James Patton
Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (1892–1918), familiarly known as the Red Baron, was an obscure cavalry lieutenant in 1914. With the advent of static warfare, his unit was broken up and he was assigned to a supply unit, duty that he found distasteful. He volunteered for aviation service in May 1915, serving as an observer until October, then went through flight training. He flew two-seaters until August 1916, when he finally became a true fighter pilot. He chanced to catch the eye of Oswald Boelcke (1891–1916), known as the “Father of Air Fighting Tactics,” who selected von Richthofen for his elite “Jasta 2“ (short for Jagdstaffel 2). Von Richthofen later formed his own elite squadron, Jasta 11, which out-performed Jasta 2. In January 1917, he painted his Albatros D-III bright red, which led to his famous sobriquet.
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| SE-5a of Captain Grinnell-Milne with 56 Squadron Markings |
The Red Baron became a special target for the British Royal Flying Corps for several reasons. First, he shot down a lot of their planes; second, he was in-your-face flamboyant; and third, although of noble background, he was not gentlemanly in his behavior, pursuing his foes ruthlessly. The RFC bore a huge grudge against the Red Baron for hunting down their first ace, Maj. Lanoe Hawker ,VC, who was trying to nurse his shot-up DH-2 back to his lines.
With the mounting success of Jasta 11 and then von Richthofen’s four-squadron Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG1), known as the “Flying Circus”, the RFC decided to create a special "Black" squadron whose primary mission was to hunt down the Red Baron and his ace pilots. In March 1917, No. 56 Squadron was uprgraded, staffed exclusively with experienced pilots, some already aces (particularly Capt. Albert Ball, a future VC), equipped with brand-new SE-5 aircraft, the latest and best available, and dedicated to fighting in packs rather than in dashing mano-a-mano duels, always outnumbering their quarry and luring them into traps.
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| Maj. James McCudden's Four-Blade Propeller |
Since the original pilots were all experienced, they tinkered with their aircraft. In particular, Maj. James McCudden, VC, a gifted mechanic, supervised changes in engine compression, the exhaust system, the propeller, and the dihedral angle of the top wing, as well as reductions in weight, in order to improve high-altitude performance. With these aircraft, a flight of No. 56 changed its mission and went after the German high-altitude reconnaissance planes, particularly the Rumpler C.VIIs. McCudden died on 9 July 1918 in an aircraft accident.
In the course of their service, No. 56 scored 427 victories (most in the RFC/RAF) while losing 40 killed and 31 taken prisoner. The squadron had 22 aces, including McCudden (57 victories) and Ball (44).
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| Memorial to 56 Squadron Pilot Albert Ball |
No. 56 didn’t get the Red Baron, although they came close, claiming one of his top subordinates, Lt. Werner Voss (48 victories), who in an epic fight was tricked into taking on eight No. 56 pilots, all of whom were aces, and scored hits on all the No. 56 planes before he was shot down. No. 56 also brought down Lt. Kurt Wissemann, who had shot down the French ace Capt. Georges Guynemer (54 victories) 17 days earlier.
No. 56 has had a long and colorful history. Known as "The Firebirds" since 1960, when it transitioned to the RAF’s first supersonic aircraft, the Lightning F-1, today it is an RAF Reserve unit that tests, evaluates, and operates drones; previously, from 1992 until 2008, No. 56 was the only Reserve Squadron operating the Tornado F-3 frontline interceptor.
The squadron has its own website, which you can visit HERE.
Revised on 19 April from original version.
Richthofen was shot down and killed near Vaux-sur-Somme on 21 April 1918.
ReplyDeleteA few minor comments here:
ReplyDeleteAlbert Ball's VC was awarded posthumously; the article could be read as implying that he already held this award while with 56 squadron.
James McCudden was not a Major until he left 56 squadron. He was not strictly speaking an engineer, but a highly-regarded aircraft mechanic who had been promoted from the ranks. 56 squadron's high score was very largely down to him. The four-bladed propellor in the photograph was standard rather than a modification; but the large spinner was one that he fitted to his aircraft; it came from a shot-down German LVG. He was not killed test-flying a modified SE5a; he was on his way to take command of 85 squadron at the time, and crashed partly due to an incorrect carburettor fitted to his aircraft.
It is not really true that the RFC held a grudge against von Richtofen, though clearly as the most famous German pilot they would like to have shot him down. Lanoe Hawker sought out the fight himself; it was hardly von Richthofen's fault if Hawker was in an inferior aeroplane.
Thanks for the comments, Adrian. We have made some corrections based on your information. Mike
DeleteI agree; this article should have been vetted prior to posting. Available SE-5/SE-5a published literature, such as "ABOVE THE TRENCHES" (Christopher Shores, Norman Franks & Russell Guest, Grub Street, 1990) indicates that 56 Squadron was not "born" in March 1917, but rather was formed at Gosport/London Colney in June 1916. They shipped to France in April 1917, but it's rather a stretch to state that 56 Squadron's primary mission was to hunt down Richthofen and JG1, when they were actually withdrawn back to England for six weeks during June-July 1917 due to the threat posed to London by Gotha bombers. The original S.E.5's 150 horsepower Hispano-Suiza engine with two-bladed propeller was simply superseded by (see Peter Cooksley's "IN FLANDERS SKIES: RAF SE5/SE5a") the S.E.5a with 200 horsepower Hispano-Suiza engines and four-bladed propeller. Yes, 56 Squadron received the first batch of S.E.5s built, but only 58 were ever manufactured. 56 Squadron received their first S.E.5as in June 1917, they once again being the first recipients of this upgraded model. By August 1917, a new engine called the Viper was installed on an S.E.5a and performed so well that it eventually became the standard engine on the S.E.5a. Unfortunately, however, the Viper, with twin radiators, horizontal shutters, a more squarish frontal area, and a Foster mount placed directly on the upper wing, wasn't readily available until sometime in 1918, so S.E.5as were manufactured with whatever Hispano-Suiza engines were available until that time. The photo showing the S.E.5a does not show squadron markings to confirm that it was indeed a 56 Squadron ship and quality too poor to confirm other details. The spinner apparently was fitted because it added an additional 2 mph to the S.E.5as speed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Alan. We have made some corrections based on your information. Mike
DeleteA final comment, after discussion with friends who are more expert than I: it is not even certain that von Richthofen was well known to the British until at least April 1917; there were other aces with approximately the same score at the time, so it makes little sense to say that any squadron would have been formed to hunt him down. As he became better known and started to paint his aeroplane red (just the fuselage initially), British squadrons would have liked to get him, but they would never make it a priority. According to Lanoe Hawker's biography by his brother Tyrrell, the Germans did not confirm his death for several months, so even if some of Lanoe's squadron suspected that Richthofen was the victor, they would not have been certain.
ReplyDelete