HISTORY

Jagdgeschwader I was an elite unit under command of famous Manfred von

Richthofen. After his death on April 21, 1918, Reinhard respected the legacy

of the “Red Baron” and led the unit in similar way as von Richthofen did, giving his pilots relatively large degree of freedom, including the possibility to

fly "free hunts." That was a blessing for the indomitable Gabriel, as independent flights suited him much more than disciplined group operations. But the

“free hunts” were also dangerous adventures, as Willi learned soon.

He took off for lone hunt on June 13, hoping to achieve his fifth victory, which

would grant him the status of an ace. After spotting formation of Spads, he

sneaked up from behind and gave the rearmost plane of the formation burst

of his machine guns. The victim fell and remaining eight enemy pilots pounced on him wildly. Gabriel not only had to use all his strength and skill, but

also had to hope for luck. He zigzagged at the height of the treetops, while

number of hits increased, luckily with no bullet hitting him or anything important on the plane. The hope of getting out of the mess was diminishing, but

then one of the pilots of overflying formation of Jasta 41 Albatroses spotted

his “dance of death” and rushed to help. All but one of the Spad pilots decided to call it a day than and Gabriel managed to shoot down the importunate

opponent. The Spad pilot made an emergency landing at the German territory and Willi together with his saviour headed to the base. After landing, Willi

found it was Josef Schwendemann, who, like Gabriel, had four victories on his

account so far. Grateful for his rescue, Willi offered one of his two victories

of the day to Schwendemann and adjusted his report accordingly. Both pilots

became aces that day…2)

Alex Imrie via Greg VanWyngarden

Involuntary renunciation

Walter Gabriel from the time of his service with FFA 21 on the Eastern Front.

when he “awakened” and looked back and over he saw the rest of the squadron circling above him. If it were not his comrades defended him, he would

be done, as the French Spads were above the German patrol to protect the

bombers… However, he achieved his mandatory victory on the first day at the

JG I and so he could unpack definitely… 1)

Two aces by one combat

Willi didn't do much flying with Triplane, as Jasta 11 replaced these aircraft

with new Fokker D.VIIs during the second half of May. One of them, the example of the early production from the Schwerin factory, was assigned to Gabriel. It was a well-known 286/18 with a Mercedes D.IIIa engine. This aircraft got

the marking of the unit (red nose) and personal marking, consisting of orange

and light blue stripes on the fuselage and elevator added gradually.

Leaving one victory to another pilot was not anything new to Gabriel, but

it was for the first time he did so voluntarily. He has been “forced” to do it

not once, but two times before. The day before his abovementioned fight he

claimed the same victory as Reinhard. It would be twentieth victory for his

commander, meaning he would reach the limit for the Pour le Mérite award.

In rather unusual manner adjutant of JG I, Lieutenant Bodenschatz, approached Gabriel with request to waive his claim. But Gabriel refused, because

a few days earlier he had been dealing with the same situation occurring with

another pilot. In that case he agreed on condition he would be awarded the

next disputed victory.3) More to it, in the case of the dispute with Reinhard,

Gabriel was striving for his fifth victory, and thus the ace status. No wonder

he insisted on the victory. However, Reinhard was scheduled to test the new

Zeppelin-Lindau D.I fighter at Adlershof Airport near Berlin in a few days and

would like to leave his unit with the valuable award virtually "in his pocket".

Bodenschatz therefore asked Gabriel again and offered that not one, but two

subsequent disputed victories would be automatically awarded to Gabriel.

Considering it fair, Willi finally agreed. No one could have guessed that there

would be no more disputes with Reinhard…

During the tests at Adlershof on July 3, Hermann Göring tried out the new

type first, followed by Reinhard. During the dive one of the wing struts tore

off and Reinhard was killed in the subsequent crash.4)

Gabriel recorded his seventh victory three days before Reinhard´s death.

His victim was Sopwith Dolphin, and it was a special event, as it was also

the 300th victory of Jasta 11. Willi therefore went to celebrate with his old

comrades-in-arms from Schlasta 15, using his new D.VII F for the trip. It was

BMW IIIa powered aircraft and so very valuable, as it was more powerful and

better performing than Daimler-powered ones.

The party at Schlasta 15 was a bit longer, than expected. Because it was

a clear and “light” summer night, Gabriel decided to fly back home shortly after midnight, but from the air the ground looked much darker, and he

Fokker D.VII Early, 286/18, Vzfw. Willi Gabriel,

Jasta 11, Cappy, France, May 1918

8 eduard

INFO Eduard - February 2021