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Manfred von Richthofen
2 May 1892–21 April 1918 (aged 25)
Manfred von Richthofen Around his neck he wears the Pour le Mérite, the "Blue Max," Prussia's highest military order.
Nickname	Red Baron
Place of birth	Breslau, Silesia, Germany (now in Poland)
Place of death	Morlancourt, France
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Uhlan (Lancers) Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Army Air Service, forerunner of the Luftwaffe}
Years of service	1911-1918
Rank	Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain)
Unit	Jasta 11, Jagdgeschwader 1
Commands	Jasta 11 (01.1917) Jagdgeschwader 1 (24.06.1917-21.04.1918)

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (2 May 1892–21 April 1918) was a German fighter pilot known as "The Red Baron". He was the most successful flying ace of World War I, and was credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories.^[1][2] He was a member of an aristocratic family with many famous relatives.

Contents 1 Nicknames 2 Early life 3 Piloting career 4 The Flying Circus 5 Death 5.1 Who fired the fatal shot? 5.2 Theories about Richthofen's poor judgement in his last combat 5.3 Burial and memorials 6 Number of kills 7 Videos 8 Decorations & Awards: 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Richthofen is also known as "le Diable Rouge" ("Red Devil") or "Le Petit Rouge" ("Little Red") in French, and the "Red Knight" or the "Red Baron" in English. The German translation of Red Baron is "der Rote Baron" (help·info); Richthofen also is so known in Germany, although rarely referred to as "Baron" in his lifetime, but as Freiherr, the correct title for his level of nobility. Richthofen's 1917 autobiography is titled Der rote Kampfflieger, the translation by J. Ellis Barker was published in 1918 as The Red Battle Flyer.^[3] It has been noted that due to the publishing date of the German original before the end of WWI, the book is certainly influenced by propaganda and censorship of the time. Richthofen died during the war, and while he did not have the opportunity of publishing a revised version, he was quoted as saying the book was "too insolent" and that he was "no longer that kind of person".^[4]

Richthofen was born in Kleinburg, near Breslau, Silesia, into a family of old Prussian nobility. When he was nine years old, he moved with his family to nearby Schweidnitz. The young Richthofen enjoyed riding horses and hunting. After completing cadet training in 1911, he joined the Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexanders des III. von Russland (1. Westpreußisches) ("Uhlan Regiment Emperor Alexander III of Russia 1st Regiment, West Prussia"), a cavalry unit.

When the First World War broke out, Richthofen served as a cavalry scout on both the eastern and western fronts. However, when traditional cavalry operations became obsolete due to machine guns and barbed wire, the Uhlans were used in ordinary battlefield operations and for reinforcements.^[5] Due to his disappointment with not being able to participate more often in combat operations, Richthofen applied for a transfer to the Luftstreitkräfte ("Military Air Service"). After a while his request was granted and he joined the flying service at the end of May 1915.^[6]

He was initially a reconnaissance observer over the Eastern Front from June to August 1915, with Fliegerabteilung 69 ("No. 69 Flying Squadron"). On being transferred to the Champagne front, he managed to shoot down a French Farman aircraft with his observer's machine gun, but was not credited with the kill, as it fell behind Allied lines.

He then trained as a pilot in October, 1915. In March 1916, he joined Kampfgeschwader 2 ("No. 2 Bomber Geschwader") flying a two-seater Albatros B.II. Over Verdun on 26 April 1916 he fired on a French Nieuport downing it over Fort Douaumont, although once again he gained no official credit. At this time he flew a Fokker Eindecker single-seat fighter.

After a further spell flying two seaters on the Eastern Front in August 1916 he met fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke. Boelcke, touring the East looking for candidates for his newly formed fighter unit, selected Richthofen to join a new Jagdstaffel ("fighter squadron"), Jasta 2. Richthofen won his first aerial combat over Cambrai, France, on September 17, 1916.

After his first victory, Richthofen ordered a silver cup engraved with the date of the fight and the type of enemy machine from a jeweller friend in Berlin. He continued this tradition until he had 60 cups, by which time the supply of silver in blockaded Germany was restricted.

Rather than engage in risky tactics like his brother Lothar (40 air kills), Manfred von Richthofen strictly observed a set of flight maxims (commonly referred to as the "Dicta Boelcke") to assure the greatest success for both squadron and individual flyer. Contrary to popular imagination, he was not a spectacular or acrobatic pilot, as were others like his brother or the renowned Werner Voss. However, in addition to being a fine flight tactician and squadron leader, he was recognized as a superb marksman, and in combat he philosophically viewed his plane as merely a platform from which to fire his guns. Typically, as was the case for most squadron leaders, he would dive in to attack from above with the advantage of the sun behind him, and with other Jasta pilots covering his rear and flanks.

On 23 November 1916, Richthofen downed his most renowned adversary, the British ace Major Lanoe Hawker VC, described by Richthofen himself as "the British Boelcke." The victory came while Richthofen was flying an Albatros D.II and Hawker was flying a D.H.2. After this engagement, he was convinced he needed a fighter aircraft with more agility, though this implied a loss of speed. He switched to the Albatros D.III in January 1917, scoring two kills before suffering a crack in the spar of the aircraft's lower wing. After this incident, Richthofen reverted to the Albatros D.II for the next five weeks. Richthofen scored one kill in the D.III on 9 March, but the D.III was temporarily grounded for the rest of the month, so Richthofen switched to the Halberstadt D.II, scoring six kills in the Halberstadt between 11 March and 25 March, 1917.

Richthofen returned to the Albatros D.III on 2 April 1917. He scored his next 22 kills in this type before switching to the Albatros D.V in late June. From his return from convalescence in October, Richthofen was flying the celebrated Fokker Dr.I triplane, the distinctive three-winged aircraft with which he is most commonly associated, although he probably did not use the type exclusively until after it was reissued with strengthened wings in November.

Despite the popular link between Richthofen and the Fokker Dr. I, just 20 of his 80 kills were made in this now-famous triplane. In fact, it was his Albatros D.III that was first painted bright red and in which he first earned his name and reputation.

Richthofen championed the development of the Fokker D.VII with suggestions to overcome the deficiencies of the then current German fighter aircraft.^[2] However, he never had an opportunity to fly it in combat as he was killed just days before it entered service.

In January 1917, after his 16th confirmed kill, Richthofen received the Pour le Mérite, the highest military honour in Germany at the time. That same month, he assumed command of Jasta 11, which ultimately included some of the elite of Germany's pilots, many of whom he trained himself. Several in turn subsequently became leaders of their own squadrons.

As a practical aid to easy identification in the melee of air combat, Jasta 11's aircraft soon adopted red colourations with various individual markings, with some of Richthofen's own planes painted entirely red. This practice soon had its use in German propaganda, even the RFC aircrew dubbing Richthofen "Le Petit Rouge."

Richthofen led his new unit to unparalleled success, peaking during "Bloody April" of 1917. In that month alone, he downed 22 British aircraft, raising his official tally to 52. By June, he was the commander of the first of the new larger Jagdgeschwader (wing) formations, leading Jagdgeschwader 1 composed of Jastas 4, 6, 10, and 11. These were highly mobile combined tactical units that could be sent at short notice to different parts of the front as required. In this way, JG1 became "The Flying Circus" or "Richthofen's Circus", which got its name both from the unit's highly mobile nature (including the use of tents), and from its brightly coloured aircraft.

Incidentally, although he was now performing the duties of a major or a lieutenant colonel, he remained a captain, in deference to a German army tradition that a son should not hold a higher rank than his father (Richthofen's father was a reserve major in the German army).

On 6 July, during combat with a formation of F.E.2d two seat fighters of No. 20 Squadron RFC, Richthofen sustained a serious head wound that forced him to land near Wervicq and grounded him for several weeks. The air victory was credited to Captain Donald Cunnell of No. 20, who himself was killed a few days later. It was during his convalescence that Richthofen (probably with the help of a ghostwriter from a German propaganda unit) wrote his "autobiography". Although the Red Baron returned to combat in October 1917, this injury is thought to have caused lasting damage, as he later often suffered from post-flight nausea and headaches, as well as a change in temperament. There is even a theory linking this injury with his eventual death (see relevant section of this article).

Richthofen was a brilliant tactician, building on Boelcke's tactics. But unlike Boelcke, he led by example and force of will rather than by inspiration. He was often described as distant, unemotional, and rather humourless, though some colleagues contend otherwise.^[7]

In 1918, Richthofen had become such a legend that it was feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of the German people. Richthofen himself refused to accept a ground job after his wound, stating that if the average German soldier had no choice in his duties, he would therefore continue to fly in combat. Certainly he had become part of a cult of hero-worship, assiduously encouraged by official propaganda. German propaganda circulated various false rumours, including that the British had raised squadrons specially to hunt down Richthofen, and were offering large rewards and an automatic Victoria Cross to any Allied pilot who shot him down. Passages from his correspondence indicate he may have at least half believed some of these stories himself.

Richthofen was killed just after 11 a.m. on 21 April 1918, while flying over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River.

At the time, the Baron had been pursuing (at very low altitude) a Sopwith Camel piloted by a novice Canadian pilot, Lieutenant Wilfrid "Wop" May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. In turn, the Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by a school friend (and flight Commander) of May, Canadian Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown, who had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground. Richthofen turned to avoid this attack, and then resumed his pursuit of May.

It was almost certainly during the last stage of this pursuit that Richthofen was hit by a single .303 bullet, that caused such severe damage to his heart and lungs that it must have produced a very speedy death. In the last seconds of his life, he managed to make a hasty but controlled landing in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). His Fokker was not badly damaged by the landing, but it was speedily demolished by souvenir hunters. One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the plane, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later.^[8] Another eye witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaputt" ("broken") immediately before he died.^[9]

No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, as the nearest Allied air unit, assumed responsibility for the Baron's remains.

The identity of the person who fired the fatal shot is unknown.

The RAF credited Brown with shooting down the Red Baron. However Richthofen died following an extremely serious and inevitably fatal chest wound from a single bullet, penetrating from the right armpit and resurfacing next to the left nipple. It seems almost impossible that, if this was from Brown's guns, Richthofen could have continued his pursuit of May for as long as he did.^[8] Brown himself never spoke much about what happened that day, claiming "There is no point in me commenting, as the evidence is already out there".^[10]

Most experts now believe that Richthofen was killed by someone on the ground.^[8][11] The wound through his body indicated that it had been caused by a bullet moving in an upward motion, from the right side, and more importantly, that it was probably received some time after Brown's attack.^[8]

Many sources, including a 1998 article by Dr Geoffrey Miller — a physician and historian of military medicine — and a US Public Broadcasting Service documentary made in 2003, have suggested that Sergeant Cedric Popkin was the person most likely to have killed Richthofen.^[8][11] Popkin was an anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner with the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, and was using a Vickers gun. He fired at Richthofen's plane on two occasions: first as the Baron was heading straight at his position, and then at long range from the right. Popkin stated — in a 1935 letter, which included a sketch map — to the Australian official war historian, that he believed he had fired the fatal shot as Richthofen approached his position. Such a shot would have been from directly in front of the plane and could not have been the one that resulted in the Baron's death. However, Popkin was well-placed to fire the fatal shot when Richthofen passed him for a second time on the right.^[8][11]

One source, a 2002 documentary produced by the Discovery Channel suggests that Gunner W. J. "Snowy" Evans, a Lewis machine gunner with the 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, Royal Australian Artillery is likely to have killed Richthofen.^[9] However, Dr Miller and the PBS documentary dismiss these theories.^[8][11]

Other sources have suggested that Gunner Robert Buie (also of the 53rd Battery) may have fired the fatal shot. There is now little support for this theory.^[8][11] Nevertheless, in March 2007, the municipality of Hornsby Shire, in Sydney, recognised Buie, a former resident, as the man who shot down Richthofen.^[12] Buie, who died in 1964, has never been officially recognised in any other way. The Shire placed a plaque near Buie's former home in the suburb of Brooklyn.

The commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron AFC, Major David Blake suggested initially that Richthofen had been killed by the crew of one of his squadron's R.E.8s, which had also fought Richthofen's unit that afternoon. However, this was quickly disproved, and, following an autopsy that he witnessed, Blake became a strong proponent of the view that an AA machine gunner had killed Richthofen.

Richthofen was a highly experienced and skilled fighter pilot — fully aware of the risk from ground fire. Furthermore he was fully in accord with his late mentor Boelcke's rules of air fighting, which were strongly against taking foolish risks. In view of all this, it is universally accepted that Richthofen's judgement during his last combat was uncharacteristically unsound in several respects. Several theories have been propounded to account for this behaviour.

In 1999, a German medical researcher, Dr Henning Allmers, published an article in prestigious British medical journal The Lancet, suggesting that it was likely brain damage from the head wound suffered by Richthofen in June 1917 (see above) played a part in the Baron's death. This theory was supported by a 2004 paper from researchers at the University of Texas. Richthofen's behaviour after his injury was noted as consistent with brain-injured patients, and such an injury may account for his perceived lack of judgment on his final flight: flying too low over enemy territory and suffering target fixation.^[13]

There is also a possibility that Richthofen was suffering from cumulative combat stress, which made him fail to observe some of his usual precautions. It is remarkable that one of the leading British air aces, Major Edward "Mickey" Mannock, was also killed by ground fire on 26 July 1918 while crossing the lines at low level, an action against which he had always cautioned his younger pilots. And the most popular of all French air aces, Georges Guynemer, went missing on 11 September 1917, probably while attacking a two-seater without realizing some Fokkers were escorting it.

Perhaps more relevant is the suggestion in Franks and Bennett's 2007 book,^[14] that on the day of Richthofen's death, the prevailing wind was about 25 mph (40 km/h) easterly, rather than the usual 25 mph (40 km/h) westerly. This meant that Richthofen, heading generally westward at an airspeed of about 100 mph (160 km/h), was travelling over the ground at 125 mph (200 km/h) rather than the 75 mph (120 km/h) ground speed he would have been used to. This is 50 mph (80 km/h) or 60% faster than normal and thus he could easily have strayed over the lines without realizing it, especially since he was struggling with one jammed gun and another that was only firing short bursts before needing re-cocking.

On the other hand, in assessing all these factors the circumstances of the time have to be borne in mind. At the time of Richthofen's death the front was in a highly fluid state, following the initial success of the German offensive of March-April 1918. The Baron must have been acutely aware that the battle he was engaged in was part of Germany's last real chance to win the war — in the face of Allied air superiority, the German air service was having great difficulty in acquiring vital reconnaissance information, such as the positions of batteries, and could do little to prevent Allied squadrons from completing very effective reconnaissance and close support of their armies. In this situation, foolhardiness and extreme bravery may be unusually hard to distinguish.

In common with most Allied air officers, Major Blake, who was responsible for Richthofen's remains, regarded the Red Baron with great respect, and he organised a full military funeral, to be conducted by the personnel of No. 3 squadron AFC. Richthofen was buried in the cemetery at the village of Bertangles near Amiens on 22 April 1918. Six airmen with the rank of Captain — the same rank as Richthofen — served as pallbearers, and a guard of honour from the squadron's other ranks fired a salute. Other Allied squadrons presented memorial wreaths.

Von Richthofen's aircraft was dismembered by souvenir hunters. Its engine was donated to the Imperial War Museum in London, where it is still on display.

In 1925, Manfred von Richthofen's youngest brother, Bolko, recovered the body and took it home. The family's first intention was to lay Manfred's coffin down at the Schweidnitz cemetery, beside the graves of his father (died in 1920) and his brother, who had been killed in a post-war air crash in 1922.^[15] But German authorities expressed a wish that the final place of rest for the body to be interred at the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin, where many German military heroes and leaders were buried. The family agreed, and Richthofen's grave remained in Berlin until 1975, when his body was exhumed and buried in his family’s tomb at the Südfriedhof in Wiesbaden.

On 6 June 1959, Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen", named after the baron, became the first jet fighter unit established by the post-World War II Luftwaffe (German Air Force).

For decades after World War I, some authors questioned whether Richthofen achieved 80 victories, insisting that his record was exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Some claimed that he took credit for planes downed by his squadron or wing. However, in the 1990s, resurgence in Great War scholarship resulted in detailed investigation of many facets of air combat. A study conducted by British historian Norman Franks with two colleagues, published in Under the Guns of the Red Baron in 1998, concluded that at least 73 of Richthofen's claimed victories were accurate, with documented identities of the Allied airmen whom Richthofen had fought and defeated. There were also unconfirmed victories that could put his actual total as high as 100. The highest scoring allied ace was Frenchman René Fonck, with 75 victories and the highest scoring British Empire fighter pilot was Canadian Billy Bishop with 72 kills.

It is also significant that while Richthofen's early victories and the establishment of his reputation coincided with a period of German air superiority, the majority of his successes were achieved against a numerically superior enemy, flying fighter aircraft that were on the whole better than his own.

• Prussian Pour le Mérite Order: 12 January 1917 (in recognition of his 16th aerial victory).
• Prussian Red Eagle Order, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords: 6 April 1918 (in recognition of his 70th aerial victory).
• Prussian Royal Hohenzollern House Order, Knight’s Cross with Swords: 11 November 1916.
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): September 1914.
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords: 29 April 1917.^[16]
• Saxon Military St. Henry Order, Knight’s Cross: 16 April 1917.
• Württemberg Military Merit Order, Knight’s Cross: 13 April 1917.
• Saxe-Ernestine Ducal House Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords (issued by the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha): 9 May 1917.
• Hesse General Honour Decoration, “for Bravery”
• Lippe War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds: 13 October 1917.
• Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service: 10 October 1917.
• Brunswick War Merit Cross, 2nd Class: 24 September 1917.
• Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duke Carl Eduard Medal, 2nd Class with Swords and Date: 30 December 1916
• Hamburg Hanseatic Cross
• Bremen Hanseatic Cross: 25 September 1917.
• Lübeck Hanseatic Cross: 22 September 1917.
• Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration: 8 August 1917.
• Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
• Bulgarian Bravery Order, 4th Class (1st Grade): June 1917.
• Turkish Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabres
• Turkish Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabres
• Turkish War Medal (“Iron Crescent”): 4 November 1917.
• German Army Pilot’s Badge
• German Army Observer’s Badge^[17]
• Austrian Field Pilot’s Badge (Franz Joseph pattern)

• The Red Baron in popular culture
• List of World War I flying aces by number of victories
• Category:World War I aviation
• The Red Baron, a biographical film scheduled to be released in 2008

Notes

General bibliography

• Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen" in Wittmund, Germany
• Complete text of The Red Fighter Pilot by Manfred von Richthofen
• NOVA "Who Killed the Red Baron?"
• Manfred von Richthofen: 80 Aerial victories
• Manfred Von Richthofen's page on theaerodrome.com
• Article from Aviation History Magazine
• Prominent People - Manfred von Richthofen
• Info, Pictures and Links about Richthofen
• An English translation of the account of Bolko v. Richthofen's journey to retrieve Manfred's body
• Famous flying ace no hotshot after all - New Scientist
• Official Website of the movie The Red Baron (2007)]
• The Kaiser's Hero: Manfred von Richthofen
• [1]
• http://www.starduststudios.com/Fighter_Aces.htm Aces of WWI, WWII & Korea
• Pole honors Germany's Red Baron

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