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Holck

Event ID: 121

Categories: 

Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1917, 351.000 - 400.000, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin-Wien

30 April 1916

49.33212776672484, 5.8350083764002525
Flughafen Mont
Mont

Source ID: 4

Der rote Kampfflieger von Rittmeister Manfred Freiherrn von Richthofen, 1917, 351.000 - 400.000, Verlag Ullstein & Co, Berlin-Wien p.  74 

“As a young pilot, I once flew over Fort Douaumont on a fighter flight, which was under heavy barrage. I saw a German Fokker attacking three Caudrons. Unfortunately for him, there was a very strong westerly wind. In other words, an unfavourable wind. In the course of the battle he was driven out over the town of Verdun. I pointed this out to my observer, who also said that he must be quite a dashing chap. We wondered whether it could be Boelcke and wanted to enquire about it later. But then, to my horror, I saw the attacker turn into a defender. The German was being pushed down more and more by the French, who had now increased their numbers to at least ten aircraft. I couldn’t come to his aid. I was too far away from the fighters and my heavy aeroplane couldn’t cope with the wind. The Fokker fought back desperately. The enemy had already pushed him down to at least six hundred metres. Then he was suddenly attacked again by one of his pursuers. He disappeared in a dive into a cumulus cloud. [75]I breathed a sigh of relief, because I thought that had saved him. When I got home I told him what I had seen and learnt that it was Holck, my old comrade-in-arms from the East, who had recently become a fighter pilot before Verdun. Count Holck had crashed vertically, shot through the head. It was very emotional for me, because he was not only a role model of bravery, he was also a personality like few others.”

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