Although the German Army began experimenting with airships such as the Zeppelin, it was slow to see the potential of aircraft. The German Army Air Service was only formed in 1912 because the military authorities became concerned about the growth of the Aéronautique Militaire in France. On the outbreak of the First World War, Germany's aircraft were unarmed and were mainly concerned with artillery observation and reconnaissance. This changed after Roland Garros, added deflector plates to the blades of the propeller of his Morane-Saulnier. Germany responded by producing impressive fighter aircraft such as the Fokker E, Halberstadt, and the Albatros D-II. In 1916 Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann were Germany's two most successful flying aces. Both these benefited from the introduction of the synchronized gear which made it easier for pilots to hit their targets. Later, Manfred von Richthofen (80) and Ernst Udet (62) became the country's leading flying aces. German superiority over the Allies increased in the autumn of 1916 when then was reinforced by the creation of the Flying Circus (a mobile reserve of elite combat pilots, capable of being transferred in mass to vital points on the Western Front) in 1917. The German Army Air Service continued to expand and by March 1917 it had 3,668 aircraft on the Western Front. However, with the arrival of the superior Spad S.XIII, the Sopwith Snipe and the Sopwith Camel in the winter of 1917, resulted in heavy German losses. By the spring of 1918 Germany needed about 350 new men a month to maintain its desired fighting strength of 2,500 pilots. When fighting ceased in November 1918 the German Army Air Service possessed a total of 2,709 frontline aircraft, 56 airships, 186 balloon detachments and about 4,500 flying personnel. It was estimated that 6,840 pilots had been killed and another 1,372 were missing. In accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, the German Army Air Service ceased to exist on 8th May, 1920.
The Snipe was a replacement for the Camel; it did not enter service until October 1918. It would be more accurate to include the RAF (Royal Aircraft Factory) SE5a as a 1917 introduction which brought the RFC onto a level with the Germans. The Germans continued to produce high quality aircraft of their own; the Fokker D.VII introduced in Spring 1918 was possibly the best fighter of the war. The Flying Circus was the British name for Jagdeschwader 1 [JG1], commanded initially by Manfred von Richthofen until his death. A Jadgeschwader comprised four Jagdstaffel; ["Jastas"]; a Jasta was roughly equivalent to a British squadron, so a Jadgeschwader more nearly equivalent to a Wing or Group, about 60-80 aircraft. It was innovative in being the first use of a large unit which would often act as one entity. It could be said to be elite in that MvR would handpick his men. I'd question the figure of 56 airships still being operated by the German Army in November 1918. If they mean large rigid airships (usually Zeppelins), this may include Naval airships, but by my count only about 15 of these were still extant at the war's end. The Army had largely stopped using Zeppelins by late 1916, at least over England; the Navy carried on until the bitter end (which I may expand on in one of the Zeppelin threads) The Germans had very few of the small non-rigid airships so I don't see where the figure of 56 can come from. By the way, the German name for their Military Aviation Service in WW1 - equivalent to WW2's Luftwaffe - was Luftstreitkraft, which roughly translates as Air Service, whereas Luftwaffe literally means Air Force.
See Adrian ! ... I shouldn't be treading into aviation with you guys around !! Thanks for putting us on the right track ! Annie
Annie Don't worry - thanks for all your work populating these forums; I just wouldn't have time. I can try and tweak them according to my speciality; others can do the same according to theirs. Adrian
