Flying a silver-blue Fokker Dr.1, he singly fought James McCudden, Keith Muspratt, Harold A. Hamersley, Arthur Rhys-Davids, Robert L. Chidlaw-Roberts, Geoffrey Hilton Bowman, Reginald Hoidge, and Richard Maybery.

After he fell in solo opposition to those eight British aces after a dazzling display of aerobatics and gunnery that put bullets in his every opponent, he was described by his preeminent foe, Victoria Cross winner James McCudden, as "the bravest German airman".

[13] Here Voss began a lifelong friendship with another young pilot in the squadron, Manfred von Richthofen, who would soon gain fame as the Red Baron.

[15] Voss, an avid motorcyclist, had a love of machinery that led him to consort with his enlisted mechanics, Karl Timms and Christian Rueser; he was even on a first name basis with them.

[16] Voss contravened uniform regulations at times and could often be found in the hangar working on his machine beside the mechanics, dressed in a grubby jacket without insignia.

The two-seater pilot braved both Voss' strafing and incoming German artillery to retrieve aerial photography plates for their military intelligence value.

[5] He was out of action during Bloody April, the most intense air fighting of the war, when the Luftstreitkräfte and its aces inflicted heavy losses on the Royal Flying Corps.

Lacking a background in fighter tactics, he compensated by allowing his more experienced pilots to follow their own inclinations, including solo excursions into British territory.

[30] However, he was not always successful; being one of the three German fighter pilots who attacked and seriously damaged Captain Keith Caldwell of 60 Squadron on 28 May 1917, just after Voss's 31st victory, but the New Zealander escaped.

[32] The Royal Naval Air Service credited Draper with an "out of control" victory; after returning to base, Voss had to trade in his damaged Albatros D.III for a fresh one.

It was easy to fly with light controls, could out-maneuver any previous aircraft, was equipped with forward-firing mounted twin machine guns and had a rapid rate of climb.

On 31 August, Anthony Fokker escorted German Chancellor Georg Michaelis and Major General Ernst von Lossberg to see and film the new triplane.

[43] Voss returned from leave on 23 September 1917 not yet fully rested; as fellow pilot Leutnant Alois Heldmann observed: "He had the nervous instability of a cat.

Upon his return to his air base with bullet holes in his Fokker,[45] he took advantage of Richthofen's absence at the Voss family hunting lodge[46] to celebrate with a victory loop before landing.

As 'B' Flight's patrol continued, McCudden swooped on a German DFW and shot it down at 18:00 hours; Rhys-Davids giving it a parting burst of machine-gun fire as it fell past him earthbound.

number 1187/17 led a second flight skyward; three Pfalz D. IIIs followed him, piloted by Leutnants Erich Löwenhardt, Alois Heldmann, and Max Kuhn.

Below that, Lieutenant Harold A. Hamersley, flying as a rear guard to his squadronmates in 60 Squadron, had a wary eye on a nearby enemy formation of 20 to 25 German aircraft.

Hamersley flung his Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a into a spin that went inverted, with Voss continuing to fire at him, holing his wings and engine cowling.

[56] Voss in his tri-plane zigzagged, yawed, and bobbed among his multiple attackers, never holding a straight course for more than seconds, evading British fire and spewing bullets at them all individually.

Using the tri-plane's superior rate of climb and its ability to slip turn he managed to evade his opponents, and plunged down back into the melee.

As the tri-plane's glide steepened, Rhys-Davids overran him at about 300 meters (980 feet) altitude and lost sight of Voss's aircraft beneath his own.

[74] When corresponding with aviation historian Evan Hadingham in 1967, Cronyn offered, "... movements were purely instinctive, and made on such split second action that no impression was recorded."

[64][79] That same day, Aide de Camp Maurice Baring was sent by Major General Hugh Trenchard to gather such military intelligence as he could about the dogfight.

[83] On 27 October, the same day Rhys-Davids died in action,[84] a British intelligence officer finally gained access to the wreckage after it had lain a month in the open.

[87] On 24 September, Jasta 10 pilots dropped a note inquiring about Voss attached to a black, white, and red streamer over British lines.

[90] On 7 October 1917, the Krefelder Zeitung ran a page of tributes to Werner Voss, including those from Crown Prince Wilhelm, aviator Anthony Fokker, and Generalleutnant Ernst von Hoeppner.

The leading British pilot he fought that day, James McCudden VC, expressed sincere regret at Voss' death: "His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent and in my opinion he was the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight.

[93] During the Nazi regime, Voss' old school in Krefeld was renamed in his honour, but this was later reversed following the German defeat in World War II.

[50] In 1942 author Hector Bolitho and ace James Ira Thomas Jones received letters from both Chidlaw-Roberts and Bowman concerning their recall of Voss's last stand.

At the same time Bowman also stated that he believed Voss had an opportunity to disengage and save himself, but had deliberately chosen instead to fight in spite of the overwhelmingly unequal situation with which he was faced.