On 6 Mar 17 Ltn. Kurt Wolff earned his !st Victory over a B.E.2d (5856) from 16 Sqn at 1230 hrs over Givenchy. 2/Lt. Albert Edward Watts, (POW/DOW) and 2/Lt. George Milne Underwood, (KIA). Diesseits (this side); 16 Sqn's was attacked by EA and EoL (east of line). No known grave for either and are listed on Arras Memorial to the Missing, France.
RFC records indicate that as part of the swirling sprawling air activity intensified on 6 March 1917, a pair of B.E.2d (5856) two-seater and B.E.2e (A.2785) from 16 Squadron had taken off at 1015 hrs on a photo-reconnaissance mission and joined the aerial montage of Sopwiths and R.E.8's. Not to be outdone by his squadron mates, the “delicate little flower” Ltn. Kurt Wolff revealed his fierce nature by blasting a B.E.2d out of the sky. Ltn. Wolff was scouting the sector, and engaged this particular B.E.2d (5856) above the Givenchy-en-Gohelle area. Ltn. Kurt Wolff dropped down behind one of the two-seaters, a B.E.2d (5856) and attacked it. His sudden attack quickly wiped out the crew in the air and their machine fell first into an uncontrolled spin which, oddly, changed into a rough glide before falling to the ground at 1130 hrs British time at Sheet Reference 36.C s.18.
Lt. Geoffrey Joseph Oglivie Brichta and 2/Lt. Gerald Maurice Gosset-Bibby in the second aircraft B.E.2e (A.2785) was quick on the stick and went after Ltn. Wolff. The rest of 16 Sqn later reported that the German aircraft 'seemed to go down out of control while the other B.E. flew very low towards Givenchy, where it was lost from sight'.
Unbeknownst to the second B.E., Ltn. Wolff emerged unscathed and his initial target became his 1st victory. German ground troops found both the pilot and the observer dead and carefully noted the machines number as (5856). 2/Lt. Albert Edward Watt's body was recovered by Germans in the Givenchy-en-Gohelle area. His identity discs were collected and returned home via the Red Cross but apparently his grave was lost due to heavy fighting in the area, along with 2/Lt George Milne Underwood's grave.
The Kofl 6 Armee reported that a British B.E.2d of 16 Squadron, containing the remains of 2/Lt George Milne Underwood (age 19) and his observer 2/Lt. Albert Edward Watts were confirmed as (KIA). Both are remembered on the Arras Memorial to the Missing.
Also, on this day Ltn. Wolff scored the 14th Victory for Jasta 11 and a 1st for his record-book and he would later receive the 'Ehrenbecker', which is a large cup awarded to German flyers by the Kogenluft, after pilots scored their first confirmed victory. He would also note this victory in his personal ‘Kriegstagebuch’ or war diary (Translated), "I had an honorable (or “fair”) battle with an Englishman and emerged victorious. The plane fell right onto our front-line and both occupants were killed by a clean shot to the head."
Further investigation reveals that according to the ‘Jasta War Chronology’ by Norman Franks, Frank Bailey and Rick Duiven only Ltn. Hans-Georg Edward Lübbert aircraft went down after being wounded in action (WIA) at 1200 hrs over Lens. But Ltn. Manfred von Richthofen was also forced landed (FL) very near to Ltn. Lübbert aircraft, due to his aircraft being seriously damaged – engine and both fuel tanks punctured.
Ltn. Kurt Wolff was described by his motor mechanic [Hermann Lohmeyer] as a tall slender man of good nature. A former railway transportation officer, Ltn. Wolff was of slight build, frail physique and shy manner belied his prowess in the air. He was affectionately referred to as ‘zarte Blümelein’ or a ‘delicate little flower’ within the Geschwader owing to his slender, boyish demeanor and mild-mannered good humor, and was immensely popular. He was also a good sport on the ground and even endured the nickname zarte Blümelein ‘delicate little flower’, which was placed upon him by one of the Richthofen brothers. He was very close to both of the Richthofen brothers, and visited the family estate in Schweidnitz often. Richthofen’s mother (Baroness Kunigunde Schickfuss von Richthofen) liked Kurt Wolff and referred to him as having a “dear, amusing boy’s face.”
As with most pilots, Ltn. Wolff was very superstitious after his initial crash during pilot training and never flew without his lucky 'Zipfelmütze' or nightcap. It was believed that the nightcap had once belonged to Kurt’s late father, who died when Kurt was a very young child. It was his good luck talisman which he would wear underneath his flying helmet and on the end of it there appears to be a Tassel.
Ltn. Kurt Wolff wore a nightcap that hung off his head and was under his helmet. It had a black velvet band and a Tassel on the end. Ltn. Manfred von Richthofen mentioned in some of his writings, “how it would stream behind his head when he was flying.” He wore his long ‘lucky nightcap’ on every mission he went on and this proved to be a great source of amusement to most of the members of Jasta 11. Ltn. Lothar von Richthofen remembered Ltn. Wolff’s nightcap, “as being made from 'knitted blue silk”. The pilots of the Great War were a very superstitious lot and that included aircrews on both sides of the line. In a reference from 'Ein Heldenleben' (A hero's life) concerning lucky charms or certain superstitious practices done by pilots: Ltn. Manfred von Richthofen always wore the same old leather jacket for all of his victories, Ltn Kurt Wolff never flew without his lucky nightcap, Ltn. Karl Emil Schaefer refused to have his picture taken just before starting out on a flight (like Hptm Oswald Boelcke) and Ltn. Lothar von Richthofen always carried a riding crop for good luck.
Ltn. Wolff also had a humorous side to his personality as ascribed by the historian and writer Greg VanWyngarden. He was shy at times and considered to be modest among the pilots. But once in the air he became a fearless berserker (Norse warriors who are reported in Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury) in the sky against the enemy but was also a good sport on the ground as well. Ltn. Wolff's youthful looks and frail physical stature masked his deadly skills as a combat pilot. Oblt Karl Bodenschatz, in his ‘Jagd in Flanders Himmel’ (‘War in the Flanders Skies’), said of him, "Jasta 11: Ltn. Kurt Wolff. At first glance, you could only say 'delicate little flower'. He was a slender, thin, little figure of a man with a very young face, whose entire manner is one of extreme shyness. He looks as if you could tip him backwards with one harsh word. But below this friendly schoolboy's face dangles the order Pour le Mérite. And so far, these modest looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky over the sights of his machine guns, set them afire, and made them smash to pieces on the ground. This slender youth is already one of the best men of the old Richthofen Staffel 11."
