On Sep. 17, 1916 two formations of aircraft converged near Marcoing France. One was a group of 8 Royal Flying Corps B.E. 2câs escorted by a flight of 6 F.E. 2bâs of No. 11 Squadron belonging to Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The British formation had just returned from a bombing raid on a German occupied railroad station and were simply trying to get home. This formation was intercepted by a German formation consisting of 20 Albatros fighters of Jasta 2 led by the legendary Oswald Boelcke, whose dicta Boelcke is still considered the basic rules of Air combat.
The fight drifted south of the target area, and when Manfred von Richthofen flying an Albatros DII found a British F.E. 2b at the tail end of the British formation, he attacked immediately.
In his own words from his patrol report;
âWHEN PATROL FLYING I DETECTED SHRAPNEL CLOUDS IN THE DIRECTION OF CAMBRAI. I HURRIED FORTH AND MET A SQUAD WHICH I ATTACKED SHORTLY AFTER 1100. I SINGLED OUT THE LAST MACHINE AND FIRED SEVERAL TIMES AT CLOSEST RANGE (TEN METERS). SUDDENLY THE ENEMY PROPELLER STOOD STOCK STILL. THE MACHINE WENT DOWN GLIDING AND I FOLLOWED UNTIL I HAD KILLED THE OBSERVER WHO HAD NOT STOPPED SHOOTING UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT. NOW MY OPPONENT WENT DOWNWARDS IN SHARP CURVES. AT APPROXIMATELY 1200 METERS A SECOND GERMAN MACHINE CAME ALONG AND ATTACKED MY VICTIM RIGHT DOWN TO THE GROUND AND THEN LANDED NEXT TO THE ENGLISH PLANE.â
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