Hats off to issue editor, Alan Zakrzewki, for the contents of the Winter 2007 issue of "Over the Front" (Volume 22, Number 4). The issue is built around two main subjects; the US 141st Aero Squadron and the German Jasta 64w.
According to Zakrzewki, the 141st came into the war late and for some reason was not included in the Gorrell Reports, which contain the official histories of most US flying units in WWI. So, the first piece in this issue is a word-for-word history of the 141st Aero Squadron as it was recorded. This history includes the time immediately after the war’s end with impressive photos of the pilots, support staff and the unit’s aircraft. This is followed by the letters and diary entries of 2nd Lt. Horace Hallock Brown of the 141st Aero Squadron. These two pieces work well together and together provide a good working account of the unit.
The Jasta 64w pieces are of particular personal interest, because they cross over with my research into the life of Raoul Lufbery, who in the spring of 1918 was part of the 94th Aero Squadron operating in the same sectors opposite Jasta 64w. The first article, written by Stephen Lawson (a curator at the Lafayette Foundation museum in Colorado), provides a chronological history of the personnel and operations of the German unit. The article also details of the first US aviation victories of the war – against Jasta 64w – by 94th Aero Squad pilots Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell on April 14, 1918.
Additionally, Lawson sheds a bit more light on the controversy surrounding US pilot Oscar Jay Gude. Gude started out assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, and was in the air and part of the failed attach against a German aircraft on May 18, 1918. It was this attack that resulted in the death of Raoul Lufbery. Members of the 94th called Gude a coward for his conduct during this time. Gude was later re-assigned to the 93rd Aero Squadron (possibly in part for his conduct on May 18). On Oct. 22, 1918, Gude essentially surrendered to the German’s by landing his perfectly functioning plane at the airfield of Jasta 64w. The article references Charles Woolley’s excellent book “Echoes of Eagles” for details, but provides in this article exceptional photos of Gude’s plane in German hands, as well as Gude in the back seat of a German staff car being driven away.
Next up is a short piece by Terry Phillips featuring more photos of Jasta 64w later in 1918 along with more personal information on the pilots, their planes, and a certain German nurse known as “Lot.” This is a very nice accompaniment to the Lawson article.
The Rare Bird section is by Jack Harris and is dedicated to the Fokker C.I., which is generally described as a two-seater version of the successful Fokker VII. This particular article also indirectly functions as a follow-up to the piece on the Netherlands Army Air Service in Over the Front Vol. 21, No. 1. The C.I. was developed by Fokker at the end of the war and never saw combat. As told in the earlier article, Fokker, a Dane, was desperate to get out of Germany at the end of the war, and was able to negotiate or bribe passage for himself and several hundred partially assembled aircraft from his factory to the Netherlands. Many C.I. aircraft were in these shipments and so had extended post-war military and civilian uses.
An article by Wade L. Eakle provides the history of Snoopy and the Red Baron as part of cartoons created by Charles Schultz. Eakle explains how Schultz first came up with the idea to make WWI part of his drawings. More than 10 pages of reprints included in this issue provide and overview of the 397 WWI-themed cartoons Schultz created over 34 years.
According to Zakrzewki, the 141st came into the war late and for some reason was not included in the Gorrell Reports, which contain the official histories of most US flying units in WWI. So, the first piece in this issue is a word-for-word history of the 141st Aero Squadron as it was recorded. This history includes the time immediately after the war’s end with impressive photos of the pilots, support staff and the unit’s aircraft. This is followed by the letters and diary entries of 2nd Lt. Horace Hallock Brown of the 141st Aero Squadron. These two pieces work well together and together provide a good working account of the unit.
The Jasta 64w pieces are of particular personal interest, because they cross over with my research into the life of Raoul Lufbery, who in the spring of 1918 was part of the 94th Aero Squadron operating in the same sectors opposite Jasta 64w. The first article, written by Stephen Lawson (a curator at the Lafayette Foundation museum in Colorado), provides a chronological history of the personnel and operations of the German unit. The article also details of the first US aviation victories of the war – against Jasta 64w – by 94th Aero Squad pilots Alan Winslow and Douglas Campbell on April 14, 1918.
Additionally, Lawson sheds a bit more light on the controversy surrounding US pilot Oscar Jay Gude. Gude started out assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron, and was in the air and part of the failed attach against a German aircraft on May 18, 1918. It was this attack that resulted in the death of Raoul Lufbery. Members of the 94th called Gude a coward for his conduct during this time. Gude was later re-assigned to the 93rd Aero Squadron (possibly in part for his conduct on May 18). On Oct. 22, 1918, Gude essentially surrendered to the German’s by landing his perfectly functioning plane at the airfield of Jasta 64w. The article references Charles Woolley’s excellent book “Echoes of Eagles” for details, but provides in this article exceptional photos of Gude’s plane in German hands, as well as Gude in the back seat of a German staff car being driven away.
Next up is a short piece by Terry Phillips featuring more photos of Jasta 64w later in 1918 along with more personal information on the pilots, their planes, and a certain German nurse known as “Lot.” This is a very nice accompaniment to the Lawson article.
The Rare Bird section is by Jack Harris and is dedicated to the Fokker C.I., which is generally described as a two-seater version of the successful Fokker VII. This particular article also indirectly functions as a follow-up to the piece on the Netherlands Army Air Service in Over the Front Vol. 21, No. 1. The C.I. was developed by Fokker at the end of the war and never saw combat. As told in the earlier article, Fokker, a Dane, was desperate to get out of Germany at the end of the war, and was able to negotiate or bribe passage for himself and several hundred partially assembled aircraft from his factory to the Netherlands. Many C.I. aircraft were in these shipments and so had extended post-war military and civilian uses.
An article by Wade L. Eakle provides the history of Snoopy and the Red Baron as part of cartoons created by Charles Schultz. Eakle explains how Schultz first came up with the idea to make WWI part of his drawings. More than 10 pages of reprints included in this issue provide and overview of the 397 WWI-themed cartoons Schultz created over 34 years.
“Over the Front,” is a quarterly publication by the League of WWI Aviation Historians.
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