Peter Kilduff's new book

Laserlloyd · 25 November 2007, 02:50 PM

Hi Germanophile-1

Welcome to the Areodrome forum. When had read Greg's post on your new book and was excited to here about the new information.

Glad to see the MySpace site, I think that in todays world that the web is just on avenue to get the word out, Good Job...

Quote:

I understand the often heard question "why another Red Baron book?" and the only answer I have is: because people seem to want them. Or, at least, that is what publishers perceive, as many of them continue to invite manuscripts from writers.

The Red Baron will always be popular and a way to get more people interested in World War One aviation. This April 21st will be the 100 anniversary of his death and now more then ever he his still being talk about and debated.

Congratulations on the new book and look forward in ordering it next week.

Lloyd...

The Observer · 25 November 2007, 04:16 PM

Hello Peter,

Its a pleasure to have you here. Looking forward to reading your new book.

In your Red Baron Combat Wing book, you ID'd MvR as being bested by an H.C. Todd on Mar 9, 1917. Can you provide any additional details on this encounter? I have seen this 'defeat' as having been reported to ocurr on a different day in March. Further, no one else had ever identified the von R's victor.

Thanks for your reesponse.

Germanophile-1 · 25 November 2007, 04:23 PM

Hi Lloyd,

Actually, I've been a Forum member for awhile, but have only "lurked" to see what's going on.

I agree that MvR will always be a popular subject -- and especially during the coming year, with the new film and the 90th anniversary of his death coming up.

I'll be interested in your reaction to my book (and hope youi will share your comments on my Myspace page).

Peter

Laserlloyd · 25 November 2007, 05:33 PM

Hi Peter:

I'll Be glad to place my comments on your Myspace site. That thing about 100-90 I call that that as a Lloydien slip...

Of course it's 90 at least one of is a wake....

Lloyd...

I got your PM and I'll keep you informed on any updates. Thanks...

Germanophile-1 · 26 November 2007, 12:15 PM

In response to The Observer's posting:

"In your Red Baron Combat Wing book, you ID'd MvR as being bested by an H.C. Todd on Mar 9, 1917. Can you provide any additional details on this encounter? I have seen this 'defeat' as having been reported to ocurr on a different day in March. Further, no one else had ever identified the von R's victor."

The best way to answer this question is to explain my research method. As noted earlier, at first I did not want to write the book that became Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron, and I finally accepted it when I felt I could bring something "new" to the story of

Manfred von Richthofen. It seemed to me that the best original texts were the books by Floyd Gibbons and Claud Sykes (aka "Vigilant"), and the Nowarra-Brown Harleyford book. The succeeding volumes seemed to me to have been derived from those books and contained no new research. Hence, I put even those revered volumes aside and, borrowing from my corporate friends who practice "zero base budgetting," I came up with a plan of "zero base research." By poring over literally thousands of German and British document-copies I'd dug out of archives in the preceding 25+ years, I compiled an 80-page (single-space) MvR chronology, a day-by-day listing of what Richthofen did according to various documents. With adjustments and refinements over the years, this document has become my "Bible" in telling the Richthofen story (and, yes, the significance of its length of 80 pages has not escaped me).

So, in the case of events of 9 March 1917 (a Friday, for whatever that factoid might be worth), I deduced from MvR's own account that he had been forced down that day. And, as my collection of No. 40 Squadron combat reports (and the RFC War Diary) placed H.C. Todd at just the right spot, I further deduced that Todd's bullets "nicked" MvR's aircraft and Todd carelessly did not follow up on his initial success.

Tell me what date you have and how you arrived at it, Herr Beobachter, and, if it means I have to write yet another MvR book for the sake of Richthofenological completeness, I guess I'll just have to do it :-)

I'd be glad to continue this discussion on MySpace.com - Red Baron - 66 - Male - New Britain, US - www.myspace.com/redbaron_thebook

Regards,

Peter Kilduff

Biber · 26 November 2007, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germanophile-1

...I was a reporter for the (sadly, now defunct) Hartford Times ...

Yes I remember very well the Times. A sad day when it stopped. From then on it was yesterday's news every morning!

This place never ceases to amaze me! Having great respect for your work, I'm sure I speak for all of us mere mortals when I say it's great that you've joined us. We all look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on the subjcts that have brought us all together.

But seriously, welcome to our humble forum

B

Germanophile-1 · 26 November 2007, 01:56 PM

Yes, it's sad that The Hartford Times is gone, but among my fonder memories is having my first Page 1 bylined article being a feature story on

Douglas Campbell, the first U.S.-trained ace of WW I and a Connecticut resident. followed by similar features about DH-9 pilot Clayton Knight (No. 206 Squadron, RAF), Salmson pilot Kenneth Littauer (88th Aero Squadron, USAS) and German two-engined bomber pilot John [Johannes] Knauer (Bogohl 6). None of the texts is digitized, so I guess there is no way to "publish" them for Aerodrome readers.

Or, is there a way?

Peter Kilduff

Laserlloyd · 26 November 2007, 02:15 PM

Hi Germanophile-1:

Yes there is, I have scanned a documents and then had another program convert the image text into a font with in a text file.

Lloyd...

tcrean7828 · 26 November 2007, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germanophile-1

Hi Tom,

Thanks. As I used to say in my U.S. Navy days (a l-o-n-g time ago): Glad to be aboard.

Sorry to say, there is little on Voss in my new book. Again, it's due to commercial publishing. In this case, I was limited to 90,000 words of text, which may sound like a lot, but really isn't when one has such a big subject. So, I had to stay focused on MvR.

In response to an earlier comment about the number of Red Baron books coming out (especially in view of the new film, due out in February): the breadth of the subject left plenty of room for Messrs. Franks, Giblin and McCrery to concentrate (and very well, at that!) on MvR's victories in their book Under the Guns of the Red Baron (1995), which has just been released in a new paperback edition.

I agree with Greg's original point that booklength accounts are needed on many other leading (and even not-so-leading) airmen of World War I. It takes a fair bit of digging to write such a book -- but I hope there are some good diggers out there who will write these needed books.

Peter

Mate,
Peter thanks for the insight and the comeback - I am presently working on one of

Werner Voss and it could come out in the next couple of years - I hope.

cul (see you later)

tcrean7828

tom

FliegerJG1 · 26 November 2007, 04:49 PM

Hello Peter!

Welcome to our Forum discussions! It’s a pleasure to have your voice amongst us! When my interest in Manfred was in its infancy, your books are what nurtured it and kept it going. I am most grateful to you for all your labors dedicated to

Manfred von Richthofen and the German Air Service.

Amongst everything I’ve read about MvR, very little is dedicated to his time spent in the Prussian cadet schools. Have you ever seen any records of his education or photos of him in any school yearbooks or classes? I’ve seen other students, just not Manfred. This would be interesting to explore further.

Many thanks in advance!

FliegerJG1