Futility Closet

In 1917, German pilot Werner Voss had set out for a patrol over the Western Front when he encountered two flights of British fighters, including seven of the best pilots in the Royal Flying Corps. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the drama that followed, which has been called "one of the most extraordinary aerial combats of the Great War." We'll also honk at red lights in Mumbai and puzzle over a train passenger's mistake. Intro: The minuet in Haydn's Piano Sonata in A Major is a palindrome. In 1909, Ulysses, Kansas, moved two miles west. Sources for our feature on Werner Voss: Barry Diggens, September Evening: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss, 2012. Dan Hampton, Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16, 2014. Michael Dorflinger, Death Was Their Co-Pilot: Aces of the Skies, 2017. Michael O'Connor, In the Footsteps of the Red Baron, 2005. Norman S. Leach, Cavalry of the Air: An Illustrated Introduct