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Werner Voss
April 13, 1897 - September 23, 1917
Place of birth	Krefeld
Place of death	North of Frezenberg, West Flanders
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service	1914-1917
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	KG 4, Jastas 2, 5, 10, 14, 29
Awards	Pour le Mérite

Werner Voss (German: Werner Voß) (April 13, 1897–September 23, 1917) was a World War I German flying ace, a friend and rival of the famous Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen.

Military service

Born in Krefeld, Voss was the youngest of three sons of an industrial dyer. In 1914 he enlisted at the age of 17 in the 2nd Westphalian Hussar Regiment Nr. 11, serving on the Eastern Front. ^[1]

He transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Service), learning to fly at Egelsberg. A gifted pilot, he was immediately enrolled as an instructor upon graduating, before finally departing to the front.

Voss served with Kampfstaffel 20 of Kampfgeschwader IV as an observer before he was allowed to fly as a pilot. He then transferred to scout aircraft and was posted to Oswald Boelcke's Jasta (Jagdstaffel) 2, where he flew as Manfred von Richthofen's wingman. He scored his first victory at the age of 18 on November 27, 1916. He was credited with 38 confirmed victories in his Albatros D.III scout aircraft decorated with a swastika and heart motifs (for good luck).

Voss was subsequently promoted to temporary commands at Jastas 5, 29, and 14, before moving to a permanent command at Jasta 10 in Richthofen's Jagdgeschwader I (JG I) (or the "Flying Circus" as it became called by the Allies). Having tested a F.1 prototype (103/17, Wk. Nr.1730) of the Fokker Dr.I triplane scout for Anthony Fokker, Voss adapted his style to the rotary engine triplane, claiming another 10 victories with his new aircraft. He painted two eyes, eyebrows, and a moustache (a face motif thought by some to derive from Japanese kites) on the cowling of his triplane. Voss was known as a loner and an inspirational, rather than effective, squadron leader. Modern writers often describe him as 'mercurial'. He was wounded on June 6, 1917 during a confrontation with fliers of the Royal Naval Air Service, but soon returned to duty.

Voss was shot down in an historic dogfight on September 23, 1917 in which he single-handedly engaged as many as eight Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s of 60 and 56 Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps over Poelcappelle. The SE5s were flown by the Royal Flying Corps' top aces: James T.B. McCudden, Richard A. Maybery, Keith K. Muspratt, Reginald T.C. Hoidge, Arthur Rhys-Davids, Gerald Bowman, and Verschoyle P. Cronyn. Another German ace, Karl Menckhoff, attempted to assist Voss, but was downed by Rhys-Davids, (though surviving).

Using the triplane's superior rate of climb and its ability to slip turn (using the rudder to turn quickly), Voss continually outflew 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 pelted with bullets on his starboardside by the guns of Hoidge. One round pierced his right side and passed through his lungs.

Nearing death, Voss did not see Rhys Davids get on his 6. Rhys Davids opened fire as McCudden watched Voss go into a steep dive from which he never recovered. Recalled McCudden, "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."^[2]

Werner Voss, Daredevil First Class crashed near Plum Farm north of Frezenberg in Belgium. Only the rudder, cowling, and parts of the undercarriage were salvaged; the aircraft was the subject of a report by 2nd Lieutenant G. Barfoot-Saunt.

The famous silver-grey Fokker Dr.I of Voss during his last battle.

McCudden's S.E.5 plane during the dogfight when Voss was killed.

One of the British pilots he fought that day, then-Captain James McCudden, a recipient of the Victoria Cross 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."^[2][3]

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"). 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.

In popular culture

• In the 1971 Von Richthofen and Brown, Werner Voss is portrayed by Stephen McHattie
• In the 2008 biopic The Red Baron (film), Werner Voss is portrayed by actor Til Schweiger.

External links

• 48 Kills: Werner Voss
• Werner Voss page at theaerodrome.com
• Bio and Photographs at pourlemerite.org
• Voss plane profiles
• Captain George A. Parker shot down by Voss 27 November 1916

References

• Barry Diggens (2003) "September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German Ace Werner Voss". Grub Street, London.
• Dogfights - The First Dogfighters