Our own T Werner (thegirl) has posted a question.




As with anything there were legends and myths. On concerned a variation on MvR's all red machine. It seems the allieds unofficially reported a feminine faced pilot with long blonde braids flying a red/ pink Albatros D.III. This was discussed in the book Myths and Legends of WWI by Arcg Whitehouse. While this was actually a rumour

Here is a bit on actual Female pilots in early aviation from that font of aviation history and published author Greg VanWyngarden.

". . .Hi,

First of all, you should check out "The Imperial Russian Air Service" by Alan Durkota, Tom Darcey and Viktor Kulikov. It has an entire chapter (pp.258-263) devoted to Russian female pilots. There is far less good documentation on these ladies than on the Soviet women pilots of WW2, but here's a quick summary, according to what's in the book:

Lydia V. Zvereva was the first Russian female pilot, obtaining her certificate in 1911.She and her husband Slyusarenko opened two aviation manufacturing plants and by May 1916 they had produced about 80 Farmans and Moranes of various types. She died of typhoid on 1 May 1916.

Princess Eugenie M. Shakhovskaya was the second Russian aviatrix and (according to Durkota, et. al.) was the world's first woman combat pilot. After applying directly to the Czar, she was assigned to the First Field Air Detachment on the Northwestern front as a pilot, however.."it is not clear if she flew combat missions during her service with this unit." According to the book, she joined the Red forces after the revolution, became a drug addict and was shot after she herself shot one of her assistants.

Lyubov A. Golanchikova did test-flying during the war for the F.F. Terechenko factory, She joined the training squadron of the Red Air Fleet after the Revolution, and flew several sorties for the Reds and trained Soviet pilots. She died in the US in 1961.

Helen P. Samsonova flew for Kerensky's forces after the first Revolution, enlisting in the 16th Corps Air Detachment, and flew as an observer on recon and artillery spotting missions. Died in 1958.

Nadeshda Degtereva joined the Russian air service at 17, disguising herself as a man and somehow passing herself off as a 19-year-old boy. She flew reconnaissance missions on the Galician front, and was wounded during a dogfight with Austrian fighters. She managed to bring her riddled aircraft and wounded observer back to her airfield, but her medical treatment uncovered her sex and she was transferred to the Caucasus front, and nothing more is known of her. She was awarded the Soldiers Cross of St. George, 4th Class.

There is much more info to be found in Durkota's book, but it often raises many more questions than it answers.

On another note, the German pre-war aviatrix Amelie "Melli" Hedwig Beese is worth investigating. She was the first German woman to get a pilot's license, and married the French pilot Charles Boutard in 1912. Together they ran a flying school where (if I'm not mistaken) a number of German pilots who later played a part in WWI learned to fly. When the war broke out, ironically, both she and her husband were interned. She tried to start up her career after the war again, but failed. She committed suicide in 1925. If you do a google search for "Melli Beese" you'll turn up a number of sites. Greg VanWyngarden."

Rod Filan of the Rosebud Early Aviation website fame also weighs in.

". . .Belgian pioneer aviatrix Helene Dutrieu IIRC flew for the French during WWI in a 'non-essential' capacity. Exactly what that role was eludes me... perhaps Jempie will elaborate.

In 1914 Marie Marvingt (3rd woman licenced) enlisted in the French Army and served at the Front as a male infantryman, a red cross nurse and by 1915 was flying bomber missions over Germany. When she died in 1963 she was the most decorated woman in the history of France.

Most notable of WWI pilots trained by Flugschule Melli Beese G.m.b.H at Johannisthal was Wilhelm Frankl."

Further more supposedly Ruth law do some Liberty Bond drive work for the Army during the war that involved flying her Curtiss Pusher? This would have been in the States, not in Europe.

Scott Hamilton has said; ". . .speaking of female pilots, according to The Imperial Russian Air Service by Alan Durkota, et al, Russia's second woman pilot, Princess Eugenie Shakhovskaya, was also the world's first female combat pilot. She became interested in aviation on a trip to Germany in 1911 and paid for her own flight lessons, learning to fly the Wright Flyer at Johannisthal in Berlin. She received her pilot's certificate on 16 August 1911.

In 1912, Princess Eugenie volunteered to serve as a recon pilot for the Italians in the Tripolitan War but was refused. During the next two years, she continued flying, narrowly escaping death in 1913 when a crash killed her passenger and left her with a concussion.

When Russia declared war on Germany in 1914, the Princess wrote to the Czar and requested assignment as a military pilot. Her request was granted and she reported for duty in November 1914. As a Praporshik (Ensign), she was posted to the Northwestern Front where she joined the 1st Field Air Detachment as a recon pilot.

Unfortunately for the Princess, she was later charged with treason for aiding the enemy and was scheduled to die in front of a firing squad. Instead, she was sentenced to life in a convent thanks to the intervention of the Czar. When she was freed during the revolution, she joined the Reds and was later killed by them."

Other names are ; Katherine Stinson ,Julia Clark and Blanche Scott. Also the unique Emilia Earhart.
Helene Dutreux (Fr)
Lawrence, Dorothy (UK)
Sophie Jowanowitsch and Stanislawa Ordynska (Pol)
Marie Baktscharow (Rus)
Bochkareva, Maria (Rus)
Dadeshkeliani, Kati (Rus - well Georgian by the look of the name)
Sophie Alexandrovna Dolgorunaya, Princess (Rus)
Haletchko, Sophie (Rus)
Kokovtseva, Olga (Rus)
Ruz, Helen (Rus)
Shakhovskaya, Eugenie (Rus)
Smirnow, Zoya (Rus)
Yurlova, Marina (Rus)

One historian from Belgium wrote; ". . .As regards Elfriede Riotte, she was the first German female dirigible pilot. She was from Schlettstadt in Alsace, and in April 1914 took her tests on the Parseval-Luftschiff P VI, and in July was given her pilots license . Don't know much more about her, but she is written up in "Frau und Flug-- Die Schwestern Des Ikarus" (women and flight-- the Sisters of Ikarus), published by the Freidrichsheim Zeppelin Museum in Germany in 2004 (page 37). Unfortunately, my German is not that good, so can't interpret much more. "

Concerning "The Pink Lady"

Greg VanWyngarden further comments on the subject directly.
". . .the "Pink Lady" was an urban legend (trench legend? Squadron legend?) inspired by the use of red aircraft by Richthofen, Schaefer and others.

In "Der Rote Kampfflieger" MvR wrote of an Englishman who was one of a group brought down sometime circa March/April (I haven't time to figure it out). Anyway Richthofen and his boys talked to the Englishman: "He, too inquired about the red machine (Richthofen's D.III). It was not unknown to the troops in the trenches, who called it "Le diable rouge". The rumor had spread in his squadron that a girl piloted the red machine, somewhat like Joan of Arc. He was very surprised when I assured him that the alleged 'girl' stood before him at the time. He was not trying to make a joke; rather, he was convinced that only a maiden could actually sit in the garish crate."

That's part of the legend. Karl- Emil Schaefer started out in Jasta 11 flying a D.III with a black tail and yellowish ply fuselage (just as Wolff had his plum purple D.III in March 1917). However, in mid-April most of the Jasta 11 pilots painted all of their D.IIIs largely red. Schaefer's was apparently red with some black trim on the tail, etc.

When Schaefer took over Jasta 28 he still flew a largely red Albatros D.III, and this became very well known on the 4. Armee front; Max Mueller wrote that Schaefer was "taken for Richthofen here". On 4 June 1917, Jasta 28 tangled with Nieuports from No. 1 Sqn and SE 5a's from No 56 Sqn. Schaefer was apparently on the tail of Capt. Philip Fullard's No 1 Sqn Nieuport when Arthur Rhys Davids chased him off, and was credited with shooting down the red Albatros; Schaefer was indeed killed the following day, and somehow Rhys-Davids thought he had been killed on 4 June. At any rate, Rhys Davids wrote in his combat report: "All five of the HA , especially the leader (red fuselage, red, gray and black wings, V-strut type stuts, pilot wearing a gray fur flying hat) manoeuvred very well." In a letter to his mother he was more expressive: "For about 3/4 hour I played 'tic' with five of them, led by an extremely good pilot in a red, pink and grey machine. I wanted to go up and watch his flying instead of scrapping...Also, he seems to have been a sort of notoriety known as the 'Pink Lady' owing to the colour of his machine and his (presumably) bong qualities as a scrapper.'

There is a good deal of confusion in the descriptions of this fight, and Rhys Davids did not even put in a claim, but he got a confirmed Albatros due to the reports of the pilots of No 1 Sqn. On the next day when news of Schaefer's death circulated among the RFC pilots, somehow Rhys Davids became credited with his demise, at least for awhile.

So, I think the "Pink Lady" was based largely on sightings of Richthofen's, then Schaefer's RED Albatrosse. As has been commented on, various angles of sunlight can do strange things to perception. The pilot who Johnnie Johnson was referring to was no doubt Schaefer.

That's my opinion."


More confirmations from other historians

". . .In his book The Story of Air Fighting, Air Vice-Marshal J.E. 'Johnnie' Johnson refers to a story about a German Pilot from the First War known to the RFC as "The Pink Lady".

He claims that there was an Albatros that was painted feminine pink and the pilot who flew it supposedly had a round, girlish face. Soon the RFC pilots had dubbed it "The Pink Lady" and that it was somewhat legendary. The legend inside the RFC went that it was flown by a beautiful German girl determined to avenge her lover who had been killed in the air fighting. He claims this version of the story was quite untrue, because when the Pink Lady was eventually shot down her dead pilot proved to have a very distinguished record. . ."

From historian Dan San Abbott;
". . .In 1965,i interviewed Paul Winslow. He was one of the 212 Americans who received ground school at Oxford University. He saw service with No.56 Squadron S.E.5a, RAF. Paul related in the interview that he saw the "Pink Lady". It was an early evening patrol when he saw this pink German aircraft and drew the conclusion that it was the "Pink Lady". He said that this had been discussed in the Mess. I asked if the aircraft was a Pfalz D.IIIa, He could not tell what the make of the plane was. There were no German women flying aircraft on the front.
I suspect what Paul saw, was a silver Pfalz reflectling a low sun cauing the aircraft to look like it was painted pink. Blue skies, Dan-San"

Arch Whitehouse made a comment in his "Myths and Legends of WWI" manuscript/ book (or at least his ghost writer did,) that the pink lady was probably the evening shade - red used on Albatros (D.III) of MvR or his Jasta 11 members. That is to say at a distance the red could be interpreted as pink. (Due to atomospherric conditions.)

It was in "Von Richthofen and his Flying Circus" by Greg VanWyngarden that a visitor to Jasta 11 commented that he had seen MvR's evening machine. The red colour being associated with the old adage "...red sky at night..." The evening shade colour. Another interesting image is that one of MvR's flying helmet's (yellow or butter coloured leather) was on display in the modern Ricthofen Fighter Wing in Weisbaden back in the 1980's. Not saying this was it, but imagine a pilot flying along in one of these with the chin straps undone.

It could easily send any near sighted British pilot a longway from home and hearth into a fantasy tizzy...

Thanks this is really neet info , i've learned some new things . As always all you guys are so hopeful .