
This Is One Of The Best WW1 Aircraft DVDs That You Can Buy
This partially yellow Fokker Dr.1 represents aircraft 454/17 which was flown by Oberleunant Lothar von Richthofen, younger brother of Manfred von Richthofen ('The Red Baron'). Like his brother, when the First World War broke out Lothar was an officer in the German Cavalry. He transferred to the Imperial German Army Air Service in late 1915.
The solid yellow colour of the upper wing on Lothar's triplane indicates that he was a flight leader. Photo: © Historical Aviation Film Unit
Four triplanes of Jasta 11 get airborne together, from the left: Manfred von Richthofen, Werner Steinhäuser, Hans Weiss and Lothar von Richthofen. Photo Copyright © 2007 Brad Hurley (Image Supplied)
On the morning of 12 March 1918, nine Bristol F2b Fighters of No 62 Sqn, Royal Flying Corps (RFC), were intercepted by a flight of Fokker Dr.1s of Jasta 11, the premier unit of Jagdgeschwader (JG) I, near Le Cateau. The triplanes were led by none other than Manfred von Richthofen in Dr.1 152/17, accompanied by his brother Lothar in Dr.1 454/17 and Ltn Werner Steinhäuser. At 1100 hrs the Fokkers stabbed into the formation of Bristols. After watching his brother bring down one of the two-seaters, Lothar looked around for an opponent of his own: 'To that end there was one especially suited for me about 100 metres below the English squadron. I attacked him. I was flying ahead of my Staffel when I suddenly saw that I was surrounded by aircraft with English cockades. I made a long dive of about 100 metres in order to get out of that unpleasant company. One of them followed me down. At the same altitude, we flew toward one another, head-on. We approached each other with the great speed of over 400 km/h. Here, you must aim clean, otherwise you will get the worst of it. 'We rushed towards one another shooting. At the last moment I noticed I had hit him. A blazing aircraft whizzed by me. I pulled my machine around and made such a sharp turn that I was three-quarters on my back. A sea of fire in the form of an Englishman whistled right by me. The observer stood up and stared into the flames. Completely ablaze, the English machine made another turn. Both crewmen jumped out along the way.' In the running battle that followed, Lothar brought down another Bristol ten minutes later, and Steinhäuser added one more to bring his personal tally to four. These victories contributed to a total of seven for the day by JG I, the most legendary of all German fighter units of World War 1. Read more...
This video shows the two Jasta 11 Fokker Dr.1 triplanes of Manfred and Lothar von Richthofen flying together, as they might have been seen in early April 1918.
Unlike his brother, Lothar survived the war, and for a time worked on a farm and then accepted a job in an industrial company. He was married in June 1919, but the marriage only last a couple of years (before being dissolved), but it did produced two children. After his marriage ended Lothar returned to aviation and began working as a commercial pilot flying between Hamburg and Berlin. On 4th July 1922 the LVG C VI aircraft he was flying crashed at Hamburg due to engine failure, and at the age of 27 another of Germany's WW1 flying aces was tragically killed.
Three Fokker Dr.1 triplanes from Jasta 11, including that of Lothar von Richthofen, take to the air on a wet and wild morning to patrol the Western Front....
Share This Story :
More Stories and Video Clips:
This Is One Of The Best WW1 Aircraft DVDs That You Can Buy
Listen To The Sound Of Twin Merlin Music As A WW2 Mosquito Lands...
Medieval Jousting At An Airshow! What's That About?
Second World War Tracked Carriers Were Also Built In New Zealand
HMTV is our advert-free streaming video channel which features an awesome array of video and long form documentary material which is not available elsewhere. Sign up for a free trial and enjoy the significant and varied range of material we have on offer...
Please consider subscribing to HMTV, or buy us a drink to support our historical (story and film) preservation endeavours.
Copyright © All Rights Reserved — Historical Aviation Film Unit
Template by OS Templates