Heads up

[tony draper]

Documentry on tonight channel four UK 6.50 PM.
Dogfight: The Mystery of the Red Barron.
Says it will attemp to clear up the controversy as to who shot said Red Barron down.
No R agin it in me telly mag, so It looks like a new one.
Sorry about the lateness of the heads up, but I only just noticed it.

[Shaggy Sheep Driver]

It was excellent, with some nicw shots of Old Warden'd lovelies.

Also, Scrapheap Challenge just before it was very good - build and fly an aeroplane in 20 hours. The US team built a replica of something pre WW1 which eventually got airborn - just. The French bult a Bleriot which did some lengthy hops. The Brits built a lightwieght biplane which flew circuits of the strip at a couple of hundred feet from its first flight. Magic!

And on Top Gear Tom Cassells showed how silly fast cars are by peeing all over one in his Cap. He beat it around the circuit despite flying a greater distance, clinbing and diving a few thousand feet, and threw in some aeros to boot. The supercar crawled around its 2-demensional world and was approaching the line when Tom zoomed down inverted and flashed past.

Car? Pah!

SSD

[treadigraph]

Missed all of them - and I knew the Red Baron jobbie was on... bu@@er!

[SPIT]

I saw the above prog and I thought it was great "BUT" yet again this will let the Aussies gloat:D :D :cool:

[HectorusRex]

If anybody watched the credits, did they perchance notice if a "Frank McGuire" was mentioned?
He did a History thesis on this whilst serving in Ottawa, and then worked to complete it in Victoria, Vancouver Island.

It was his considered conclusion that the bullets that were fatal could only have been fired from the ground, hence Australian.

[John (Gary) Cooper]

I served on 209 Squadron in 1958, the shooting down of Baron von Richthofen was a story often told especially to newcomers to the unit, Captain Roy Brown was credited with the 'kill'. I found the programme very interesting in its content and the computer graphics were also first class where real aircraft were not used. The theory re the Australian Sergeant being credited with the 'downing of the Fokker Triplane' is perfectly feasible and has been doing the rounds for some years now, it really doesn't matter to whom the claim is made, ALL those that took part should take the credit.

209 Squadron 'Might and Main' :)

[Gnadenburg]

The Aussies got the Red Baron!

Stealing our thunder as good as the yanks have done since 42.

Mr Cooper sad thing is the troopers didn't get much credit.

[Kermit 180]

Who killed the Red Baron? (http://www.anzacs.net/who-killed-the-Red-Baron.htm)

Pretty sure I posted this link somewhere on this topic before, so apologies if youve seen it already.

Kermie

[CamelPilot]

These documentry programmes are, regretably, the product of either inquisitive minds or those who 'think' they know. The real fact is that no-one will ever know. Taking the credit for killing a great pilot in the new arena of air warfare was, I imagine, quite a coup - if you could prove it. Which no-one ever has.

All that aside, von Richtofen was a brilliant pilot, a first class shot, and could handle the temperamental DR1 better than anyone, using it as a well aimed gun in any position or manouvre - a very difficult thing to do. The law of averages seems to be the winner.


A very Happy New Year to all.