Flying Circus

[willycoppens]

Hi,
Did the " Flying Circus " really travel by railroad? Did it acquire its name because, like a real circus, it used the rails for transport?
Thanks, willy

As I understand it, the mobile German Jasta's inspired this because once packed on a train they looked exactly like a circus would. Back in those days circuses were common and frequently used rail travel. When the train carrying the Jasta pulled up with all the junk on it some wags probably commented "Ah, the circus has come to town," or some such thing. Thus the name.
I truly don't know if that is true or an urban legend.

Joe

[Gregvan]

Hi All,

As far as I know, the "flying circus" name was one only used by British and , later, American, airmen during WWI for "Richthofen's Squadron" as the Allied airmen understood it. German personnel did not use this term, though some of them may have been aware of it through interrogations of captured Allied airmen.

At first, the term was simply "Richthofen's Circus" or "Richthofen's Travelling Circus". This did indeed stem from the British notion that Richthofen's unit travelled up and down the front to wherever the fighting was most intense. The notion that it was applied because of the red-colored aircraft, or bright-colored machines in general, only came about later (perhaps even after the war). The version of this term as the "Flying Circus" too, came about later - perhaps most notably in Rickenbacker's book "Fighting the Flying Circus".

The earliest uses of the "circus" term I have been able to find date from around April 1917 (naturally) so at first it was applied to "Richthofen's Squadron" as in Jasta 11. After the formation of JG I, it was also applied to this larger formation, though I think most Allied airmen (and even intelligence officers) had a dubious understanding of the distinction between Jasta 11 and Jagdgeschwader I.

The term could also be applied to special formations of British aircraft. I quote F.M. Cutlack's official history of the Australian F.C., Chap. XVIII: "Circus was the name given, jocularly in the beginning, to a specially selected fighting squadron which travelled from one part of the front to another, wherever offensive air strength was required...In the German circuses its pilots were crack airmen drafted from all squadrons; the British circuses were composed rather of crack squadrons, not necessarily of selected airmen,though expert airmen, returned to the front from home instructional courses or from convalescence, were frequently sent to a circus squadron instead of to the squadron to which they had formerly belonged."

That, at least provides one Allied viewpoint.

Greg VanWyngarden

[Gregvan]

Me Again ,

Here's more from F.M. Cutlack:

"The first circuses appeared on the German side.The name was appropriate...Circus, because it was always travelling about the front; circus, because its star airmen, esteeming themselves the elite of the air service (and they were) painted their aeroplanes with all manner of fantastic and brilliant colour-schemes. Richthofen's Circus could for long be distinguished on sight by the brilliant red of its machines. Another red Albatros squadron, whose specialty was black tails, was known as the "black-tailed circus". But a whole circus was not necessarily of uniform colour, and some airmen would paint their machines entirely after their own fancy " [Cutlack goes on to give the popular but erroneous notions that Boelcke flew a black Fokker with white crosses, and that Voss flew a 'silver-fish'.]

"During April 1918 No. 2 Squadron (AFC) from Bellevue aerodrome, a central position on the British front, began to operate in a British circus with No. 43 and No. 80 British Squadrons."

Hope that helps.

Greg VanWyngarden

[Vigilant]

Hi

My ha'penny worth is that real flying circuses were in existence before the war. Witness John Moisant's Circus which included Roland Garros among its number in 1910/11. I believe the Wrights even formed a circus to demonstrate their machines - much against their instincts I should imagine.

BTW, one of the reasons for the stalemate of trench warfare was the excellent railway network of NW France/Belgium which allowed very rapid movement of troops, or aeroplanes, to areas of activity. The whole region had become fairly heavily industrialised in the 19th Century - hence the many canals and spoil heaps one comes across in the literature.

Vig.