"Reglement für Kampfflieger" or "Rules for Fighter Pilots"

by Manfred von Richthofen

This was a secret Idflieg document, written by Manfred von Richthofen, as a guideline for fellow Staffeln.

Source:
"Reglement für Kampfflieger" (original title), Deutsches Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive).
Part of this text can also be found translated into English in Norman Franks, "Dogfight - Aerial Tactics Of The Aces Of World
War One", but I took my own liberties in translating.
Big thanks to J2_Burns, who wrote to the Deutsches Bundesarchiv helping them fix a missing page of this document!

[Page 1]
Commander General of the Aerial Troops. Great Headquarter, April 19th, 1918.
No. 42360. Fl.II.

Attached hereby is a report, presented to me by Commander of Jagdgeschwader 1, Rittmeister Freiherr von Richthofen, in its
original version to be taken note of by the fighter units by exchange of experiences.

A.m.W.b.M.
von HOEPPNER.

[document distribution list]

[Page 2]
Inspection of the Aerial Troops [Idflieg]. Charlottenburg, April 26th, 1918.
No. 1166/18. Z.III. Secret.

It is the departments' responsibility

1.that every officer, pilot, and observer [machine gun crew] is to take note of this report,
2. that lectures and meetings hereabout are to be conducted.

[document distribution list]

On behalf of Idflieg
Staff Officer Idflieg
BARTSCH

[Page 3]
Geschwader flights.
Boelcke divided his 12 pilots into two Ketten [flights] in the autumn of 1916. He gave each of those a strength of 5 to 6
aeroplanes. 6 to 7 machines can easily be kept in sight and led by a Führer [leader] and are [form] the most flexible [unit]. In
general this combat strength is still adequate today. The Engländer has the most experience in Geschwader [wing] flying and
most of the times flies in the same strength.
On busy days with strong English aerial activity one is forced to work with bigger Geschwaders though; I take off with 30 to 40
machines, a so-called Geschwader flight. (The reason being the inferior German scout aeroplane or strong enemy flight
activity).
The structure of such a big Geschwader is as follows:
The Geschwaderkommandeur [wing commander] in front and l o w e s t,
Staffel [squadron] 1 left
Staffel 2 right
Staffel 3 100 meters above the commander
Staffel 4 at the same altitude as Staffel 3, being the last behind the commander. Distance 150 m.
Staffel pilots wing with their respective Staffelführer [squadron leaders], the Staffelführer after their commander.
Before every takeoff it is mandatory to announce what one is going to do (for example the direction I will head for at the start).
The pre-flight briefing is at least as important as the debriefing after the sortie.
Every Geschwader flight needs greater preparation than a Staffel flight. Therefore it is necessary that one announces
the Geschwader flight in advance. So, for example, I tell [the staff] in the evening, that the Geschwader is due to be ready for
take-off on 7 am the next morning. By "ready for take-off" it should be clear [to the pilots that they need to be] dressed for f l i
g h t, every pilot next to or in his machine and certainly not hanging around in the ready room without his flight gear. The
mechanics are ready at their machines, the aeroplanes ready and warmed up. Since I can't know if there is going to be enemy
activity around 7 am, it is possible that the whole Geschwader waits on the aerodrome for several hours, all ready to go. [Page
4]
By telephone (if on multiple aerodromes) or by ringing of a bell (if on one aerodrome) take-off is commanded.
Each Staffel takes off on its own, last one being the respective Staffelführer who gathers his Staffel at low altitude (100m) over
a spot right or left of the previously announced heading of the commander. Then the commander takes off and immediately
heads for this direction. Until all Staffelführer have formed up in their assigned slots, the commander flies very easy on the
throttle. It is useful, for the Staffeln not to get mixed up, that every Staffel has its own markings. The commander's aeroplane
must be coloured in a very outstanding manner. During the forming of the Geschwader the commander must not make turns.
Therefore he flies as slow as possible, in most cases heading for the lines. After the commander is sure of
his Geschwader being in formation and n o machine is lagging behind anymore, he can slowly begin to open his throttle and
make use of the performance of his machine.
The altitude at which the commander is flying is the altitude the Geschwader must be flying at. It is utterly wrong that one pilot
flies 200 m higher or 50 m lower. In such a big unit (30 to 40 machines) every Staffel leader has to keep his slot during the
whole flight. It is recommended, especially with beginners, to give every pilot within the Staffel a slot, too. The type of
formation within the Staffel can be of so great a variety that one is advised better not to issue an order on this. In a well-
experienced Kette an exact formation establishes itself with time. I prefer to lead Jagdstaffel like I lead my group when hunting
on horses, for then it doesn't matter if I turn, dive, pull up or nose down. Is the Staffel not already experienced, though, so
assigning [each pilot] a slot is due. If the Geschwader flight fails, it is in 99 cases the commander's fault. He has to adjust his
speed to the slowest in the Geschwader. The Staffel leaders closest to the commander must not fly so close as to make sudden
turns impossible for him. This is often the reason for him being unable to attack and can spoil the success of the
whole Geschwader sortie. If an enemy wing has been spottet, the commander increases his speed. This moment immediately
has to be anticipated by every single pilot in the Geschwader to avoid breaking up of theGeschwader formation. If the
commander dives, so does the Geschwader at the same time. Here tight spirals are to be avoided, and diving to be commenced
in big, wide curves. [Page 5]
Unnecessary breaks are to be avoided. In every turn the Ketten must change places [remark: tactical turn]. This causes great
disorder and it can take a long time, until the Geschwader formation is up to order again.
If unforeseen circumstances cause the commander to drop out, a deputy is to be announced before. A flare signal indicates the
transfer of command to his deputy commander.
A late joining of pilots whose engine didn't start in time or what ever the cause [for their delay], is impractical.
The idea behind such a big Geschwader flight is to destroy enemy wings.The commander should not pursue attacks on single
aeroplanes in this case. Therefore such strong Geschwader flights are only recommended, when good weather promises high
activity. It is best to position oneself between an torn enemy wings and the lines. One cuts its way, climbs on top and forces it
to fight.
Attack in formation brings success. Has the commander made the decision to attack, he flies into the bulk of the enemy wing.
Just before the attack, he throttles back so that the Geschwader, which may have widened up due to high speed or turning can
close up again. Every single pilot counts the number of enemies right from the first time of spotting them. At the moment of
attack everyone should know where the enemy scouts are.
The commander must not concentrate on trailing singletons of the enemy, instead he must always head for the gros [bulk of
the enemy wing]; the trailing ones will be destroyed by the men in the Staffeln behind the commander's. Until now, nobody is
allowed to pass by the commander. Speed has to be controlled by throttle, not by maneuvering.
At the time of the commander diving on the enemy wing, everyone must show the will to be first on the enemy.
Through the force of the first attack and the unconditional will of every pilot to go into battle the enemy wing will be scattered.
[Page 6]
Has this succeeded, shooting down an enemy is reduced to one-on-one fighting. This brings the danger of single pilots to get
into each other's way and many anEngländer is given chance to escape the turmoil. It is therefore strictly to be observed that
only the one closest to the enemy is also the only one to fire at him. Are two or more in guns range (100 m) to the enemy they
have to wait for their turn after the first attacker is thwarted by a gun jam or the like and breaks off, or find another opponent.
Utterly wrong and to be observed are multiple scouts going down with a single enemy. I have seen pictures showing 10 to
15 Apparate [flying machines] mixing up with the fight and follow a single Engländer down to earth while up high the enemy
squadron gets away unharmed. One does not support the other by firing with him [at the same target], but by staying back as
a reserve. Have single pilots lost altitude in the course of a squadron fight, they will not wait for one of the opponents letting
himself hurtle down or descend in the aerial battle and hang on this already vanguished enemy but rather will ascend front-
bound and attack the enemy machines heading for the lines.
In the course of a Geschwader battle, after it was successful and split into one-versus-one combat, the squadron is scattered
apart. Now it is but easy to form theGeschwader again. In most cases one will only succeed in finding single scattered scouts;
the commander circles over the main combat location or above previously defined distinguishable landmarks. The scattered
pilots now form up on him. Has he gathered sufficient forces, the mission continues.
If single elements of the Staffel can't catch up again they have to fly home and must not loiter over the front to reduce
unnecessary casualties.
It's not absolutely necessary to fly higher than enemy squadrons. There can be times when one just can't outclimb a high-flying
enemy squadron anymore. Then one patrols the place over the lines one assumes to be the route the enemy travels on his
return. When the enemy squadron arrives one flies alongside and below him and tries to lure the opponent to fight by dives at
full throttle and zooming up steeply. Very often the enemy takes on the fight. [Page 7]
Especially the Engländer. He dives down on single targets, preferably trailing ones, and pulls up again. An aeroplane attacked
this way will try to meet the attack by turning at full throttle, while everyone else is aiming to climb above the enemy at that
moment. In most cases single pilots in the Geschwader manage to reach the enemy's altitude in this manner and one can try,
by tight turning in a dogfight, to force the enemy to lose his altitude, get him into one's sights and destroy him. Such fights
often take several minutes. In this time the commander has to constantly curve around, the Geschwader falls apart, and the
commanded formation does not need to be kept anymore, instead everyone closes up on the commander and tries to bring his
machine back up to altitude, climbing in spirals. Flying straight here is very dangerous, because the opposition waits for a
moment to attack unexpectedly from the sun.
Immedately after every Geschwader flight a debriefing is most important and insightful. Everything that happened in flight from
take-off to landing has to be discussed. Questions of some pilots can only help making things clear.
Practise in Geschwader flying are unnecessary if every Staffel is well-trained. Geschwader flights within the Staffeln for drill
back in the schools are of no training value. Experiences can only be a lesson in battle.
What I can do with a Jagdgeschwader [scout wing] can also be done with a Jagdgruppe [?] (machine gun shooting[?] (sign)).

[Page 8]
The Führer [leader].
Of Ketten-, Staffel-, or Geschwaderführern I expect but the following:
He knows his pilots exactly. As on the ground, so is the Staffel in the air.
Therefore the prereqisites:
1. comraderie [Kameradschaft]
2. strict discipline.
Each pilot must have an unconditional trust towards his leader in air. Without this trusting success can be excluded from the
beginning. Trust in the Staffel emerges from boldness that serves as an example and the confidence that the leader sees
everything and can handle any situation.
The Staffel has to fly itself in, i.e. not to become too accustomed to a certain aerodrome or something like that, instead
everyone must be so comfortable in the team that he already sees in the movements of an aeroplane the intentions of the man
on the stick, especially, when the Führer moves to attack or indicates to his fellow pilots, by tight turning, an enemy attack from
above.
A relocating [lit. 'tearing apart' = moving to another squadron?] of so experienced pilots is, in my opinion, very dangerous.
Within the Staffel everyone has his personal markings on his machine, preferably at the rear fuselage's end top and bottom.
The leader takes off first, gathers his Ketteat low altitude, adjusts himself to the worst [slowest] machine. Approaching the
lines, he keeps an eye on all aerial activity, enemy and friendly. Never must he leave his Staffel unobserved. It always happens
that one or the other starts to fall behind. Those must be kept in formation by curving or throttling back.
Patrolling the lines is not an intercept mission [Jagdflug]; one approaches it best through the center of his patrol area and
observes enemy air activity and seeks, flying away from the lines, to reach the enemy's altitude and, this time out of the sun, to
fly over the lines again and attack. The intercept mission itself therefore consists of going attack runs beyond the lines and
flying back again. If there's no enemy spotted over there, flying beyond the lines makes no sense.

[Page 9]
The Attack.
I distinguish between attacks on wings and on single aeroplanes. The latter is the easiest. I prey on artillery spotters, which
mainly fly on their side of the lines and at not too great a height. 5,6 or 10 such single flyers I keep an eye out at one time,
watch their altitude and changes, if they have or haven't got high-flying escort aeroplanes, then I fly away from the lines for a
bit and come back at higher altitude than the enemy aeroplane I want to attack. While I fly away from the trenches, I
continually try to keep an eye on the opponent. The best moment for attacking artillery spotters is when the opponent
approaches the lines from beyond. Then I throw myself, observing the wind condictions (east-west), out of the sun, in a steep
dive at him. Whoever is first at the enemy, has the privilege to shoot. The whole Staffel follows down. A so-called [top] cover at
high altitude is but a cloak for cowardice. As soon as the first pilot finds his guns jammed, the second one goes in, then the
third, and so on. Never two must fire at the same time. Has the artillery spotter been watchful and surprising him turned out to
be a failure, one can expect him to seek lowest altitudes in steep dives and turns. Thrusting after him seldom is awarded with
success, because I can never a turning opponent. Also it is of no practical use only to drive him away; for after 5 minutes at
best he can commence his duty. I find it better in this case to let go, fly away from the lines and repeat the maneuver. I have
often brought down the English artillery aeroplane only in the third attack.
Geschwader combat is in most cases more successful on our side of the lines, because I can force an opponent to
land. Geschwader fights behind enemy lines is the most difficult, especially when the wind comes from the East. Then the
leader must not cling to the fight, for he will have to face heavy losses. As long as I can stay offensive I can take on any wing
fight even well within enemy lines. With an experienced Staffel I can even go there and attack a superior enemy from above.
Has the single-seater been forced into the defense, be it a gun jam, losing his wing, a damaged engine, a battered aeroplane,
him being at too low an altitude or the like, he then is completely helpless against a superior enemy, who attacks him with zest.
[Page 10]
The leader must not follow a disbanded wing but climbs in circles between the lines and the enemy until he has reached a
superior altitude and cuts the opponent's way of retreat. Does the enemy wing manage to break through, there is danger of
losing him out of sight. Avoiding this is the care of the Staffelführer. When I approach the opponent I count each enemy
aeroplane. That is how I avoid being surprised in the moment I'm attacking. In combat, the Führer must not lose awareness of
his ownKetten and the enemy wing. Perfection therein is only achieved in frequent Geschwader battles. Seeing is the
prerequisite and main duty of the Kettenführer.

How can I educate a beginner?

Under my guidance six knights of the Pour le Mérite have made their first twenty kills. Before I let a beginner fly against the
enemy he has to adapt the interior of his aeroplane as it suits him best.
The most important thing for a scout pilot is the machine gun. He must have it under control in a way that by its type of
malfunction he recognizes the cause. When I come home, and I had a gun jam, I most of the times can tell my mechanic
exactly what was wrong. The MGs are being zeroed in on the ground until they show two parallel hit patterns at 150 m. The
gunsight looks like this: [small image of crosshairs in a circle]
When the pilot has zeroed in his MG on the ground by himself, he continues with target practice in the air, until he has reached
a great dexterity.
The pilot and neither the armourer nor mechanic are responsible for flawless operation of his machine gun. There are no gun
jams! And if they occur only the pilot of the aeroplane alone is to blame. A machine gun working properly is better than a well-
running enine. [Page 11]
When refilling the cartidge belt he has to take care to check every cartridge sharply with a ruler. The time therefore must be
taken (bad weather or, in good weather conditions, the night).
Flying itself is of drastically lesser importance to me. I brought down my first twenty when flying still caused the greatest
difficulties to me. If someone is an artist in flying, it does no harm. Nonetheless, I prefer him who can only fly in left-hand turns
but goes for the enemy to the diving and turning sport from Johannisthal [remark: here the first German airshows were
conducted in public] who hesitates to attack.
I forbid the following excercises over the aerodrome: loopings, spins and low altitude turns.
We don't need acrobats of the air, but daredevils.
I demand target practice in flight and tight turns with full throttle at high altitudes.
If the pilot suffices in all the aforementioned prerequisites he continues with familiarizing himself with images of the [aircraft]
types in use over the front.
He knows the terrain without a map and the shape of the frontlines by heart.
Long navigation training flights, especially in bad weather should be more thoroughly conducted back in the homeland.
When he does satisfy all requirements, he will fly 50 m behind me to the left and watch his leader for the first times.
For the beginner, it is as least as important to know how he shall behave not to get shot down. The greatest danger for a
single-seater is the surprise attack from behind. A great number of our best and most experienced scout pilots have been
surprised and shot down from behind. The adversary waits for the best moment to attack the tail-end aeroplane of a Kette. He
dives, coming out of the sun, on him and can cause him to go down with only a few shots. Everyone must at any time focus on
his rear quarter. Never has been one surprised from his front. Even in a fight one has to take special [Page 12] care not to get
attacked from behind. Should a beginner anyway be surprised from his rear, he must never, under any circumstances, try to
dive from the enemy. The best, and as I see it, the only correct answer is a sudden, very tight turn and converting to an attack
as quickly as possible.

The Dog-fight.
Every Geschwader fight dissolves into one-on-one 'dogfights' [ Einzelkämpfe]. All about the topic "aerial combat tactics" could be
reduced to one sentence: "I approach towards within 50 m of the enemy from behind, aim well, then he falls". Those were the
words of Boelcke, when I asked him about his secret. Now I know that this is the secret of bringing enemies down.
One does neither have to be an aerobatic flyer nor a master of marksmanship, one just has to have the courage to come as
close as possible after his adversary.
The only difference I see is between single-seaters and two-seaters. Whether the two-seater is an RE or a Bristol-Fighter, the
single-seater an SE 5 or a Nieuport, is not at all important to me.
The two-seater one attacks with high speed exactly along his line of flight from behind. One can only avoid the machine gun
burst of the vigilant observer by staying calm and incapacitate him with one's first shots. When the opponent turns, it is up to
me to never get above the enemy aeroplane. A longer turnfight with an agile two-seater fully fit for combat is the hardest. I
only shoot if the enemy flies straight or just starts to bank for a turn. Never from his flanks, or when the aeroplane lies on its
wing. Only if I try to unsettle him with warning shots (phosphorus tracers). Attacking a two-seater from his forward quarter
seems to be highly dangerous to me. First, one rarely hits the enemy. One almost never disables him [that way].
[Page 13]
Instead, I first am under fire from the fixed forward-firing gun and then in range for the observer to shoot at me. If I pushed
down beneath the two-seater and wanted to to turn into his direction of flight, I offer the observer the best target in the turn.
In case of one being attacked by a two-seater from the forward quarter, one does not need to break, but rather try to make his
sudden turn below the enemy aeroplane when he passes overhead. If the observer wasn't watchful, one has the chance to
shoot the opponent by pulling up from below. In case the observer did notice and one presents a good target in the turn it is
recommended not to continue in the field of the observer's fire, but to break off and attack anew.
The dogfight against single-seaters is by far the easiest. If I am alone with an enemy and within our lines, all that can stop me
from shooting him down is a gun jam or some engine (or aeroplane) defect.
The easiest thing is to attack a single-seater from behind, which often brings success. Was he expecting [an attack], he
immediately begins to turn. Then it is all about making the tighter turns and to stay above the adversary.
Does the dogfight occur within our lines, or over the enemy lines with a fortunate wind, the turnfight always comes to an end
with one having pushed the enemy down to the ground within one's lines. Then it is up to the enemy to decide whether he
wants to land or risk heading straight for his lines. If he decides in favor of the latter, I sit behind the straight-flying enemy and
can easily shoot him down.
When I am being attacked by a single-seater from above I must hold true to the principle, never to throttle back, but to fly
through all turns, even dives with fully open throttle. I turn towards the opponent and try to reach his altitude by pulling up in
the turn and inside the enemy. Hereby I must never let the adversary get to my rear. Have I then pulled within his turn, the
outcome of the fight is the same as of the first. [?]
One can without difficulty attack a single-seater frontally. Nevertheless I believe that kills from the forward quarter, single-
seaters included, are a rare occurrence because the moment one is in combat range only lasts for fractions of a second.

[Page 14]
Common Guidelines.
1. In an Attack from behind with high speed it is vital that I must never overshoot the enemy. By doing so I make the biggest
[possible] mistake. In the last moment the speed of one's own machine has to be adjusted to that of the adversary.
2. One shall never cling blindly on one opponent whom one, through one's own bad gunnery or his enemie's agile turning, can't
shoot down, and the fight is far within the enemy's lines and one finds himself fighting against a superior number of
adversaries.

The Patrol.
The patrol, as I see it, can only be planned by an active scout pilot. Therefore, we also need older, experienced officers for
scout patrols.
In defense battles, I think it is best that every group gets assigned one scout group. This scout group [ Jagdgruppe] is not
bound to the small group sector, still, its main duty is to make it possible for the army aeroplanes [Arbeitsfliegern] to go on
their missions and, in excepted cases, give them immediate escort.
Besides, the Army High Command [A.O.K., Armeeoberkommando] has under its command a great number
of Jagdstaffeln (Geschwadern), for which it is imperative that they are allowed to fly fighter sweep duties at their discretion,
their missions being determined by enemy aerial activity. Employing air raid officers, a vast telephone broadcast network as well
as wireless telegraphy they keep track of enemy patrols.
Those A.O.K.-forces must not be kept busy with protection flights, escorts or blockade sorties. Their deployment is managed by
the Geschwader commander according to orders from Kofl [Kommandeur der Fliegertruppen?].

[Page 15]
In Breakthrough Battles and Mobile Warfare.
For a breakthrough itself all scouts of an army must be put under one command and follow exact order, place and time - but
not exact altitude - for supporting, during attack and preparations, the troops by the aerial forces.
If the breakthrough battle transforms into mobile warfare, a scheduled deployment must be absolutely discarded. As well as the
Engländer will not fall from the sky from [our machines] standing on the aerodrome ready for take-off - he will from our
frequent flying.
If an aerodrome relocation is due, every fighting group or Geschwader must work on their own due to the lack of any telephone
connection. The nearby general headquarters will keep them informed on an hourly basis. If the scout pilot does not know the
current progression of the front lines, it is impossible for him to fight low-flying ground support aeroplanes.
Of the situation in the air he keeps track with help from the air raid officer, who follows army movements and is connected to
the Geschwader commander by wireless. The scout Geschwader and scout groups must be able to decide and act on their own.
Only the following things should be ordered within the army in advance on a daily basis:
I. The first patrol at dawn. The reason: this allows other Staffeln to have a good night's rest.
II. The early afternoon patrol from 1 to 2 pm. Reason: If i have to continually send my Staffeln out to fly against the enemy,
the need rest for one hour during the day.
III. The third scheduled patrol is the last before dusk. It is necessary, because late in the evening it is not practical anymore to
fly but rather to prepare one's machine for the following day. In between fighter sweep is the only chance to relieve the
infantry.
In fighter sweep one should understand not patrolling in neighbouring armies' sectors or back in the rear echelon but a
destruction of the enemy, as the circumstances require close and at low altitude on the battlefield close to the infantry and to
fly as frequently as possible with one's Staffeln.

signed Freiherr v. Richthofen.