders and leaving formation), he was finally posted to an Armee-flugpark as a test pilot. After the war, he and his twin brother opened their own aircraft design company, flew aerobatic displays and as pilots in several film productions. In the Second World War, Gabriel served as a flying instructor and later as a Staffelkapitän in Flugzeug-überführungsgeschwader 1, flying Junkers 88s and Messerschmitt 210s. He passed away in 1966.

■ Nine beautiful Fokker E.V monoplanes and four Fokker D.VIIS of Jasta 6 lined-up at Bernes in August 1918. The racy and sleek monoplanes all bear personal markings, the closest is E.V 153/18, flown by 12-victory Leutnant Richard Wenzl.

■ Albatros D.V fighters of Jasta 4 lined up and ready for action.

■ Hauptmann Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Reinhard assumed command of JG1 on 22 April 1918 as Manfred von Richthofen’s designated successor. He had flown in Jasta 11 before taking command of Jasta 6 on 27 November 1917.

■ Leutnant Ulrich Neckel in his teddy-bear decorated, black and white ‘dazzle’ camouflaged Fokker D.VII. On 1 September 1918 he took command of Jasta 6. When the war ended, Neckel had 29 victories.

■ Leutnant Werner Voss and Archduke Carl Albrecht of Austria during the latter’s visit to Jasta 10’s airfield in September 1917. A debate has raged for decades as to whether the cowling was dark green or possibly yellow. While green has become the accepted interpretation, one should keep in mind that Jasta 10’s Staffel colour was chromium yellow and all aircraft (including the Pfalz fighters on this photo) had spinners and front cowlings painted that way. It seems odd that the commander of the Jasta should choose a different colour. A warm-yellow (with large amounts of red pigment) as well as dark green appear virtually identical on orthochromatic film.

■ The faces of Julius Bender, Johannes Jessen and Ernst Udet clearly show that they thought getting a baboon might not have been such a brilliant idea after all. Bobby the Baboon, who is busy undoing the puttees of Carlos Meyer Baldo, was saved from a French zoo and became something of a mascot for Jasta 4 and JG1. Baldo later related the story that on one occasion Bobby unpacked everyone’s suitcases, mixing up the contents and delaying a scheduled transfer to another airfield by one day.

■ Lack of seniority meant Richard Kraut of Jasta 4 received a secondhand D.VIII from Jasta 6. He scored one aerial victory. (Bronnenkant)

■ Leutnant Robert Tüxen of Jasta 6 in the cockpit of his Dreidecker.

■ Erich Löwenhardt posing with his 29th victory on 27 June 1918, the Spad XIII of S/LT. Jean-baptiste Vidal of Escadrille SPA 88, who was taken prisoner. (Bronnenkant)