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Brothers in Arms by Ivan Berryman. (PC)
On the morning of 13th April 1917, five RE8s of 59 Sqn, RFC, took off from their base at La Bellevue on a photographic sortie, A3203 carrying a camera, with the other four flying as escorts. Spads of 19 Sqn and some 52 Sqn Fe.2s were to have joined them as fighter cover, but the rendezvous was never made and the RE8s found themselves alone. For some unknown reason, this flight of aircraft seemed to have drifted some way north of their intended target - and into the clutches of a group of Jasta 11 Albatros scouts, led by none other than Baron Manfred von Richthofen. In a relatively short combat, all five RE8s were shot down by their German opponents, one by the Red Baron himself and two by his brother, Lothar, who claimed his fourth and fifth victims, thus becoming an ace, the others being downed by Festner and Wolff in similar aircraft. For the Red Baron, this was a day of particular significance. Not only had he now scored more victories than his mentor, Oswald Boelcke, by shooting down his 41st victim, he was later to claim a further two victories that same day - his first triple. He is depicted here flying Albatros D.III Nr.2253/17.
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