First Post (might be a disaster)

bobsmyuncle · 7 October 2009, 12:19 PM

Hi all, I discovered the site while searching for pictures of Richthofen's cups.

While there are a number of posts on the subject here on the site, none of the pictures remain, and despite hours roaming the web I haven't found a thing.

I understand there were several sizes, Ehrenbecher and those that followed, and various materials etc. I'd be happy to see ANYTHING at this point!

Any help would be appreciated, and avoiding a debate on the subject might keep 'the new guy' from looking like a s**t disturber.

Thanks in advance, Jason

tcrean7828 · 7 October 2009, 02:05 PM

Mate,
Welcome to the flagship of the Aerodrome - where the greatest minds on the planet get together and talk about their favorite subject - WW1.

ttfn

tcrean7828

tom

P.S.

Werner Voss fan here.

VtwinVince · 7 October 2009, 04:14 PM

Jason, the Ehrenbecher came in one size only, and was produced in silver until late 1917, then in steel. I have my uncle's from January, 1918, and it is a steel example. Not to be confused with the naval Ehrenpreis, a small statue of two fighting eagles.

stephen · 7 October 2009, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobsmyuncle

I'd be happy to see ANYTHING at this point!

Here's a WWI Ehrenbecher.

Chock · 7 October 2009, 04:50 PM

The cups Richthofen ordered for his victories were 5cm high and 3cm diameter at the top, slightly fluted, probably being 925 silver, since that is typical for such objects. They had a simple inscription noting the aircraft type, details, date of the victory and number (Richthofen clearly assuming there would be many of them). Nevertheless, Richthofen like a lot of German pilots, often incorrectly identified the aircraft type, invariably referring to aircraft as 'Vickers', this being based on the guns retrieved from the wreckage. For example, his first victory was an FE2b, serial number 7018, but the cup he ordered for that first confirmed victory had the inscription 1 Vickers 2 17.9.16, the number two indicating that it was a two seater he had shot down.

As you say, Richthofen probably got the idea to have those cups made from the similar Honour Goblet. The Honour Goblet looked like this, as you can see, it was much more ornate than Richthofen's own personal trophies:

Al

bobsmyuncle · 2 November 2009, 01:54 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone! One last request; could anyone direct me to pictures of Richthoven's cups? I'd like to attempt a fairly accurate reproduction if at all possible. So ideally I'd love to see the inscription as well to sort out the layout and script etc.

Thanks again!

Jason

PS, on a related note I'll be starting a thread requesting pictures of the interior controls of WWI Fokkers as well.