“Boelcke’s teachings, which he eventually wrote down, made an impression on young Manfred.”
GERMANY’S Manfred Von Richthofen, also known as the Red Baron, wasn’t a very good pilot; his flying instructors thought him a mediocre aviator at best. Nor was the 25-year-old native of Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) the fiercest warrior in the air — he often avoided taking risks preferring to prey on slower-flying observation planes.
Yet the Prussian aristocrat and one-time cavalry officer chalked up an astounding 80 air-to-air victories in two-and-a-half years – more than any other flaying ace of the First World War. In fact, Von Richthofen would become the greatest war hero of Germany and the most celebrated combat pilot in history.
The Baron himself credited his enviable success not just to his gifted marksmanship, but rather to a near slavish devotion to a set of simple dogfighting maxims handed down to him by his own hero and mentor, Oswald Boelcke.
Often called the “Father of Air Combat” [1], the influential captain tutored the junior Von Richthofen while the pair served together in Jasta 2 in 1916 along with air legends Werner Voss and Paul Bäumer, aka “The Iron Eagle.” Boelcke established his famous Dicta while racking up a then unheard of 40 kills.
At the time, dogfighting was still in its infancy — virtually no recognized tactics existed for air combat. Yet throughout 1915 and 1916, early flying aces made ad hoc efforts to codify the life and death lessons they were learning in the cockpit each day.
Boelcke’s teachings, which he eventually wrote down, made an impression on young Manfred. He would apply them with ruthless efficiency until his own death in April 1918.
Here is the Dicta Boelcke:
1. Use surprise to get the upper hand.
Strike from above while keeping the sun at your back, Boelcke said.
2. Once engaged, remain committed to the battle.
Never flee, he maintained. Always, hang in there and let the other guy retreat. Running from a fight only leaves a pilot at the mercy of pursuers.
3. Get close to the enemy before pulling the trigger.
Blazing away at a distant target is just a waste of ammo. Boelcke recommended his pilots to close to within at least 300 feet or less before opening fire.
4. Keep your eye on the enemy at all times, even if you think he’s going down.
Too often, outmatched pilots looking to escape from a losing fight would feign a fatal hit and nose their machines over into bogus death spirals. Don’t be fooled, the German squadron leader advised. Follow a defeated opponent’s kite down to the ground to make sure he’s truly finished.
5. Always get in behind your enemy.
Head on passes are risky and trying to hit a plane that’s travelling across your flight path is near impossible, Boelcke warned. Stay on the enemy’s tail and you’ll eventually prevail, he said.
6. Point your plane at danger.
When surprised by an enemy, don’t run, Boelcke said. Always attack! Turn your guns onto the threat, even if the enemy is diving on you. Steal the initiative, put him on the defensive and then look for the chance to get on his tail.
7. Use caution, especially when over enemy lines.
While retreat is rarely a safe option in any dogfight, Boelcke maintained, when mixing it up over hostile territory, keep an eye on the compass and always have an escape route back to friendly lines open just in case.
8. Choose your targets wisely.
When engaging an enemy squadron as a group, pilots should make sure they’re each targeting different planes. If too many friendlies dive onto the same prey, it leaves enemy aircraft free to escape or counter-attack.
(Originally published on MilitaryHistoryNow.com, Dec. 13, 2013.)
I regularly dogfight/fly combat sorties in Battlefield 3(an online computer FPS)which admittedly does not have fuel considerations, ammo considerations or realistic distances-but I’ve broken every single one of these rules in one engagement or another to win. For example: a lot of pilots like to fly high and use the sun for cover, so the first thing I do is search the skyline near/around the sun and spot them while using terrain for cover. Then close in using afterburners/chaff to avoid radar about 5-10 ft off ground, pull straight up into them and gun them down as they’re making their bombing/strafing run. Just gotta run enough simulations-I’ve even outflown AA missiles with no countermeasures by turning into the direction of the missiles and outspeeding their ability to hit me(doesn’t work every time of course). Every rule is made to be broken because every situation is UNIQUE and dynamic.
I would imagine that the air fighting rules for WWI would need to be modified for modern air combat. These rules make sense, but some of them could be changed (i.e. to account for increased aircraft speeds, missiles, radar, etc.)
I also regularly run from dogfights to friendly Anti Aircraft positions :3
Annnd theres certain pilots you can’t surprise because of their excellent spatial awareness-these pilots you have to make a show of force and willingness to engage in a drawn out dogfight where you both get shot down by your respective anti-aircraft mobile batteries, stinger missiles or the enemy’s wingman. It becomes a question of a split second and 2-3 knot speed difference in turn radius to pull your line advantageously in that 360 degree bubble. I’ve also learnt that the Fulcrum can twist faster than a Hornet, but not outturn it. 😛
You want a real combat flight simulator, get Ace’s High 2. It’s a WW2 flight simulator, they do weekend Sorties that re create real ww2 historical air battles. It’s pretty awesome taking off and escorting 50+ bombers with usually 1-2 fighters per 3 bomber group. Strategy varies depending on distance and equipment. You can only use the planes that where used in that specific battle…. sometimes You’ll have to fly for 30+ minutes just to get to target, so you bring drop tanks. They also have a furball arena that is just a free for all any plane you want. Very hard game to get the hang of but definitely worth it. You better brush up on your flight tactics and maneuvers(split S’s, Scissors, Rolling Scissors, Flat Scissors, Cuban 8 etc.) Air speed is a crucial factor, as well as using your flaps to aid in maneuverability. I highly recommend it it’s an older game but I’M sure it’s still around.
MVR entered a 3 to 5 minute turn fight with Lanoe Hawker in 1916. He was a great pilot, the author is wrong. You cannot shoot down 80 planes and be a poor pilot, it isn’t posible for the simple reason you have to maneuver your plane into firing position, thuis take great flying skill.
Seriously? You are comparing a game to actual combat? And that makes you a better expert than a man with 80 kills…while risking his ass. Amazing.
Having just finished reading (again, after perhaps 40 years) “Richthofen – A True History Of the Red Baron” by William E. Burrows, I would have to disagree with the author’s point that he was not a very good pilot. He wasn’t an excellent pilot, like his brother Lothar or Werner Voss, but he was an efficient one. He didn’t really seem to enjoy flying like some other pilots, it was merely a means to shoot down other planes. He didn’t do acrobatics, or fly upside down just for the sheer joy of it (he even put down others that did). He flew as well as was necessary to accomplish his goal – shoot down enemy airplanes. He did make a practice of going after the “slowest in the herd”, although he also took on the most advanced fighters when necessary.
If you haven’t read Mr. Burrows excellent book, I’d suggest you do so. He was a complicated man in many ways, and a product of his time. I now wonder – if he had lived through the war, how would he have reacted to the Nazis? Udet ended up joining the Technical Department of the Luftwaffe, despite openly disliking the Nazis (which made him a Nazi as well). He then blew his brains out after constant criticism from Goering, when Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. I wonder if Richthofen would have “gone along” as well, or been disgusted by the whole thing and rebelled? I suppose there’s no way of knowing.
Thanks for the insights. Interesting to speculate about what the rest of his life might have looked like.