Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/270 PART 2/1 - 1918 - 1939 - Part 2

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Lang Lang.
June 9^th 1934.
Dr. C.E.W. Bean.
Dear Sir.
With reference to Richthofen's Death.
Standing on a 'Farm Track' close to the Mericourt. Corbie
Road. about 3 Kils. almost due South of Heilly.
Looking east I saw a fight in progress in the air.
Three planes. 2 British & 1 German dived out of the fight.
The German on both their tails. One British plane dived
out toward the Somme. The other, with the German on
his tail, continued toward the ground out of my sight.
Within minutes, from the east. they appeared over the rise
& flying about 40 ft from the ground. Passed almost
overhead. The British plane was flying up & down [[?]]
the German trying to imitate & giving quick bursts
with his gun. The German pilot seemed to crouch
forward as he have each burst. The British plane
had apparently no tail gun as he did not reply.
The British Plane steeplechased a group of trees
& swooped down over the Ancre & continued
his course between Bonnay & Heilly to the Rear.
lifting over the trees the German plane gave up the
chase & banking to his left straightened his plane
toward his line & commenced to climb.

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He now came under Machine gun fire
from the ground. His plane would be just
about overhead of the artillery. The plane
seemed to steady & then headed slowly
for the ground. Landing on the Some
side of the high ground.
My memory is a bit foggy here. I remember seeing
troops running in that direction & later the
German artillery shelled the spot. I would
say he landed North East of Vaux. maybe just North.
I heard next day that the pilot was 'Richthofen'.
No other British Planes were anywhere near.
Yours faithfully
J.A. Wiltshire

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8743.
27 June 1934.
J.A. Wiltshire, Esq., M.C.,
Lang Lang,
Victoria.
Dear Sir,
---I have to thank you for your notes on the
death of Richthofen.  If you happen to see Mr. Ridgway,
would you be so good as to ask him if he would let me have
a reply to the letter which I sent to him through Mr. Super?
Yours faithfully,
C.E.W. Bean
Official Historian.
Wilthire's letter sent to AWM
for copying & return.
AWM
27/6/34

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SECRET.
REPORT OF THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN BARON VON RICHTHOFEN at 62D,
J.19.b.5.2 ABOUT 11 a.m. 21st APRIL 1918.
The following report is based on the evidence of eye witnesses,
written down immediately after the events.
Captain Baron von RICHTHOFEN was flying a single
seater triplane painted red and reported to be of a new pattern.
When first engaged he was pursuing one of our own machines,
reported to be a SOFWITH CAMEL, in a W.N.W. direction, flying
towards the wood in J.19.c.  Here, according to a reliable
witness, he was fired at by an A.A. gun of the 24th Australian
Machine Gun Company.  RICHTHOFEN'S machine seemed to move
unsteadily for a moment, but still continued in pursuit of the
British 'plane.
He had now left the SOMME valley and come over the
high ground north of CORBIE.  Both machines were flying very low,
being not more than 150 feet up.  They were coming swiftly
towards the A.A. Lewis guns of the 53rd Battery, 14th Australian
Field Artillery Brigade, situated at I.24.b.9.5 and I.24.b.6.5
respectively.  RICHTHOFEN was firing into the 'plane before him
but it was difficult for the Lewis gunners to shoot owing to
the British 'plane being directly in the line of fire.  They
accordingly waited their time till the British 'plane had passed.
RICHTHOFEN's 'plane was not more than 100 yards from each when
they opened fire.  The 'plane was coming frontally towards them
so that they were able to fire directly on to the person of the
aviator.  Almost immediately the 'plane turned N.E., being still
under fire from the Lewis guns.  It was not staggering as though
out of control.  Further effective bursts were fired; the 'plane
veered to the north, and crashed on the plateau near the
brickworks in J.19.b.5.2.
The aviator was already dead.  There were bullet wounds
in the knees, abdomen, and chest.  The 'plane was badly smashed;
it was a triplane painted dull red, and was armed with two air
cooled machine guns.  It had only been assembled in March 1918.
The British plane was undoubtedly saved by the action of
the Lewis gunners.  It altered its course and circled back over the
spot where the enemy 'plane had crashed.
The papers of the aviator were taken to the Headquarters
of the 11th Australian Infantry Brigade.  They established his
identity as Captain BARON MANNHEIM VON RICHTHOFEN, born 2nd March
1892 in BRESLAU, province of SILESIA, PRUSSIA.  The machine was
numbered D.R. 425.
Captain Baron von RICHTHOFEN was a great adversary.  The
German official wireless for the 21st April 1918, the very day of
his death, contains the notice "Captain Baron von RICHTHOFEN, at
the head of Pursuit Flight 11, attained his 79th and 80th air
victories".  It was fitting that he should have fallen, in old
Roman fashion, "with all his wounds in front."
After the machine crashed, a troupe of German 'planes
flew over and circled above the spot until driven off by the A.A.
guns.  An infantry guard was posted over the body and the plane,
but they were relieved of their duty shortly after by the German
artillery, which placed a ring of shells bursting with 
instantaneous fuzes, around the 'plane.
The Lewis gunners who brought down the machine were:
N. 598 Gunner W.J. EVANS and No. 3801 Gunner R. BUIE, of the
53rd Battery, 14th Australian Field Artillery Brigade, 5th
Australian Divisional Artillery.

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Dear Bean,
Am attaching a copy of Traver's
report on the bringing down of the "Red
Devil's plane" on 21^st April.
Travers is a very trustworthy officer
& as he had no ulterior motive in claiming
the 'plane for his own unit I think his.
Statement is quite correct.
At the time of the occurrence the 52^nd Bn
(less 2 Corp) plus a section of the 24^th MG Coy,
4 guns, & one section 13^th ALTM Bty. (4 guns)
were on the right flank of the 11^th A.I Bde in the
valley of the Somme, our role being Right Flank
Guard to 11^th AI Bde & we were under their orders.
Rictofen's plane, chasing one of ours, passed
immediately over our Bn HQrs (in the Schoolhouse
at VAUX) flying at a very low, roughly about 150 feet
& our own people saw the whole occurence.
Yours sincerely
J.L. Whitham
HQ. 52/Bn
27.4.18

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C O P Y.
April 23rd 1918.
C. O.
52nd Battalion  A.I.F.
Herewith report on Captain Von RICHTHOFEN's plane
which was  brought down on the 21st April 1819. at about 11.45 a.m.
and landed at (Map Reference, Sheet 62.D.) J.19.b.3.4. and was hit
directly over Map Reference J.19.c.8.5.
On the 21st April I was instructed to report to 11th
Brigade Headquarters as liaison Officer, situated at J.19.c.8.5.
At about 11.45 a.m. I was laying on the ground accompanied by my
runner, about 50 yards from Brigade Headquarters, setting my map and
having a general look round with my glasses.  I heard a plane "or
planes" coming at a tremendous pace from the direction of 26 Central,
A Vickers gun was firing from a spot situated at J.25.a.8.9.  The first
plane which came into view was one of our own and less than 20 paces
behind was an enemy plane painted "RED".  The red plane was
overhauling our plane fast and both were flying so low that they almost
crashed into the trees at top of hill.  Almost directly over the spot
where I was laying, the enemy plane swerved to the right so suddenly
that it seemed almost to turn over.  Our plane went straight on from
that moment.  The enemy plane was quite out of control and did a wild
circle and dashed towards J.19.b.3.4. where it crashed.  I went over
with other Officers and had a look at the plane and also the driver
who was dead, a machine gun bullet had passed from the left side of
his face and near bottom of jaw and came out just behind his right eye
His description would be :-
Height about 6 feet.
Age 26 or 28 years.
Closely cropped fair hair.
Clear complexion, clean shaven.
The Vickers gun mentioned was the only gun firing at the time the
driver first lost control of his machine.
I made enquiries and found the gun was handled by No.424 Sgt POPKIN
CEDRIC BASSETT, 24th. Aust. M.G. Company.
(Sgnd.)Geo. M.TRAVERS, Lieut.
52nd BATTALION A.I.F.
Geoff Travers Lieut.
[*Copies sent to :-
11^th A.I. Bde
13^th A.I. Bde.
24^th M.G. Corp*]
Date  23.4.1918.
Time  2.10 p.m.
[*Copy for Captain C.E.W. Bean, as I hear you are
anxious to get the "dinkum oil" regarding
with compliments of C.O. 52/Bn. J.LW 27.4.18

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Headquarters
Aust Corps
2/5/18
Dear Lytton,
many thanks for your action in the matter of the
claim by an R.A.F. pilot to have shot down Richthofen.  I believe
it rests on the evidence of a doctor that he was killed by a
bullet which travelled, in the doctors opinion, in a more or less
horizontal direction. Whatever the medical evidence,I am personally
quite certain upon the statements of my own friends who saw him
 brought down that a Lewis Gun or shot from the ground did it.  I

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dont feel at all sure which Lewis Gun did it as two or three
of them besides a Vickers gun opened on him as he came over
the crest.  He came so low on the tail of the English plane
that a friend of mine, the colonel of a battalion camping
there, told me that he thought both planes were likely to
crash into the trees- and they thought the English plane was x
done for when the Lewis and other guns opened up, & the German
plane swerved suddenly steeply to the right and sheered at a shallow angle
straight to the ground, four hundred yards to the N.E.
I looked upon the question as unimportant; butthe
men feel it and the ownership of the plane seems to have
depended on it.  Many thanks for your action. Yours

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PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL.
Id/A/20.
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS,
BRITISH ARMIES IN FRANCE.
3rd May, 1918.
Dear Bean:-
As I said in my former note to you, on receipt
of your letter of 26/4/18 about RICHTHOFEN, I immediately
went to H.Q., R.A.F., and I believe General SALMOND
has since seen General BIRDWOOD - I enclose copy of
General GAME's letter.
With regard to your cable, I have censored
one or two passages, but have put in no new matter.
In dont very much like the tone of your letter.
You know, I think, perfectly well my personal opinion
about the Australians, and you must know how they are
regarded by every soldier in the British Army , viz:-
as the very finest troops that exist in any Army.  They
are wtitten up on every possible occasion by all my
correspondents British, Allied and Neutral.  The feeling
in Great  Britain generally is, that the descendants of
colonists have more initiative, more courage and more
brains than those who stay in the home country.  All
these qualities go to make first rate troops.  Furthermore
your Corps represents a Nation, and, therefore, there is
no doubt the very highest esprit de corps.  If every
Imperial Division is not up to the standard of every
Australian Division, there is nothing to be wondered at,
but every Imperial Division has, at anyrate, taken its
share of hard knocks and more than its share of heavy
losses.
As to your phrase "stopping a rot" it is
entirely objectionable.
Some of the men whom the Australians relieved &
who were no doubt going pretty fast at that time, had been
fighting for seven consecutive days.  The reserves who
came up to save the situation, partly French, partly
Australians and partly Imperial, all equally thought
they were "stopping the rot", but as a matter of fact,
the retiring troops were stone cold, and no wonder.
There is no doubt in my mind that Australia
has won immortal fame in this war by the conduct of her
magnificent troops.  As you well know my sentiments on
this point, I think it is odd that you should have
written me this letter, quoting German wireless and
German opinion about the Australians, as though to
convert me to an opinion which I had long since had.
Yours
Neville Lytton
Major,
General Staff.

C.E.W.BEAN Esq.,
War Correspondent.

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COPY.
H.Q., R.A.F.
2nd May, 1918.
Dear Lytton,
General Salmond has been very carefully into the question
of the bringing down of Richthofen, and he considers that it
is impossible for the R.A.F. to entirely renounce the claim.
At the time of the collapse of the machine, three of our scouts
were near enough to take part in the fight, and the report that
a red triplane had been shot down in aerial combat was sent in
before it was known who the occupant was.  He is perfectly
willing that the R.A.F. should share the claim with the
Australians, if they wish, and has made a re-draft of Bean's
telegram, which he suggests would meet the case, and which I
attach.
Yours ever,
sd. Philip game.

Major Lytton.