Death
After shooting down a No. 57 Squadron DH 4 bomber on 23 September, Voss went out on a further patrol and was engaged by six Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s of the elite 56 Squadron. In one of the most remarkable encounters in aerial history, Voss fought a single-handed dogfight against several aces: Capt. James McCudden, Lt. Richard Maybery Lt. Geoffrey Hilton Bowman, Capt. Reginald Hoidge, Lt. Arthur Rhys Davids. Keith Muspratt and Lt V.P. Cronyn, with Lt. Harold A. Hamersley and Lt. Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts of 60 Squadron. The dogfight developed over Poelkapelle. Another German ace, Carl Menckhoff, attempted to assist Voss but was downed by Rhys-Davids, (though surviving). Voss fought the RFC aces for just 10 minutes, eluding them and achieving hits on nearly every S.E.5.
Using the triplane's superior rate of climb and its ability to slip turn (using the rudder to turn quickly), Voss managed to evade his opponents. He was able to turn at high speeds and attack those behind him. After flying past McCudden in a head-on confrontation, however, Voss's Fokker was hit with bullets on the starboard side by Hoidge. One round pierced his right side and passed through his lungs. Nearing death, Voss did not see Rhys-Davids approach from the 6 o'clock position, directly behind his tail.
Rhys-Davids got below him and poured two drums of Lewis fire into the underside of the triplane, then attacked again with both guns. The Fokker fell away, stalled and crashed into the British line. McCudden recalled: "I saw him go into a fairly steep dive and so I continued to watch, and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments, for it seemed to me that it literally went into powder."
Voss crashed near Plum Farm north of Frezenberg in Belgium. Only the rudder, cowling, and parts of the undercarriage were salvaged; the new type of aircraft was the subject of an intelligence report by 2nd Lieutenant G. Barfoot-Saunt.
One of the British pilots he fought that day, then-Captain James McCudden, a recipient of the Victoria Cross and who would become a leading English ace of the war, expressed sincere regret at Voss's death: "His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent and in my opinion he was the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight." Lieutenant Arthur Rhys-Davids, who himself would fall in combat just one month later, had said to McCudden, "If I could only have brought him down alive."
Voss did much damage to B Flight of 56 Squadron; Muspratt force-landed at No. 1 Squadron's aerodrome with a bullet in his radiator. Mayberry's SE5 was hit in the upper right hand longeron and badly damaged, force landing at St Marie Cappel. Hamersley and Chidlaw-Roberts' SE5s were badly damaged, whereas Hamersley's machine was eventually sent to No.1 Air Depot for repair. Cronyn's airplane was also damaged, as related in a letter he wrote to his father:
| “ | After Mess I went up to the hangar to have a look at my machine. It was a write-off and no mistake. The right lower longeron had a bullet hole through it, while the left lower was nearly cut in two, either by "Archie" or bullets, but there was only about a quarter of an inch thickness left in one place, while about 18 inches further along three bullets had cut right through. The main spars were shot through, and one of the ribs of the tailplane was fractured, by the only bullet he had got into me while on or nearly on my tail. There were also several other bullet holes in wings and fuselage. Besides these few details, the machine was all OK! It was a miracle he didn't hit me in the engine. As a matter of fact he got one in my prop. I went to bed as soon as I had a good look over the machine, but could hardly sleep a wink. I just lay in bed perspiring, though it was quite a cold night. | ” |
| Participant | Nationality | Victories at the time of the engagement | Total Victories |
|---|---|---|---|
| James McCudden | English | 12 | 57 |
| Geoffrey Hilton Bowman | English | 16 | 32 |
| Reginald Hoidge | Canadian | 22 | 28 |
| Arthur Rhys-Davids | English | 18 | 25 |
| Richard Maybery | Welsh | 13 | 21 |
| Harold A. Hamersley | Australian | 2 | 13 |
| Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts | English | 5 | 10 |
| Keith Muspratt | English | 6 | 8 |
| Verschoyle P. Cronyn | Canadian | 3 | 4 |
Voss' decorations and awards include: the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Knights Cross with Swords of the Hohenzollern House Order, the Prussian Pilot Badge, and the Orden Pour le Mérite (the "Blue Max"). Although only 1 unconfirmed victory his final total was 48 confirmed victories.
Voss is one of 44,292 German soldiers buried in the Langemark German war cemetery, some 6 km northeast of Ypres, Belgium. He has been the subject of numerous biographies.
Read more about this topic: Werner Voss
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