Although Richthofen didn’t go balloon busting, some of his men did. The following account comes from observer Bernard Oliver, who was in one of these gas bags along with an unnamed officer he called “Officer No. 3” when they came under attack. It happened in the summer of 1918.
Soon after reaching our observation height about 4,000/5,000 feet, we were informed on the telephone to look out for Richthofen’s flying circus, who had attacked one of us. Very soon we noticed the fourth one north of us in flames, then the third one went down. It was a cloudy day so the planes could easily hide. All was quiet for a while, we settled down and got to work. Suddenly machine-gun bullets were flying all around in all directions. I saw one of the red-marked planes of Richthofen’s, very close to us. Looking to my officer for orders to get out, I found myself alone!... Like a shot, I was over the side, closed my eyes and dropped into space. On my downward journey I opened my eyes and, behold, the pilot of the plane was flying very close to me and waving his hand. I gladly waved back. I landed on the edge of a hop field.
As I was heavier than Officer No. 3, I had passed him on the way down. He landed in a stream of dirty water and the wind in the chute carried him quite a way through it. Yes! I think I may have smiled a little to see him! A motor car from the section soon picked us up and No. 3 Officer said, on arriving back at camp, “You heard me tell you to jump?”
”Yes, Sir,” I replied.
Source:
Stephens, John Richard. “Firsthand Accounts by Famous People.” Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 96. Print.
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