Bristol Fighter's First Combat – A Costly Debut (Aerial Battles of Bloody April)

On April 3–5, 1917, the skies above Arras became the scene of relentless air combat that marked the beginning of what would later be known as Bloody April. This episode covers some of the actions of the Royal Flying Corps as they faced increasingly deadly German opposition, including the infamous Jasta 11 led by Manfred von Richthofen — the Red Baron himself. We follow the events leading up to the catastrophic first mission of the new Bristol F.2 Fighter, flown by 48 Squadron RFC, and examine how poor tactics turned a promising aircraft into an early disaster. Discover how heavy weather, flawed decisions, and veteran German pilots combined to create one of the most difficult periods for the British air service in the First World War. Watch the previous episodes:    • Bloody April Explained – Why the Allies Su...      • First Blood of Bloody April: Werner Voss v...      • Red Baron’s Deadly Hunt, April 2 1917 (Aer...   Main sources: Bloody April 1917: The birth of modern air power https://amzn.to/3MBiRlZ Bloody April 1917: An Exciting Detailed Analysis of One of the Deadliest Months in the Air in WWI https://amzn.to/4afEYbA UNDER THE GUNS OF THE RED BARON: THE COMPLETE RECORD OF VON RICHTHOFEN'S VICTORIES AND VICTIMS https://amzn.to/4aEY0GV Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I https://amzn.to/4rBPlMr The Red Baron https://amzn.to/40i8xCT When you purchase these books on Amazon through the links in this description, the channel earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. The proceeds help fund new book purchases and support the creation of future videos. Support the channel on Patreon   / showtime112   Donate via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/showt... Join our Discord server:   / discord   "Interloper" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...