Flying in World War One - introduction

„One day I was blithely flying to give chase when I noticed three Englishmen, who also had apparently gone a-hunting. I noticed that they were ogling me and as I felt much inclination to have a fight I did not want to disappoint them.”
(source: Richthofen, Manfred, Freiherr von: The Red Battle Flyer. Toronto 1918. p. 123.)

These words originate from the autobiography of Manfred von Richthofen “The Red Battle Flyer”. They shall illustrate what “fun stuff” aerial warfare was. It has to be known though, that Richthofen only gave a stenographical note in shorthand to a ghostwriter, who was responsible for the formulation and who took censorship regulations into account. By this it was achieved that the autobiography could be used as propaganda to inspire the war tired population. The myth of the fighter pilots of the First World War still exists, that has hardly anything in common with their actual experiences. Therefor the following pages consider the daily affordances of combat flight beyond the myth and propaganda of heroic fighter pilots.

In the following sources and text passages concerning the everyday routine of combat flight in the First World War are made accessible. With the aid of different work assignments the conditions and circumstances of combat flight in the First World War can be exploited.
The respective key question is: „What was the human experience in the combat flight in the First World War beyond the heroic Myth of chivalrous warfare?“

    1. Control of the planes

    2. A medical approach on the conditions of flight

    3. The psychic dimension

   

Compiled by Achim Messer.