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Volume 3 Far East Story Chapter 651 (Part 1) First Fighter Wing

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    In the last week of June 1917, with the arrival of a telegram, the reorganization of the German fighter force officially began. On June 24, the group commander, crown princesserupprecht, ordered the 4th, 6th, 10th and 11th fighter squadrons to  The 1st Fighter Wing (.(jg1)) was formed on the spot in the 4th Army Defense Area.

    The next day was June 25. The Imperial Army Air Service (kogenluft) appointed Captain Manfred Feisel von Richtofen (rittmeistermanfredfreiheronrichtofen), commander of the 11th Fighter Squadron, as the commander of the 1st Fighter Wing.  Wing Captain.

    Finally, on June 26, 1917, the Imperial Army Air Service (Kogenluft) specified the mission of JG1 in a message to JG1: "The 1st Fighter Wing (.) consists of the 4th, 6th, 10th and 11th Fighter Squadrons  "This wing is a semi-military organization whose mission is to compete for and defend air supremacy above the deployed front."

    Cavalry Captain Manfred Feisel von Richderhofen (rittmeistermanfredfreiheronrichtofen) was only 25 years old when he served as captain of the JG1 Regiment, because his military career began in 1911, when he joined the "Emperor Alexander III"  "The Lancer Regiment became a Lancer, so his rank was Captain of the Cavalry, a rank written as Rittmeister, which was equivalent to the Captain of the Army Air Service, called Hauptmann.

    He joined the Army Air Corps in May 1915. On May 14, 1917, he won the Meritorious Service Medal (pourlem¨¦rite) with a record of 16 aircraft and was promoted to the squadron leader of the 11th Fighter Squadron.  During the five months he served as the commander of the 11th Fighter Squadron, the 11th Fighter Squadron became the most successful squadron of the German army on the Western Front, and he himself had only one record during this period.  During the period between when he joined the Army Aviation and when he was promoted to wing commander, he shot down a total of 38 enemy aircraft.

    As of July 12, 1917, each squadron of JG1 was stationed around the town of Flande near Courtrai (Kortryk). The distribution of the bases of each squadron of JG1 was as follows: Wing Commander von Richtofen and  The 11th Squadron (Jastas11) is stationed in Marcke under the leadership of the Squadron Leader Lieutenant Kurtwolft (leeutnantkurtwolft), the 4th Squadron (Jastas4) is stationed in Cuene under the leadership of the Squadron Leader Oberlentnantkurtvondoering, and the 6th Squadron (Jastas6) is stationed under the leadership of the Squadron Leader Oberlentnanteduardritteondostler.  In bisseghem, No. 10 Squadron (jastas 10) was stationed at the heule under the leadership of squadron leader oberlentnanternstfreiheronalthaus.

    From July to November 1917, the British launched Operation Flande (the Third Battle of Ypres) against Germany. During this operation, jg1 received an order from the Army Air Force on July 26 to cooperate with the German ground forces.  Mobile combat, the first five months of combat life in kortryk can be described with a large number of mechanized transport vehicles and various tents.  jg1 quickly showed its own characteristics.

    Each squadron under jg1 has its own distinctive painting scheme: the 11th squadron mainly uses red, the 10th squadron prefers yellow, and the 4th and 6th squadrons use white and black spiral or geometric patterns.  The painting scheme on the plane is also related to the preferences of each pilot. Pilots often paint their own unique logo on their planes to show that they are "von Richthofen's Circus".  vonrichtofen'sflyingcircus)" member.

    On July 5, 1917, jg1 ushered in its first air combat victory. The squadron leader oberlentnant von doering of the 6th squadron shot down an Allied observation balloon north of Ypres.  When radio technology was still in its infancy, this observation balloon served as the "eyes" of the troops and played an important role in collecting battlefield intelligence.  Due to the special status of observation balloons, both sides often arrange various equipment next to their own observation balloons to prevent attacks from the other side's aircraft. This makes attacking such observation balloons no less difficult than fighting the other side's fighter jets.

    In the first week of 1918, the war situation on the Western Front was quite calm.  The two Richthofen brothers were also reunited. Due to the bad weather, jg1 also reduced its patrol tasks to a minimum.  Their mission also became to deal with the reconnaissance balloons launched by the British to detect the German spring offensive, but by mid-March, such missions were almost gone.  On March 12, von Richthofen achieved his first victory in three and a half months.  Eight days later, jg1 was also sent to garrison at Awoingt southeast of Cammbrai.

    At 4:45 a.m. on April 1, 1 million German ground troops, supported by 82 fighter squadrons, began the 1918 Spring Offensive on a 50-mile wide front. The German strategic purpose was to advance to both sides of the Somme to divide it.  The British and French defense lines moved towards the coast and attacked the flanks of the British and French armies.

    In the first three days of this "King's Battle", due to thick fog and extremely low visibility, JG1's actions were restricted. By April 12, JG1 had only carried out a total of 100 combat patrols, and the achievements  There was only one record, the wing captain shot down his second S.E.5.  The next day, the wing leader shot down a "Camel" that was strafing the ground in the same area. This was JG1's only gain that day.
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