The Baron's two-seaters

[retread]

I know this has had to been discussed on the forum (probably more than once) but for the slow among us (me) what were the two-seater aircraft MvR flew in as either an observer or pilot? Any particulars regarding serial #'s or colors?
Thanks

[Gregvan]

Hello Weldboy,

Manfred's first unit was Feldflieger Abteilung 69, in which he flew as an observer, usually in an Albatros 'B' type, usually with Oblt Georg Zeumer as pilot. He also flew with von Osterroht and Oblt Erich Graf von Holck. On August 14, 1915 he and Graf Holck were forced down in an Albatros B type after flying though a dense cloud of acrid smoke rising from a burning village on the Eastern Front. Later that month Manfred was transferred to 'Breiftauben Abteilung Ostende' (BAO), where he flew in an AEG G-type with his old friend Zeumer, nicknamed 'the black cat'. In Ferko's book "Richthofen" there is a photo of AEG G.II 6/15 of the BAO, marked with a black cat with arched back painted on the fuselage. This is presumed to be Zeumer's, and therefore also one of Richthofen's machines. The finish is also presumed to be a dark shade of unbleached linen.

After becoming a pilot, Manfred joined Kasta 8 of Kagohl 2, commanded by Hptm Victor Carganico. Crews of Kasta 8 flew the LVG C.II, apparently. He may well have flown an Albatros C.III as well. Again according to Ferko, Kasta 8 was re-equipped with the Roland C.II 'Walfisch' in May 1916 and von Richthofen flew one of them. After examining a line-up photo of Kasta 8's Rolands and their crews with a magnifying glass, Ferko picked out one of the Roland as Richthofen's: it was marked with black 'circles' or spheres on the forward fuseleage beneath the engine, and one marked between the fuselage 'windows' . There is a color profile of this Roland and the above-mentioned AEG G.II G. 6/15 in Ferko's book. The Roland was the usual light blue or gray color overall, with apparently a tiny 'eye' and straight black line for a mouth painted just aft of the spinner. The identification of this machine as von Richthofen's remains somewhat controversial.

Perhaps the most interesting two-seater was the Albatros C.IX (one of only 3 constructed) which von Richthofen used as a personal 'hack' aircraft in the summer of 1917. The fuselage, struts, wheel covers and tail were apparently painted red to impress the folks Manfred stopped to visit at home. There are several extant photos of this machine.

Ferko's book and others contain photos of Rumpler C.I 1859/15 which von Richthofen and Krefft flew to Germany in approx. May 1917. He also flew in Albatros C.III 2309/16 as a passenger to visit Voss' family in Crefeld, when many of the famous photos of the two were taken. MvR visited the Kaiserin (the Kaiser's wife) and her friends at Bad Homberg on 3 May 1917, in an Aviatik C.II.

That's about all I can say - wish we knew more about his early two-seaters.

Very best regards,

Greg VanWyngarden