In the days before James Michener

DesertPilot · 15 June 2009, 11:31 PM

I know it was hardly a major theater for flight operations during the War -- indeed, for all I know, it might not have seen any operations at all -- but can anyone on this forum point me toward some references about the Pacific? Thanks in advance.

Paul

Romani · 16 June 2009, 02:49 AM

There was something on this forum about the German airplane that flew from the colony of Tsingtao to aid in the defense against the Japanese in 1914.

The corsair ship Wolff carried a scouting seaplane in its epic voyage, and did reach as far as New Zealand.

Those are the only two airplanes I know of that operated in the Pacific.

DesertPilot · 16 June 2009, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romani

There was something on this forum about the German airplane that flew from the colony of Tsingtao...

Thanks! I'd been wondering about Tsingtao and Singapore -- I imagined there must at least have been some scouting missions to monitor Japanese troop advances, but I couldn't find any references in my literature on the Emden. That gives me some idea where to get started, and if I find anything interesting that seems new, I will, of course, post it to this thread.

Gregvan · 16 June 2009, 07:13 AM

Hi DesertPilot,

As Romani has mentioned, a German airman named Gunther Plüschow became very well-known as the one-man airforce who flew a Taube in reconaissance flights at Tsingtao. His wartime (1916) book Die Abenteur des Fliegers von Tsingtau was extremely popular and widely-read in Germany. I would say that perhaps, next to Immelmann, Boelcke and Richthofen, he was one of the most famous airmen in Germany during the war.

Gunther PlÃ¼schow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By the way, after the defeat by the Japanese, he managed to escape, fleeing through Shanghai and the US, but was captured at Gibraltar and imprisoned at Donington Hall - but escaped and made his way to Germany by July 1915.

His book in English is My Escape from Donington Hall, preceded by an account of the sige of Kiao-Chow, published in London in 1922. His story has been told over and over in many English books and German anthologies.

Gregvan · 16 June 2009, 07:28 AM

Hi,

By all means, also check out the story of the raider Wolf and its hardy little Friedrichshafen seaplane Wölffchen, which did cruise into the South Pacific as Romani has pointed out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Wol...iliary_cruiser)

The seaplane was flown by Flugmeister Paul Fabeck (pilot) and Lt. z. See Alexander Stein. These two, as well as the captain of the S.M.S. Wolf, Fregattenkapitän Karl Nerger, were honored by their own Sanke cards, as was Gunther Plüschow.

DesertPilot · 16 June 2009, 07:50 AM

Thanks, Gregvan! That Wolfe link was new to me, as was the link about Plüschow. I'll try to track down Plüschow's book on the ABE Used Book Exchange -- it sounds like a worthy addition to my aviation shelves. I've come across several tales of Africa and Palestine, and I have 4 or 5 different accounts of the L-59, but the Pacific has always been a cipher. I'm glad I posted this question. This site is such a great resource!