For Amy: Mid-Air Collissions of Josef Jacobs

Dear Amy,
In regards to the circumstances of Jacobs'mid-air collisions, I have some references in my files from different sources. The consensus was that he survived 2 such incidents, one with an English fighter, the other with a German. In one source there is a reference to "...collided with another
Triplane." As Jacobs was known to fly a black Fokker Dr.I (and was in fact a leading proponent
of that famous aircraft), the identity of the other craft or its pilot was not made clear--so it
could have been either English or German.Another
source claims that following one of these collisions, Jacobs escaped death by using a parachute. Still another reference claims that he was the only WW1 pilot to survive 2 parachute jumps. In any case all of these events happened while he was CO of Jasta 7, which during his tenure operated in Flanders along the Ypres-Menin-Passchendaele front.Hope this was of help to you!
G.E.J.
P.S. The WW1 Parachute is an interesting story in itself,but I'll save it for another time.

[Amy]

Dear G Jacobs:

Thank you for the information. I just bought O'Connor's Vol. V book a week ago. I haven't had time to read it thoroughly yet but Neal devotes several pages to Josef. I've only been scanning but so far found one of the collision incidents that happened on April 21, 1917. It appears that Josef was coming in for a landing as suddenly another Albatros flown by Kunst was landing as well and they collided, destroying both machines although both escaped without injuries. As I said, I haven't had the time to read it thoroughly to find the other incident.

The Wings Over the Rockies Museum in Denver has one of Josef's uniforms on display. I think they have some other items of his as well. If you're interested, I could find out more for you.

Thanks again!

Amy

Dear Amy,
I enjoyed your reply--it appears now that the circumstances of both collisions are accounted for.You are obviously well-read and informed on your subjects.Thanks for the information about
the museum in Colorado.Any further info you might
come across would be most appreciated.
Thanks Again!
G.Jacobs

[Frank_Olynyk]

I assume you are aware that Jacob's diary was translated into English, and has been published in about six or seven parts, some in the US journal Over the Front, and some in the English journal Cross & Cockade International.

Frank.

[rammjaeger]

Dear Mr Jacobs, it would be nice if you could inform us about the precise data of these two prachute jumps. The most reference books do not show a parachute jump for Jacobs. If I remember right his jumps are also not mentioned in the Grub Street books but in some other literature.

There was at least one other German pilot, the Bavarian Vogel, who jumped two times successful. Reinout or another of the Forumites wrote one time that Bäumer was jumping three times but I know only one description of a jump by himself.

Dear Frank,
Thanks for the info.I was aware that articles about Jacobs were in the Cross & Cockade,though I have not read them.However I was not aware of the Over the Front publication.Every little bit helps.Thanks Again! GEJ

Dear Hannes,
The sources of the two parachute jumps are as follows:Eagles of the Black Cross by Walter A.Musciano, whose book was the first that I found any significant information about Josef Jacobs and piqued my interest in him.He describes the incidents much as I have written it above,except he claims that Jacobs used a parachute in both collisions to save himself. Another account comes from Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War; edited by Bruce Robertson.In this book, the German pilot info was credited to Heinz Nowarra. In that book,the collisions are described in the same manner,but implies that Jacobs used a parachute to escape one of these incidents.Your comments about other pilots' parachute jumps intrigued me,so I checked them out.Unfortunately, I cannot locate the claim that Jacobs was the only WW1 pilot to survive two parachute jumps, but I will continue to look for it. I do not believe that he personally made such a claim,but that the accomplishment was attributed to him by others. I have no info on Vogel,but if true would also make him a "Jump-Meister" of WW1. However, I can give you specific info on Bäumer and Udet.On 17.8.1917, Paul Bäumer shot down an English Bristol fighter for his 30th victory.During the fight,his plane was damaged by gunfire from another Englishman. As he began to lose control of his plane, Bäumer used a parachute to escape. This account is also from Eagles of the Black Cross. In early 1918, Ernst Udet was shot down by a French Bruguet B14 and saved himself by parachute.This was described in German Aircraft of the First World War;by Peter
Gray & Owen Thetford.Hope this info is of interest
to you. GEJ
P.S. Perhaps you can help me locate the village of Kreutzkappelle(sometimes spelled Kreuzkappelle)
that is believed to be the birthplace of Josef Jacobs.Some references place it in Rheinland -Palatinate.A German friend once told me that he thought the village was north of the Mosel somewhere between Trier and Koblenz.Thanks, GEJ

Dear Amy,
If you have been reading the other replies above it could be possible that Jacobs was involved in three collisions including the one you described. You may have also solved another inconsistency. Most sources claim that Jacobs transferred from Jasta 22 in April 1917 to take command of Jasta 7 following the death of Wilhelm Frankl.I have also
seen some who place his arrival as Aug.or Sept. 1917,which would indicate an interim CO,yet to my knowledge those two men were the only ones to lead the Jasta.However,one source specifically states that Jacobs arrived as CO on 16Apr1917, which fits in nicely with your account of the landing fiasco.I'm sure our friend Kunst made a great impression on his new CO! Thanks, GEJ

[rammjaeger]

Dear GEJ,

thank you very much for your reply. Some remarks:
I do not believe that Bäumer was jumping in August 1917. He had not 30 but only three kills achieved during this time. Additional the German inventor Heinecke tested his chute in May 1917 the first time with an own jump from 1000 m. The chutes were maybe at first given in Fall 1917 to some German "Giant"-aircraft crews (???) but Jastas got chutes not before 1918. (Correct me, if I am wrong.) The first known successful jump was done by the Dresden-born pilot Steinbrecher. I am just asking all Steinbrechers in my hometown therefore but nobody seems to know about that.
Bäumer describes the jump in "Flieger am Feind" and mentions also he had problems to get rid-off his burning boot.

Leutnant der Reserve Paul Vogel (Jasta 23b) jumped on 25. and 30.July 1918 but died in aircombat in September 1918.

Iam searching for Kreuzkapelle (used different spelling variations) but the location was maybe "eaten" by another town during the last decades. I will keep trying.

Sincerely,

Hannes

[rammjaeger]

The Vogel-info comes from The Jasta Pilots.

I looked for Kreuzkapelle (= Cross Chapel) in the German-language part of the Internet. There was only one Kreuzkapelle mentioned. It is not a town or village but a specific Church in Lützenkirchen in Leverkusen (Rheinland!). Maybe JJ was born in this Chapel (??) or near this place. Today Lützenkirchen is part of Leverkusen (the multinational enterprise BAYER is located there).

Look at www.leverkusen.com, chose English language and go to History or Churches. You can e-mail and ask there too.

(Maybe we have a Rheinländer visiting the thread here who is able to give more precise info.)

Sincerely,

Hannes