Kulenkampff flew reconnaissance missions with Göring in an AEG G.II for the rest of March. Although the aeroplane was, technically speaking, a bomber, it was widely successful as a flying gun platform. In the hands of a skilled pilot such as Göring, the two aerial gunners could be brought to bear very effectively against enemy flyers who might try to impede the AEG’s observer.

Kulenkampff wrote home often and, as seen in a posthumously published collection of his letters, he kept his family informed on a variety of activities. On 22 March, he described his flying missions and his surroundings:

‘Flying goes on, in spite of radiant “heavy air” [following a rainstorm]; at the moment I am working as a machine-gunner on a giant crate. In this way one learns best about the area. It is morbidly interesting at Verdun and one really has the oddest feeling just to be able to fly there. The French scarcely let themselves be seen, especially when our Fokkers come over. When one flies then he is a free man and can do what he wants …

‘Stenay is a typical small French rural city with its narrow streets with archways and gables. Really very pretty, comfortable but somewhat too old-fashioned …Our officers’ mess is very agreeable and nicely appointed, and the food is first rate. Outside, on the square, we have a charming little house with many cosy armchairs and bright flowers and an enormous fireplace around which [we] gather when waiting for good weather …’²⁴