KITS 11/2023

425/17 Rtm. Manfred A. Freiherr von Richthofen, CO of JG 1, Lechelle, France, March 1918

Manfred Albrecht von Richthofen is rightfully

considered the greatest fighter pilot of the First

World War as he knocked eighty enemies down

prior to his death on April 21, 1918. On contrary to

the general perception, the Fokker Dr.I was not

his typical mount, as he shot down only 17 out of

his 80 victims while flying the Dreidecker for the

short period of March and April 1918. Manfred von

Richthofen was assigned to the Luftstreitkräfte

on his own request in 1915 after his service with

a cavalry unit. He became an observer but when

he met Oswald Boelcke, the charisma of this

fighter ace made him to request pilot training.

On completion of that, he became pilot of

observer aircraft, but after another meeting

with Boelcke he joined the newly formed Jasta 2

fighter unit. In January 1917, von Richthofen was

awarded the highly coveted Pour le Mérite and

was subsequently made CO of Jasta 11. In June

1917, he received orders to form Jagdgeschwader

1 from Jasta 4, 6, 10 and 11 units and led this “wing”

until his death on April 21, 1918. Von Richthofen

had his aircraft painted red from January 1917

when he led Jasta 11 and flew the Albatros D.III. He

carried this practice over to the Fokker Dr.I which

he flew as JG 1 Commanding Officer. According to

some sources the aircraft obtained its red color

in factory and so the finish was therefore of good

quality.

404/17, Hptm. Adolf Ritter von Tutschek, JG 2, Toulis, France, February 1918

Adolf Ritter von Tutschek was born on May 16, 1891,

in the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt. He joined the

army even before the war, and its outbreak found

him serving with the 3rd Infanterie-Regiment “Prinz

Karl von Bayern” as a lieutenant. He would see

combat on both the western and eastern fronts.

For his service against the Russians, he was awarded

the Rittenkreuz des Militar-Max-Joseph-Ordens

(the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Max-Joseph)

which bestowed upon him the title of Ritter. As an

November 2023

infantryman, he was seriously wounded several

times (grenade, gas). Afterwards, he requested

a transfer to the Luftstreitkräfte and after training,

he served as artillery spotter from October 1916

till January 1917 with FA 6b. Subsequently, he was

transferred to Jasta Boelcke, where he gained

three kills, and on April 28, 1917, he was named

CO of Jasta 12. On August 11 he was seriously

wounded in combat with C. D. Booker of No. 8

Squadron RNAS. After being released, he was

named the first CO of Jagdgeschwader 2 and on

March 10, 1918, he reached his 27th victory. Five days

later he was shot down and killed by H. B. Redle

from No. 24 Squadron RFC. The aircraft in which

Hptm. von Tutschek died carried a standard Fokker

Dr.I “streaked” camouflage and a turquoise color on

the lower ones. The rear part of the fuselage was

overpainted with black and the engine cowl was

white, which was typical for Jasta 12, one of the

JG 2 units.

INFO Eduard

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