Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/270 PART 2/1 - 1918 - 1939 - Part 4

71d

5
I remember, that Richthofen's machine may have been hit earlier
although what they considered to be erratic movements of the plane
before reaching them other observers have recently called "skilful
  X  evolutions”.. Still, the plane may have been already hit, and the
question arises: did Commander Brown hit it, or Sgt. Popkin?
For Commander Brown, there is one more possibility.
In
the words of Donald Jenkins in the london cable: "Australians should
not overlook the fact that a Canadian pilot (Brown) decoyed or forced
forced Richthofen to 200 feet over the high ground on the Bray-
x   Corbie road, where he was brought down." One would like to ask:
"Did Brown DE decoy Richthofen in this way, and if so, how? It
should be possible to get evidence on this point.
It may be worth while, in addition to the above 
x  questions, to ask or repeat a/few more to which explicit answer, 
accompanied  by evidence where nécessary, would be welcome.
I. Was Commander Brown in the plane pursued by Richthofen?
2. How and when did he fire the fatai shot at Richthofen?
3. Did any actual eye-witnesses of the fight attribute the
shot to Commander Brown? If so, what is their story?
4. Were Richthofen's clothes caught by M.G2 fire?
5. Is there any exact evidence that the German plane was hit in a vital place?
6. Could the Australian War Museum either publish or procure
a) the official records in favourite of Captain Brown which
have been mentioned in the London cables.
b)  the official German account of Baron von Richthofen's
x death ?
To conclude It may still be asked: why was not the
matter cleared up at once? The main reason was a simple one. In
war, the doing of the deed matters; the exact account of the manner
thereof is always secondary, and sometimes cannot be obtained at all.
After the war however the interest shifts to the account of the
deed and thus it is that the event, of a few minutes may become the
controversy of years. Now the day after Richthofen's death the definite word came which we were expecting, that a fresh German attempt
was to be made in great force to break through to Amiens. The need to
meet this at once silenced all other interests. The attack came, it
succeeded/in part  but was checked, never to be repeated, by the counter
attackof the I3th. and I5th. Australian Infantry Brigades on Villers- Bretonneux, on the eve and early morning of AnzacDay. Only after this
could one think of Richthofen, when it was too late to get all the threk
threads together. The opportunity however has not passed and should
be seized - now!
 

AUS
 72
2980.
27 February 1928.
Dear Robinson,
Many thanks for your note. I don't know if you saw
a letter I wrote to "The Sydney Morning Herald' on January 19,
but probably a copy would have been forwarded to the “Brisbane 
Courier” it is not corrcct in two particulars, namcly
Richthofen's body was first brought to Poulainville and thence
to Bertangles; (2) the shot through the body was evidently
wrongly described by the officer who first saw it and whose
account I assumed to be correct.
I think I have, however,
heard doubts cast on the correctness of Barber's report.
I never realised that it had even been suggested that
the fleeing aeroplane was the one which brought Richthofen down.
I thought three fellows who were near him when he dived from
the upper air were the claimants.
I would be very glad of the extracts you mention,
and think they should be collated for the Australian War
Memorial; but I shall not be dealing with the matter myself
until I write Volume V.
With kind regards, to you all,
Yours sincercly.
C.E. W. BEAN
P.S. I will think over
the matter of those
passages from my books and send along my
reviews later. This summer has been a
corker" in Sydney.
Dr. F.W. Robinson, M.A.
The University of Queensland
Brisbane. Q’land.
 

73
S.BENNETT LIMITED
PUBLISHERS OF
'EVENING NEWS’ ‘SUNDAY NEWS!' ‘WOMANS BUDGET:
168-74 CASTLEREAGH ST.
SYDNEY.
OFFICE OF THE MANACING EDITOR
April 11, 29
Dear Charlie
While in Chicago last year I
came upon the enclosed articles. In a 
clean - out of papers it occurred to me that
you might like to look over these.
My own personal opinion as to who
is the “bloody liar” - to use the writer’s
words - differ from Capt. Roy Browne’s  opinion 
I saw part of the combat. I think
we were in at Blangey -Tronville at the time &,

while Richthofen was sitting on the tail of the

British 'plane, there was no pursuing Britisher

near enough to be worth a damn.  They were quite

close to the ground then - an easy work for Lewis guns.

Anyhow, if these do not interest you, just

destroy them.

I've also brought back from U.S. a copy of 

Floyd Gibbons' book - "The Red Knight of Germany". He, too,

gives full credit to Brown for "potting" Richthofen.

Hope to see you again one of these days.

Kindest regards,

Yrs sincerely,

George H. Goddard

74
George Goddard Esq
Evg. News.
Ap 15 1929
Dear George
those are the very articles that the
War Memorial authorities, on my advice, have been trying
to get. It seems ghoulish and hateful to be scrapping
like a lot of vultures over the body of a chap who
was worth a good many of those who scrapped over him, probably;
but this beggar has called Australians damned
liars, and that is the only reason why I have touched
the subject.
His style doesn't seem to be that of a very
reliable type of man, but there were just two things in
his favour(!) the court of inquiry did find, on medical
 evidence, that the bullet had been fired from above.
(2) he might have been the chap in the front plane
who was being chased, and some lucky last shot might just
have got him. The articles make clear that he wasn't
the man in the chased plane - that seems to have been
"Wop" May, if Brown is correct in that part of his
yarn. The whole thing now turns on whether there was
a third plane - a Camel - behind Richthofen when he was
chasing the first camel over the ground near Corbie,
about 200 feet above the Australians in reserve.
A good many hundred men saw this scrap, and it should be
possible to get the matter settled for once and all.
Brown says that he saw Richthofen crash
"as I swung over" so that his plane - if he is right-
must have been there within half a minute of the crash.
Was a third plane there within the last half minute
even on the other side of the hill from that on which
Richthofen fell? According as that is answered the
question is settled.
I shouldn't like to start this controversy
going again. But if you thought it worth while, and cared
to ask me, that would be my opinion.
Many thanks for your thoughtfulness.
Yours sincerely,
 

75
4877.
10 September 1929.
Dear Cusack,
In connection with the death of Richthofen, I should
be glad of precise information from anyone who saw the flight
which ended in his death, as to whether there were two or three
aeroplanes involved. According to the account given by Captain
Brown, which I have received by courtesy of Mr. Goddard of "The
Evening News", Richthofen was closely pursuing a British scout,
and Brown himself in a third machine was almost, if not quite,
equally close on top of Richthofen. Brown does not claim to
have shot Richthofen high in the air, but close to the ground
and his account therefore stands or falls by the question whether
when Richthofen was racing over the hills near Corbie on the 21st
of April, 1918, there were three aeroplanes involved, or two?
I should be grateful if any of your readers can help me to settle
the matter finally.
Yours sincerely,
J. Cusack, Esq.,
c/o R.S. & S.I.L.A.,
Wingello House,
Angel Place,
Sydney
 

FL.4151
5108.
 76
6 November 1929.
W.J. Stagg. Esq,.
State Secretary, R.S. & S.I.L.A..
Wingello House
Angel Place, Sydney.
Dear Mr. Stagg.
The letters which I have so far received in response
to the request for information as to the presence 9(if observed)
of a third aeroplane and the death of Richthofen have all
confirmed the conclusion that he was shot from the ground.
One correspondent definitely mentions that a third aeroplane
was present, but not nearer than half-a-mile and several
hundred feet higher at the time when Richthofen was shot and
swerved to the ground. He states that this machine was not,
and could not, have been engaged with Richthofen immediately
before his death, but that it did afterwards fly over the spot
where he crashed. It seems possible that this was Brown's
plane, but the evidence that he could not have caused Richthofen's

death is overwhelming. I should still, however, be
grateful for information, from anyone who saw Richthofen crash,
with regard to the presence xxx position of this third aeroplane.
Thanking you sincerely for your assistance in the
elucidation of this point,
I am, Yours faithfully,
 

3

EILLE
New Evidence: Richthofen's Death
The claim of Capt. Brown, the Canadian airman, 
to having fired the shot which killed the
famous German war ace, Richthofen, near Corbie.
on April 21, 1918, apparently falls  to the ground
on the evidence which now comes from Mr. Jas.
Quinlan of Sydney, who served with the 14th
F.A.B. A.I.F. Answering the question of Capt.
C. E. W Bean, the Official  War Historian, in last
"Reveille," as to whether there were two or three
aeroplanes  involved before Richthofen crashed, Mr.
Quinlan says:
"I was an artillery observation officer on the
southern bank of the Somme when I saw Richthofen
chasing one of our 'planes. It will be remembered
that the southern bank of the Somme
rose a sheer 200 feet higher than the opposite
side. Therefore, directly the planes arrived on
the southern side, they were naturally lower than
when flying over Hamlet or Corbie. Richthofen
was very close to the hunted’ plane when I first
noticed him, and his machine gun was in action.
I left my post to see the end of the combat, and
noticed Richthofen suddenly lose control of his
machine. A third 'plane was certainly there, but
not close enough to engage with Richthofen.
"Every Lewis gun, one of which
was attached to each battery.
and there were three brigades
of artillery along the railway.
line between Bonnay and Corbie
were potting at Richthofen.ool
and everyone claimed the honour

 of having brought him
down.

Diagram- see original document
"I took bearings with a prismatic
compass in an endeavour
to determnine who brought him
down, and concluded that the
honour belonged to the Lewis
gunner of the 53rd Bty - Evans,
Capt Woebridse
I think, his name was. I was
ordered to submit a report to
Divisional Headquarters. Later, Genera! Hobbs sent
a letter of congratulation to Gunner Evans, of the
S3rd Bty. This Digger, in my opinion, was manning
the only gun within range of Richthofen, who
was in a position to bring the airman down at the
time he lost control of his machine. I can definetly 
state  that Richthofen was shot from the ground.
"R.A.F." writes: There is a coincidence in the
fact that a controversy should be again under way
as to how the Red CIrcus Knight (Baron von hb
thofen)  met  his death just as news had reached nie
of the death in Jask (Persia) last month of Capt.
A. C. Woolbridge, the pilot, and two others, in an
Imperial Alrways machine crash. In June, 1917.
Woolbridge, who was an R.A.F. pilot, wounded
Richthofen, and shot him down, and, in Germany.
Woolbridge’s photograph has often appeared besides
the helmet of Richthofen, in which the bullet hole
could be seen. VVoolbridge started on his war career
at 17 years, and his home was at Westcliff -on - Sea
(England).
 

22.
The REVEILLE
December 31, 1929
Richthofen's Death: Claims and Counter Claims
Tb whom belongs che honour of having shot doun near Corbie, about 11 am. on Aprl 21, 1918. Bavon „Man-
fred von Richthofen, who died at 26 years of age while the leader of the famous Red Cwcusl
The jutility of the claim of the Canadian diman. Captain Broum, is shown in this aruiche. But as we said
befove, to whom- to what Australan —belongs the honour?
By quoting the opinion of "experts" that there
Aajor-Genera! Sir J. Talbot
were two downsianting wounds in the body, Boyd
Hobbs. GOC. Sth Diision.
Cable, the author, has sought to give mierit to the
who went to a great deal of
claim of Brown. Cable does not disclose the names
trouble at the tinie to ascertain
of the "experts" he has consuled, and for the sake
what had taken place, is con¬
of their reputations it is just as well, no doubt, he
vinced that Richthofen was
didn't, for we have the authority of an emninent Aus-
brought, down by Gunners
tralan – an army doctor–to say that, after Richt-
Evans and Buie-"one or both.
hofen was laid out in preparation for burial he ex¬
though the weight of evidence
anined the wounds, and found that there were two
at the tme seemed that Gunner
or three inches difference between the level of the
Buie was really responsible.
Those vews of General Hobbs
EiNLINSOIS GOVGHATtLArTO S-
arewexpressed by him in a let¬
Major-Ceneral
Genera! Rawhnson was satished that the cred!
ter to "Revellle," and he en¬
belonged to the Australans, for whis was the tele¬
J. 7. Hobbs.
closes a report, based on the
gram he sent to the 5th Australan Diviston:-Please
convey to the tärd Bty, 5th D!y, my best thanks
evidence of eye-witnesses, which was presented to
and congra'ulathons, on having brought down the
him immediately after the event. The report muen-
celebrated German aviator, Richthofen."
tioned by Genera! Hobbs is as folows:
Richthofen was nying a single seater triplane painted red.
Vhen hrst engaged he was Dursuing one of our own machines
wounds caused by the exit and entry. A bulet had
in a W.N.W. direction, nying towards the wood in J.18.c.
traversed the chest from side to side, apparently
Here, according to a rehable witness, he was Tred at by an
passing through the heart. and he had no doubt the
A.A. gun of the 24th Australan M.G. Coy. Richthofen's
mach!ne seenned to miove unsteadly for a moment, but salll
doctor said, that the airman was killed by a bullet
ntinued in pursult of the British plane.
hred from the ground, probably whie banking. So
He had now left the Sommmne vahley and comne over the
that disposes of Boyd Cable's fable
high ground north of Corble, the machine being not ruore
than ls0 feet up. They were comning swiftly towards the
The fact that Australan gunners hred the burst
A.A. Lewis guns of the 53rd Battery, 11th A.F.A.B. situated
which killed Richthofen is indisputable, and corro¬
at 124.b. 9.5 and 1.24.b. 6.5. respectively. Richthofen was
Aring into the 'plane, before, him but ! was d'thcult
boraton was given in the off-
(or the Lewis gunners to shoot owing to the Britich
cial German commnunique on
'plane being direecly in the Nne of Tre. They accordingly
AprIl 21, 1918, reporting to the
walted !! the Brtish 'plane had passed. Richthofen's
plane was not more than 100 yards from; each when they
world the death of its muost fa¬
opened hre. The 'plane was comning frontaly towards thens
mous airman on the day of his
so that they were able to nre d'rectly on to the person of
80th air victory, and stating
the avlator. Alnost inmediately the plane turned N.E.
that he was killed by a sho
being st/l under Tre from the Lewis guns. It was now stag-
gering as though out of contro!. Further esective bursts
hred from the ground. How the
were Tred: the 'plane veered to the north, and crashed on
British communique, of the
the plateau near the brickworks in J.19.b.5.2. The aviator
same day came to credit the
was already dead. There were buhet wounds in the knees
fatal shot to Capt Brown, when
abdomen, and chest. The 'plane was badly smashed. Richt-

hofen was a great adversary. It was stting that he should
he was not within range of
ve fallen. in old Roman fashton, "wich all his wounds in
Richthofen, is inexplicable. So
After the machine crashed, a troupe of Germman
Richthofen.
sore were the Australans at
'planes new over and circled ahove the spot unenl driven
the afront to them in the Brit-
o" by the A.A. guns. An 'n(antry guard was posted over
the body and the plane, but they were rehleved of their
ish commmunique that Birdwood had Salmond, of
duty shortly after by the German artihery, which placed a
the air force, cal at 5th Div headquarters, and the
(Continued next page.)
latter's investigations were folowed by partial re¬
cognition of the Australlan claimn.
Whie, as Capt C. E. W. Bean afhrms, there is
not the slightest shadow of doubt that Richthofen
was killed by a bullet hred from the ground, in the
Australian Hnes, he has not been able to identify
the particular gunners, though there is a strong
presumption that he divides the credit equally be¬
tween the crews of the 24th NL.G.C. (Sergt. Popkins
and Gunner R. F. WVeston), and the Lewis guns of
the 53rd Bty. (Gunners W. J. Ewans and R. Buie).
The British airman, who was being pursued by
Richthofen, when the latter was shot down, has
never hinted that he took any part in the fray, and
as Brown was well outside range, only a strong
imagination could bring him into the picture at all.
Lef: Hear 5
 

78
 

December 31, 1929
The REVEIILE
ring of shels bursting with Instaniancous fuses, around
VC. CO of the ith MLG. Bn. of which the 24th
the 'plane. The Lewis gunners who brough: down the
Coy was pare, and was told to inforn Popkins that
machine were: No. 348. Gunner W. J. Evans and No. 3a01.
"'hat was what he was there for and to keep on
Gunner R. Bule, of the s3rd Bty, 1ith A.F.A.B. 5th Aus-
tralan Divistona! Artlllery
bringing then down."
Writing from Queanbeyan to "Reveille," Gunner
R. Buie expresses surprise, that other claimants
should dispute him the honour of having hred the
shot that killed Richthofen.I say enpphatically
that no one is entitled to the clainn but mayself; also
my mate Snowy Evans" is how Buie pu's it. He
states that he was congrafulated by Rawhinson,
Birdwood and Hobbs, and was told that he would
get "somrething for this," but the promnise has not
miaterialised. General Hobbs,
Buie says, took away as a sou-
venir of the gun wih which he
shot down Richthofen an aero-
plane sight, which had been
made by Fitter Barton, of the
"I would lke to
53rd Bty.
know if Géneral Hobbs still has
that sight, as he said he intend-
ed to have my namde inscribed
on it” Buie adds.
But, still as positive in their
claim, as Buie. is in- his, are
Sgt. Popkins, now of Tyalgunn
R. F. Weston.
and Rupert F. Weston, of Syd¬
ney. WVeston has handed to "Reveille" his diary.
which showed (April 21), that he and Popkins
were on a machind gun, mounted for anti-aircraft,
at the foot of Bonnay HHI— Richthofen's plane was.
almost on top of them, the diary says, when Pop¬
kins opened hre, whle he (Weston) kept the belt
in position. Richthofen, as he passed over their
heads in pursuit of the British scout, hred 50 shois
at the AustraHans. The diary continues: "Our hr¬
ing seemed to have done some damnage, for instead
of continuing the chase of the plane, the Fritz
airman doubled on his tracks and returned to at-
tack us. Sgt. Popkins once more opened up, as the
airman dipped preparatory to shooting us, and this
in our opinion was fatal to himm as the machine
was at once out of control and landed and ran
along until it struck a muound where it came to
grief. It was agreed by muany of those present that
we had brought down the plane. A British intelli-
gence offcer, a few hours later, came over to our
gun, and noted the names of Popkins and myself.
Major F. B. Hinton, now of Canowindra, N.S.VV.
who was O.C. of the 24th M.G.C. informs "Reveille"
that though he is morally certain that it was the
burst of hre from the gun comimanded by Popkins
that brought down Richthofen, "it is one of those
happenings which never will be cleared up." From
an examinaton of the gun posttion and the lne
of approach of the planes, it would have been al¬
most in possible for a trained machine-gunner to
have missed Richthofen, Major Hinton asserts, and
Popkins was an excellent gunner. Popkins had
Arst go at Richthofen, and his frst burst the muajor
thought did the trick. Afterwards, Lewis gunners
hopped in with their dre, and naturaly as soon as
they saw the miachine comning down they claimed
the victory. If a plane is hit by miachine-gun dre
it will not iminiediately get out of control because
of the pace it travels. Major Hinton mentions that
he communica'ed Popkins' feat to Lt-Col. Murray,
Send in a Story—-Long or
 

18a
 

January 31, 1930
The REVEILLE
Another Army Report
Richthofen's Death:
Who killed Richthofen?
that there were not other machines about at the
"We, said the gunners.
time, but it was generally recognised that the gun-
"We al gave him oners,
ners attached to the 53rd Battery were responsible.
We killed Richthofen"
Richthofen was taken out of his machine and car¬
ried to the dug out of the O.C. of the 53rd (I think
While eye-witnesses are unanimous in their ex¬
it was Major Kelly) and he was at the dug out for
clusion of Capt. Roy Brown, Canadian airman, from
some tme before the A.F.C. tender arrived to take
any share in the credit of having shot down Rich-
the body away. Richthofen had a burst of bulets
thofen, famous German war ace, the contest annong
In his stomach, and another, well up under the
Australan claimants has not abated.
neck. From these wounds it would appear to be
The honour rests between four Diggers —Lewis
almost impossible for him to have been shot down
Gunners, W. J. Evans and R. Buie, of the 53rd
from any other position than from the ground.
Bty. and Sergt C. B. Popkin and Gunner R. F
"Shortly afterwards there arrived a young R.A.F.
Weston, of the 24th NT.G. Co.
offcer (about 19 years of age), who put in his
Popkin and Weston contend that their clainn is
claim. He had nown the machine which Richtho-
securely established by the fact, admitted on all
fen was pursuing. However, the artillery offcers
sides, that it was from their post that machine gun
would not hear of his clainn as it was a recognised
fre was hrst opened on Richthofen, and as he was
thing at the time that Gunners Buie and Weston
very low and fuly exposed to them, they ask how
were responsible, and our offcers were not going to
they, as competent gunners, could have muissed hinn
see the credit given to anyone else.
On the other hand, Buie is content to rest on the
"I was very surprised to see a dyer of the ex¬
verdict of Genera! Hobbs, G.O.C, 5th Division:
perience of Richthofen take such a risk as to ny
"Richthofen was brought down by Gunners Evans
so low, as around about that area the place was
and Buie, one or both, though the weight of
alve with machine guns. The heads had the wind
evidence at the time seemed that Buie was really
up about Fritz making another miass attack sinnllar
responsible."
to St. Quentin, and each battery of artilery was
Mr. E. H. Graham, of Hülston (NS.VV.), form-
equipped with a machine gun, something unusual"
erly a corporal in the A.F.C. attached to 5th and 2nd
Mr. Popkin, who was No. 1 on the gun from
Div. A.F.A, an eye-witness of Richthofen's crash.
which hre was turned on Richthofen, has written
has forwarded to "Reveille," a strip of red fabric
from Tyalgum (N.SVV.) to "Revellle," mentioning
that he souvenired fron: the
that with hinn on the gun, in addition to Weston.
wrecked 'plane, within dve nuin-
who was No. 2, there was a third muan, J. Marshall
utes after the crash, and also a
(No. 3), who was later kiled in achion. In his
photograph of Richthofen's
letter, Mr. Popkin describes how the British 'plane
grave at Bertangles. He re-
pursued by Richthofen, passed over their "possy"
veals that the British pllot, who
"Our 'plane was at the mercy of the Fritz" Mfr.
was jostling with death al the
Popkin says. "As they approached the gun they
time that Richthofen was on his
were very low, so low that I had to wait till our
tal, hateeoner also to
'plane was pretty well over head before I could
put in a chaim for "the kol"
open hre on Fritz" 60 to 100 ft. high, and I nred
though, in fact, he had not
about 80 rounds. The 'plane imimnediately turned to
hred a shot as his machine gun
my left and banked to clear the top of the ridge
had jammed. In a letter to the
running from Bonnay along past Sallly. He turned
Editor, Mr. Graham says:
R. Buie.
around, and was nying down directly in a line with
was attached to the 5th Div.
my gun when I opened dre again and gave him an-
A.F.A and muy job, along with my mate, was to
other 80 rounds, when he described a half circle
keep an eye on all aerial activity, co-operating with
and crashed on top of the ridge at right angles to
artillery and aircraft by wireless. About ten muin-
our gun possy and just in front of a quarry where
utes before Richthofen met his end, he had shot
11th Bde. Headquarters were located.
down his 80th victim, and he was after another of
An important turn in the controversy now comes
our 'planes. Our machine came over the brow of
from the production by Popkin and Weston, of
the hill in front of Bonnay, and Richthofen was
copies of a report handed in at the time to Brig.-Gen.
hard on his taH. It reminded nie of a sparrow.
Cannan, CO, lith Inf. Bde, by his intellgence
hawk after a sparrow, as the R.A.F. miachine was
offcer, Donald L. Fraser, who now hves at Rock¬
hopelessly at the German's muercy, the machine gun
hampton. Fraser himself witnessed the duel, and
on the former having jammed. Richthofen ap-
personally congratulated Popkin "on his successful
peared to rock and swerve, and all of a sudden he
shoot" because he was satisded that Popkin's hrst
turned over and fell in the old trench near the
burst got the airman, though the 53rd Bty. Lewis
brick kiln about 500 yards in front of Bonnay. I
gunners probably assisted in sealing his fate. Fraser
had my glasses on the whole happening, and the
air nght drew may attention frorn our own machine.
does not regard seriously the clains of Capt. Brown
from which we were receiving the position of enenny
saying:
"There were only two 'planes in the vicinity. The
anti-aircraft gun positions.
British 'plane was absolutely at Richthofen's mercy
"It was impossible for the R.A.F. pilot to use his
(Continued on page 23.)
gun, which had jammed. I am not going to deny
Lefs Hear from You Soon.
 

79