German pilot (1892-1918). After graduating from a
military school, he began his
career in
World War I as a
scout in his
native Silesia and
Polish Russia, then as a
messenger in
France. He was
assigned to an
experimental twin-engine bomber in 1915, but the
project was scrapped after it was discovered how
poor the large
biplane was at
maneuvering.
In October of 1915, Richthofen was transferred to
pilot training. He was an
adequate, but not
outstanding, pilot -- after 25 training flights, he
crashed while trying to
land on his first
solo flight. He was posted to the
front in March of 1916, and in April, he
rigged one of the first
machine guns set up to be
fired by the
pilot, rather than the
observer. He
shot down his first
plane on April 26, 1916, though the
kill was unconfirmed because the plane fell behind
British lines.
After
shooting down 16 planes, Richthofen was granted his own
squadron, which
moved wherever they were needed, living in
tents as they
traveled constantly. Most of the pilots were
aces, and everyone
painted their planes in
wild colors -- Richthofen painted his
Fokker triplane red. The
squadron was
nicknamed "
The Flying Circus" by the
British, and Richthofen was tagged "
The Red Baron."
He was shot down in March of 1917, but
survived. He came back the next month with an
astounding 21 confirmed victories, including four in one day.
By May 1, 1917, he had 52 kills and was called home, where he met the
Kaiser and
top German commanders, was
promoted to
captain, toured
Germany as a
celebrity, and wrote his
autobiography. When he returned to the
front at the end of June, his squadron was
enlarged and renamed the
Richthofen Squadron.
He was
shot down again in July by two British pilots. He landed
safely, but received a
head wound which caused him severe
headaches for the rest of his life.
German High Command pressured Richthofen to leave
front-line service, recognizing that the
Allies would benefit from a
morale boost if he were killed, but Richthofen fought his
assignment to
administration and
publicity tours and was re-assigned to the front after only a short period.
By March of 1918, Richthofen had
80 confirmed
kills. On April 21, he pursued
Wilfred May's
Sopwith Camel far behind British lines. Flying low, he was hit in the
chest, either by
gunners on the ground or by a
Canadian flying to May's aid. He
crashed and was buried with
full military honors by the British. In the 1920s, his
coffin was
disinterred and transported to
Germany for reburial, again with full
honors.
Though Richthofen is
recognized as the best
ace of
World War I, he was not a very good
pilot -- most of his
success was due to his
innovative battle tactics and
excellent shooting. He was also
admired by pilots on both sides of the
conflict as a
professional and
chivalric airman, if a bit
cocky.
Research from GURPS Who's Who 2, compiled by Phil Masters, "Manfred von Richthofen, 'The Red Baron'" by David Walker, pp. 114-115.Transitional Man says: "The Canadian who may have shot the Baron down was Sopwith Camel pilot Capt.
Roy Brown, and the tactics used were designed by
Oswald Boelcke to overcome Germany's inferiority in the air."