Warbird Information Exchange

Is "Wop" May's opinion documented?

_________________
Defending Stearmans on WIX since Jeff started badmouthing them back in 2005.

The log book entry of Wop May says:

21/4/18 Camel D3326 90 minutes Engaged 15 to 20 triplanes - claimed one. Blue one. Several on my tail, came out with red triplane on my tail which followed me down to the ground and over the line on my tail all the time got several bursts into me but didn’t hit me. When we got across the lines he was shot down by Capt. Brown. I saw him crash into side of hill. Came back with Capt. We afterward found out that the triplane (red) was the famous German airman Baron Richthofen. He was killed.

_________________
...it was a plane adrift beneath the moon moving serenely thru beams like an angel of the night .....fair as a song ........aloof from mortal dreams

Sorry, can't help myself but I must set the record straight.

all the FACTS prove he was shot down by Australians. End of story, stop arguing and go to your room.

Now the truth behind what really happened.

The Australians saw the red plane, thought it was a British officer and shot it down. When they went to claim their prize, they realised they had mistakingly shot
down a German. To cover it all up, they stuck Australian bullets inside the corpse, gave this German bloke a fairdinkum burial and all was left to history. Everyone
who has ever served in a RAR will know this to be true. However, sometime later, Bluey 'Puddin' Williams suffering from the horrors of that terrible lie came forward to set the record straight.

The Australians had actually gathered enough material to make a batch of home brew - got some stuff from a funny french bloke last seen running in the opposite
direction. Anyway, when they heard the plane overhead the Australians thought it was a German U2 spy plane looking for the source of the brewing smell now
floating across the front, which is a funny term because I was shot in the rear, but I never fought in a war, not officially anyway, back to the Blue Max bloke, When the Australians thought their brew was in danger they fought to the last glass, or cup, tin or whatever was handy. The Australians, who where well known for being terrible shots - mainly because we don't like to hurt people, unless they owe us money or something serious like that - used a machine gun near by and shot randomly into the sky, you know, real wild like, like rabbits jumping crazy all over the place after they've been eatin your secret weed patch out the back of the chook house - ah for all you NASP (Non Australian Speaking People) a chook house is were you bury murder victims and then put chooks in there to make it look real, hitting Baron Von whatshisname and killing him.

Thats the truth, I've seen the pictures.

Now why don't we talk about something serious like the New Zealand bloke who was the first person to achieve powered flight, great story that one. Copied the idea off the Australians though. True story, got pictures.


Peter

_________________
Peter
ESAD (E-Science and Digitalisation)

Digger

I know that you know that I know that you know that the Aussies actually gave Brown a bottle of that home brew as a reward for shooting down the Baron
In my world thats admission by the Aussies that Brown got him
Irrefutable proof

_________________
...it was a plane adrift beneath the moon moving serenely thru beams like an angel of the night .....fair as a song ........aloof from mortal dreams

Hard to argue with that logic, especially given the historical proof of Aussies and beer, or...maybe.....brown was trying to shoot down an English officer as well..!!!



Peter

_________________
Peter
ESAD (E-Science and Digitalisation)

I want to thank you both so much for clearing up that little mystery. Now I wish you Canadians and Aussies would come to Texas and give us a hand, we seem to be having the very devil with this guy lately......

_________________
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

PIC, Ford 6600 pulling Rhino batwing up and down the runway

Not so fast.....the 'Circus' is on the way...

_________________
Classic Wings Magazine

https://www.classicwings.com/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ClassicWingsMagazine/

Preserved Axis Aircraft

http://www.classicwings.com

Drat! Got him...








Spoils of war

_________________
Classic Wings Magazine

https://www.classicwings.com/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ClassicWingsMagazine/

Preserved Axis Aircraft

http://www.classicwings.com

There's probably only one real way to get to the bottom of this; somebody phone TIGHAR!

_________________
Defending Stearmans on WIX since Jeff started badmouthing them back in 2005.

More spoils of war

http://www.rcmi.org/img_upload/full_1239945442.jpg

_________________
...it was a plane adrift beneath the moon moving serenely thru beams like an angel of the night .....fair as a song ........aloof from mortal dreams

Lets not forget that a brave Beagle also tangled with the Baron.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNremK0c ... ture=share

_________________
Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

I think I should point out something very wrong with the crashed Baron scene.

Those are clearly New Zealand Soldiers..............

Because the first thing they turn their attention too is the sheep skin boots.

enough said about that.



Digger

A good book on the subject is "The Red Baron's Last Flight - A Mystery Investigated" by Norman Franks and Alan Bennett. A lot of the threads in this topic are thoroughly investigated in the book. A most interesting read.

[/quote]
K225
Go here, http://www.constable.ca/caah/brown.htm to view the actual combat report
Nowhere does he say he was indecisive. He claims a kill .
Also are here correspondence home and here he claims he shot him down also.[/quote]

Thanks for that Cam interesting read, it is certainly a fascinating bit of history. I have had the opportunity to meet many of the vetrans from WWII and hear their stories. Many years ago I did get to talk with a WWI vet who flew with Wop May I wish I had known more of the history then. Its sad in a way that the story has been trivialized for entertainment purposes when you read of the real experience these men faced.

_________________
“Try to fly in the middle of the air. The edges are filled with mountains and oceans and rocks and it’s much harder to fly there.”

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr