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Fite History

by Brian Burke and Mark Silvers

History Aviation

Season 2

13. Frank Tinker: Inner-War Years Soldier of Fortune

Frank Tinker Jr. was a generation too late for World War 1, a generation too early for World War 2, but sounds his crusade over the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula in the Spanish Civil War. Join Brass and Mr. Chow as they discuss the trials, tribulations, and ultimate tragedy of Tinker's journey to Spain to fly and fight in the pre-season of the Second World War.

Season 1

12. World War 1 Wrap-up (for now)

Join Brass and Mr. Chow as they put a bow on their coverage of WWI fighter pilots, comparing and contrasting the personalities, strengths, and weaknesses of each pilot, and discuss the various attributes that bind them together.

11. Eddie Rickenbacker: A Life of Many Acts

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote "There are no second acts in American lives." He'd obviously never met Eddie Rickenbacker. Join Brass and Mr. Chow as they discuss the multi-faceted life of America's Ace of Aces of WWI as well as methods for making friends on transatlantic cruises and ways to make your name sound "less German."

10. Albert Ball: The Lone Wolf

Lanoe Hawker was returning from a patrol over the lines when he spotted a Nieuport of No. 11 Squadron returning to base. Deciding to show this newcomer what dog-fighting was all about, Hawker pounced on the tail of the Nieuport just to give him a scare. Hawker, however, was the one surprised when the Nieuport pilot saw the move, quickly reversed the position, and a mock dog-fight broke out in earnest. After a couple of minutes, during which neither pilot could best the other, the two British pilots waved off the friendly engagement and broke off for their respective airfields. Hawker didn't know that he had just tested a man that would become one of the most daring British aces of WWI: Albert Ball. Join Brass and Mr. Chow as they discuss the Ball's courageous and often reckless life in the skies over Europe.

9. The Lafayette Escadrille: A Menagerie of American Fighter Pilots

In June of 1916, Oswald Boelcke was taking a brief respite from fighting over the skies of Verdun when a German pilot came running with urgent news: "The Devil's loose at the front." He said. "There are six Americans up aloft. I distinctly saw the American flag on their fuselages. They're damned impudent fellows; they came right up to the lines and crossed them." Boecke replied, "Well, let us go say 'how do you do?', it's the least that they can expect, and courtesy requires it of us. Join Brass and Mr. Chow as they discuss the first American fighter pilots, a motley crew of Ivy Leaguers with a sprinkling of card-sharks and soldiers-of-fortune.

8. Richthofen Part 2: The Red Baron

"Fly on and fight on, to the last drop of blood, the last drop of blood, to the last beat of the heart." -Manfred Von Richthofen, "The Red Baron." In this episode, Brass and Mr. Chow discuss Richthofen's transformation from glory-seeking hunter to tormented hero.

7. Richthofen Part 1: The Hunter

Hunting trophies are the ultimate proof of a hunter's triumph and reminders that cunning, patience, and marksmanship won the day. Most hunters hang the heads of deer, moose, and bear forever frozen in their last fight. Manfred Von Richthofen was a hunter with an entirely different set of trophies; in his room hung serial numbers cut from the tails of airplanes, machine-guns torn from wrecks, salvaged propellers, and dozen of little silver cups each with a unique inscription. In this episode we explore the early life and career of Richthofen, setting the stage for him to become "The Red Baron."

6. Lanoe Hawker: The British Boelcke

Lanoe Hawker looked across the circle at the German pilot. After thirty minutes of turning, looping, and diving neither pilot had been able to best the other. It had become obvious that this was no ordinary dogfight. Hawker had finally found a German who could match his skills in flight. Continuing to look across the circle, Hawker gave the German a little wave, and Manfred Von Richthofen, better known as "The Red Baron" waved back. This episode explores the life and contributions of Lanoe Hawker, who is often referred to as "The British Boelcke" due to his outsized impact on the British Air Force during World War I and beyond.

5. Dicta Boelcke: The First Fighter Tactics Manual

In late June of 1916, Oswald Boelcke found himself on a train racing away from the war on the Western Front. Deemed as too important to lose after the death of Max Immelmann, Boelcke was left with no battle to wage. Instead, he turned his energies into distilling the lessons learned from two years of fighting. This distillation led to the "Dicta Boelcke," the first codified set of air to air tactics. Combined with daily flight briefs and debriefs, Boelcka unknowingly set the standard that all air forces use more than 100 years later.

4. Oswald Boelcke: The Father of Air Combat

In February 1916, along the west bank of the Meuse, a hell unlike any ever known to man descended upon the French fortress of Verdun. Over 1,000 German heavy guns fired a combined 1,000,000 shells - in just the first 9 hours. A French officer who survived the bombardment wrote “Forevery 5 defenders, two are buried alive, two are wounded, and one is waiting.” The Germans had just begun their latest offensive and the largest battle ever fought by mankind to that point. Above this churning hell, the air war of World War 1 ignited as both sides committed to stopping the other from observing the huge movements of men, supplies, and guns needed to feed the fire. In this comparatively miniscule but no less important battle for the air one man above the rest was feared and respected. The mentor to the Red Baron, the Father of the German Air Force, and to some the Father of all Air Combat, Oswald Boelcke fought against a rising tide of allied planes to bring victory to the German army.

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