MvR vs Hartney

[Scotty]

Greetings,

In the book "Up and At'Em", Harold Hartney goes into some detail about how he was victim 20 (or 21) of MvR on Feb. 14 1917. On pg.80 he even claims/suggests that Floyd Gibbons wrote of his "battle" with MvR in "Red Knight Of Germany"

Contemporary authors:
GOGS-Above The Lines, Jasta Pilots
Trevor Henshaw- The Sky Their Battlefield
Peter Kilduff- The Red Baron, Beyond The Legend

all write that Hartney was not or could not have been the victory in this case..

The Question I have is that Hartney had been in combat at this point since June of 1916, about 8 months and was a flight commander in 20th Squadron.
Was MvR well known by allied aircrews at this point? (He was the top living Ace for Germany at this time) And if so, surely a man of Hartneys experience would have recognized MvR when he saw him....?

any opinions?

Thank You For Your Time
Scotty

I this particular book, you'll also see Hartney claim that his gunner got eleven Eindekkers in one sustained battle. The claim was downgraded to three. These three by the gunner- Hartney had no forward firing gun- were the first claims which later earned him "ace" status.
Under the the thread titled "Hartney's Eindekker Massacre" of several months past, I asked for any records from the German side that would indicate there had been several or more Eindekker losses on that particular date. There were no responses. Regards. Lee

[Barrett]

MvR certainly was known to RFC/RAF personnel. Arthur Gould Lee in his classic "No Parachute" wrote his family while en route to his squadron that he did not relish meeting the baron any too soon. Also recall that "The Aeroplane" wrote a complimentary eulegy to MvR when he was KIA (by WHATEVER means anyone prefers to believe!)