The fact that Goering was made commander of JG1 after Reinhard's untimely death has always bugged me to be honest.
Does any of our historians here know the "real" reason.
I have always heard that his family was fairly well connected, he wanted it, and it happened.
On top of his later distasteful antics he apparently rarely flew scoring only 1 additional victory from July, 1918 till the end of the war. Hardly the inspiring, lead-from-the-front type that JG1 was used too.
I would also be curious of what the personnel thought of him? Not much I would imagine but I am hardly objective when it comes to him.

I suggest you read Peter Kilduff's excellent book about Göring's WW1 career - Hermann Göring: Fighter Ace.

We should separate the Nazi boss Göring from the Great War ace Göring. He was undoubtedly a skilled fighter pilot and as the CO of Jasta 27 he did quite well. The same can't be said of him as the boss of the Luftwaffe!

Göring had friends in high places (apparently many people of royal blood were eager to support fighter pilots with Göring's charisma), which helped him to make quick progress. But it wasn't only his connections which earned him that post.

Did some checking where I could.
Couldn't find anything on how he got command, yet, but the pilots reportedly did not like him considering him to be "arrogant."

A few pics from Kilduff's book (not the best of quality, but readable!):





I can't remember Kilduff mentioning anything about the other pilots not liking Göring. I suspect that comes from post-WW2 writings, when also Göring's early career was seen through the history of the Third Reich.

As disgusting and criminal his behaviour as one of the top Nazis was, his role in history should nevertheless be studied fairly and objectively.

Hasse;

Thanks for the extracts on Goring from Kilduff's book and for what it's worth, I agree with your last sentence.

Hard to be objective with his track record but thank you for the excerpts.

And therein lies the challenge of writing history! First rate historians like Mr. Kilduff can do it, many others can't.

I feel great admiration for people like Sir Ian Kershaw and Richard J. Evans who are able to write objectively about some of the worst criminals and the most horrible events in the history of the world.

It's worth noting also that while Goering's last victory was in July 1918, he did have three in June with Jasta 27. Perhaps he felt the need to hold back once he took over JG 1, but a coward does not get 22 victories.

Thanks for the book pages.

He wasn't a coward at all. He kept a close eye on his members, much like MvR did. He had a tendency of Managing the Jasta more than being a part of it. He was very successful in that right. Some viewed him as a coward for his failure to engage, other would consider it keeping the fight honest by managing it. He allowed his pilots to grow by getting them the experience they needed to do so, without getting in the way. Like a coach.

Fat #%&*$# had a gift of gab, a real schmoozer... most likely had an effect on the decision for him to take over JG1. He was a successful leader of Jasta 27, well-liked (if you weren't Jewish as some J27 pilots noted) and proved to be the right man for the job. Do I personally agree with the choice... no.

Job should have gone to Udet.

OvS

How do you manage an air fight in those pre-radio days? Unless you mean in all aspects both on the ground and in the air. And, assuming he showed some skill in the management of combat units he obviously forgot all about it after 1918 unless every bit of history has been written with the "winners eye." And I am a little disappointed in Bodenschatz unless he truly believed that. I suspect that writing ill of your boss in 1935 Germany was a poor career move. Assuming he had any say in that passage.
And also interesting his antisemitism manifested itself back then. I always figured he was a band-wagon jumper who used it as an excuse to enrich himself and as a strategy to grab power. Hard to believe anyone really believing that stuff but he is still a fat stupid clown. And the argument that he was "brave" because he had 22 victories don't mean much to me.
Is it obvious that I don't like him and can't be "objective"?

Assuming I live long enough in my J11 career he will never be in charge. I have the power of the Aces list and a text editor.

Managing a Staffel with a dozen or so pilots, or even a Geschwader with a few dozen pilots, is something VERY different from running the whole air force of a great power in wartime.

Military history is literally full of officers who excelled at the lower levels of command, but failed miserably when they became high-ranking generals or admirals. Obviously Göring was a prime example of this. He was a good squadron CO, but a terrible commander-in-chief.

But it is a mistake to view Göring's performance as a fighter pilot in the Great War through his crimes in the Third Reich. Nothing of that had happened in 1918, it was all still in the future.

Good Kommandeur,um ...yes, but man, look at those eyes, those eyes ....speak by themselves.

Also it's important to remember that Göring never received any higher military training. He was an Oberleutnant when the war ended. Then he was a civilian, got involved in politics and finally became one of the leading Nazis when Hitler came to power in 1933.

In 1935 there were countless more deserving, experienced and highly trained officers in Germany who could have taken command of the Luftwaffe. But Göring was one of Hitler's most trusted comrades, and he got the job.

It would be the same as suddenly promoting a Flight Lieutenant to the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force and giving him command of the RAF.

Not a very smart thing to do.

Do I have the same eyes?

Stihl trying, but not, good try though.

I love that saw for felling trees. Always feel sad when I prepare to take a living one down. I say a brief prayer/tribute and think about the sunlight created for the saplings now that the old mother tree is gone.

Pic was from early 2011, dang I've gained weight.
If I stick out my gut I could pass for a double.

That is the way I fly Jasta 15 in DiD.
I cripple the enemy as much as possible on initial attack, then let my squad have at them.

Well Mudwasp it "looks like your saw is bigger then mine."
I got more power though!

And Hasse you are never going to convince me of anything good in regards to Goering. Some things just can't be overlooked. But it's not like he was unique. If he would have got whacked in the Great War someone would have taken his place down the road and perhaps have done a "better" job. He's scum plain and simple. At least AH was "sincere" in his devilry. Goering was a scheming oppurtunist.
For me the history of JG1 stops in July 1918.

Well, Goering lived through two world wars and found a way out of the hangman's noose.

This guy, not an aviator, lived through more, and went on to be general in NATO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Speidel

What are you running?
I use a 20" most of the time on that saw. Pic was with a 28".

I've ported it, to let her breathe better, what a screaming beast of a machine it is.
It is a 441 magnum.

Sorry. Another poor attempt at humor ala "...I see your Schwarz is almost as big as mine." Bonus points for the movie name.
Anyway I am a propane guy with small scale stuff to get wood for the fireplace mainly for ambiance.
My two pals are big into cutting but they got more time on their hands. If the house is cold put more clothes on

I thought I read somewhere that HG had stole some other fliers confirmed kills, much like in the "Blue Max ".

I also thought that Udet knew about it and his elevation the the LW was a kind of blackmail.

I might be completely off base, but I am pretty sure I read that somewhere about 30-40 years ago.

You can fell and cut in winter.
Bonus is least moisture in the tree.

Go for an ash tree.
A pleasure to split with an axe.
The ash comes from the bark. It will fall off in time.
But if you are hard up for winterfell, ash is the way to go.

It is best to have eough, but sometimes life goes different.

Isn't Ash kind of a stinky wood when burned?

And Sturmriger I did read that 17 (or was it 18) of his kills were definitely confirmed by British records but, interestingly, he had to lobby hard to get the PLM.

No, it is good on odor, cherry is the one I find distictive.
Not offensive, but easy to recognize from a sniff of smoke.

Now Oak stinks of foot odor or locker room odor, especially the white oak. That is from a nose wood working them. From the chimney, not so bad.

I love reving up the 441, it pulls to the left free in hand, reminds me of a Fokker E series.

What I read is that they were confirmed kills, but not his and he took credit for them.

Ah. Am not sure about that.
I tend to tune out when he is the subject. But based on everything else I would hardly be surprised.

Kilduff's research in Allied archives confirmed 18 of Göring's victories. He didn't stole them from anybody - the German system of confirming kills was strict, much more so than the British one.

It's just an example of one of the lies and legends surrounding Göring. It's understandable, but not the way history should be written.

Honestly I put much more faith in the Germans' accounts of claims and kills than the Brits, with Billy Bishop being a particularly infamous example.

With 90% (?) of the combat being over German territory I am a quite tolerant of the British claim system - both in actual practice and for morale reasons of the flyers themselves. Following your opponent down to confirm your kill over enemy territory was rarely a good idea with the AA and the need to recross the lines against the wind and you didn't have the option to drive from your aerodrome to the site, sipping champagne, to confirm your crash. Or to land next to it and remove a souvenir. And to wax philosophical, in combat terms, is the death of the pilot or absolute destruction of the aircraft the only way to measure a victory in the air? If I force the enemy away by my actions and this allows the two-seaters to complete their mission who has won?

Has anyone (I am sure somebody has) done a comparison of British claims vs actual German losses? Obviously the British numbers will be higher but not every British claim (or awarded victory) is a "decisive" victory as in WOFF terms.
"Out of control" and "forced to land" we're considered legitimate claims and awarded as such. The enemy has been rendered combat ineffective therefore I win...

I read that Göring was unpopular with his pilots because when leading he was too aggressive and lost more pilots than the previous leaders who only fought when the odds and height etc were in their favour. I only wish I could remember where I read that.

Related to my post above Olham posted this link in another thread.
Very interesting read.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_victory_standards_of_World_War_I