wingmen

[steven brown]

In my reading about the German pilots, I've noticed that Georg Strasser is often refered to as the wingman of Julius Buckler. I'm curious about what is meant by that status. If they frequently flew together, then presumedly they used specific tactics to exploit their individual strenghts. My question is whether they were an early example of the WW2 rotte, that is, one of them being the shooter and the other the protector. Also, were there other two man teams other than the famous Luke/Wehner combination?

[Reinout]

Hi there,

I believe Hans-Joachim Wolff was often tasked with protecting his Geschwaderkommandeur Richthofen, but I don't think they operated like a Rotte. I believe that in 1918 MvR often flew above the fight to see how it evolved and dropped down when a colleague needed help or when a good opportunity presented itself. I'm not sure Wolff was always with him during those stages, but I don't think so as there'd be two planes less in the combat.

Kind regards,

Reinout

[steven brown]

Reinout,
Thanks for the reply. I had not read that about Wolff and Richthofen. I've become interested in the tactics used by the pilots as the war progressed. By 1918, everybody had figured out what worked, I would think, and the obvious utility of the two man element must have occurred to someone.
I'm not at home so I don't have my notes or books, but I remember 3 or 4 pilots of a French squadron which flew together using mutual support to attack ballons and I've read that the Kests used quite complex tactics attacking the British bombers of the Independent Force.

[steven brown]

The French unit that I was thinking of was SPA154. Michael Coiffard and his principal teammate Jacques Ehrlich often flew together and worked together to destroy many ballons.
Another pilot I've read about who is described as a wingman was Willy Rosenstein. He and Hermann Goring flew together. Again, I'm curious what tactics they used as a pair.

[Gregvan]

Hi,

I'm not sure if we should apply the word "wingman" too freely in WWI aviation. I'm not sure how tactics evolved, it was probably simply a make-it-up-as-you go kind of thing.

In his account Das Letzte Mal an der Front, Lothar von Richthofen wrote that he liked to fly with Loewenhardt simply as a matter of expedience and necessity, as most of the experienced pilots were transferred or dead: "I was flying with Loewenhardt and the best men from our two Staffeln (Jasta 10 and 11). In my Staffel (11), things were looking very shaky. There was actually only one pilot who was any good. It was the same in Loewenhardt's Staffel (10). The best had fallen; the new pilots were good for very little.

"Flying with Loewenhardt was wonderful, almost like flying with Manfred, at least the first to compare it with. In just a short time, we had become well-attuned to each other, and we could communicate splendidly with each other in the air. I was blessed, after Manfred, to have found again someone on whom I could depend. Loewenhardt expressed the same thing about me."

[steven brown]

Gregvan,
Thanks for the reply and that quote from Lothar von Richthofen. From the way that LvR describes it, the flying together was informal, just two experienced pilots looking out for each other. I believe you are probably correct that in WW1 the term 'wingman' didn't mean the same as in later wars. I came upon it several times in my reading and wanted to clarify it in the context of WW1. Thanks for taking the time.

[Barrett]

LvR's comments about EL strike a chord w/me, FWIW. After flying/shooting/working with a like-minded partner, you can in fact develop the next thing to ESP, recognizing his likely moves before they occur. With one of my frequent flying buds, when he squirmed in his cockpit, I knew he was about to depart the formation rawther abruptly. (Half-snap to inverted and split-S out was typical.) Of course, open cockpits lend themselves to such aeronautical interpretations moreso than later designs.

Reading betwixt the lines, I believe that after losing Manfred, Lothar was in search of someone else he could trust. That resonates because it recalls the relationship with my best-ever best friend. But that wasn't in combat, so we may only try to imagine what it meant to Lother in 1918.

[Ginger.]

All sounds a bit Hunnishly soppy in my 'umble opinion... could never imagine Mannock or McCudden needing somebody to 'hold their hand' during a fight!

[steven brown]

Barrett,
Thanks for the post. I'm sure what you describe is what Lother was talking about. More than likely, your experience is what in WW1 is meant by the term 'wingman'. Ginger, I trust you had tonque firmly in cheek with your comment.