Although Richthofen claimed (corroborated by Air Batteries 13 and 47) and received credit for this DH.2 flown by future 57-victory ace and RFC luminary James McCudden, it did not crash. Later McCudden wrote that he and Richthofen engaged in a head-on firing pass initiated at 100 yards, during which McCudden’s gun jammed. Richthofen continued to engage, forcing McCudden to “turn on [his] back and [dive] vertically” to escape. At 800 feet (Richthofen wrote 1000 meters) Richthofen disengaged via a climbing egress to the east amidst antiaircraft fire, allowing McCudden the freedom to rectify the jam and pursue, but he was unable to catch the Albatros due to the latter’s superior climb performance. McCudden noted that his machine received no hits during this encounter.

From McCudden’s combat report: “Going east of Arras I saw five HA. Lt Jennings attacked an HA and another JA was approaching from behind. I fired about 15 shots and drove him off. He turned and came towards me, firing. I opened fire at 100 yards and after about eight shots my gun stopped, due to a cross feed. As the hostile machine was engaging me at close range, I turned on my back and dived vertically, in a slow spin and in this way regained our lines. At 800 feet over Basseux the HA left me. I quickly rectified the stoppage and followed the HA across the trenches at 2,000 feet. Owing to his superior speed and climb he out distanced me and rejoined his patrol at about 5,000 feet. The hostile patrol then withdrew. ”

Although in his 1918 Air Combat Operations Manual Richthofen opined that head-on attacks against two-seaters (which he thought McCudden was flying) were ‘very dangerous,’ in late 1916 he was still refining the lessons learned from Boelcke and ostensibly had not compiled enough experience to conclude the tactical ineffectiveness of this attack methodology.