Manfred von Richthofen
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Portrait of Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", credited for 80 Allied aircraft before being shot down and killed on April 21 1918. The Pour le Mérite medal is clearly in view here. |
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (
May 2,
1892 –
April 21,
1918) was a
German pilot and is still regarded today as the "ace of aces" and a national hero of Germany. He was a military leader and
flying ace and the most successful fighter pilot of
World War I, who was credited for 80 victorious air combats.
Richthofen is also known as
"petit rouge" ("Little Red") or
"le Diable Rouge" ("Red Devil") in
French, and; the "Red Knight" or the "
Red Baron" in the
English-speaking world;
"el Barón Rojo" in
Spanish. The German translation of Red Baron is
"der Rote Baron", and Richthofen is known by this name in Germany as well (although he was rarely referred to as "Baron" in Germany during his lifetime, because
Freiherr is the more commonly used title for this level of nobility).
Born in
Breslau,
Silesia,
Germany (now
Wrocław,
Poland), Richthofen moved with his family to
Schweidnitz (now Świdnica, Poland), when he was 9 years old. The young Richthofen enjoyed hunting and riding
horses. After completing cadet training in
1911, he joined a
cavalry unit:
Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander III. von Russland (1. Westpreußisches) (which may be translated as, "
Uhlan Regiment Czar
Alexander III of Russia [1st Battalion,
West Prussia]").
After the
First World War began, Richthofen served as a cavalry scout on both the eastern and western fronts. Richthofen became bored with this role and in about May
1915, he asked to be transferred to the air service. He became an aircraft observer.
Inspired by a chance meeting with the great air fighter
Oswald Boelcke, he decided to become a pilot himself. Later, Boelcke selected von Richthofen to join his elite fighter squadron (
Jagdstaffel),
Jasta 2. Von Richthofen won his first aerial combat over
Cambrai,
France, on
September 17,
1916.
After his first victory, von Richthofen wrote to a friend in Berlin who was a jeweller and ordered a silver cup engraved with the date of the fight and the type of enemy machine. He continued this tradition until he had sixty cups, by which time the supply of silver in blockaded Germany was restricted.
Contrary to popular opinion, no doubt reinforced by his reputation, Richthofen was not regarded by his peers as a spectacular pilot. Pilots of the day and historians have continually asserted that his brother
Lothar was a much more natural pilot, being more skilled in
aerobatic maneuvers. Rather than engage in such risky tactics, Manfred von Richthofen was famous for his strict adherence to a set of flight maxims (commonly referred to as the "
Dicta Boelcke") to assure the greatest chance of both squadron and individual success. And while his natural skills as a pilot were not as renowned as some, Manfred von Richthofen viewed his plane as a platform from which to fire his guns, and, from that standpoint, his reputation and skill as an aerial marksman rank with any fighter pilot of his era.
On
November 23,
1916 von Richthofen downed the British ace
Lanoe Hawker, sometimes referred as "the British Boelcke." The victory came while von Richthofen was flying an
Albatros D.II. After this engagement, he was convinced that he needed a fighter aircraft with more agility—though this implied a loss of speed. Unfortunately, the Albatros fighter was the mainstay of the German air service at that time, and throughout
1917, and so the Baron flew
Albatros D.III and
D.V models well into 1917. However, he switched to a
Halberstadt D.II biplane while the Albatros design was being modified after a spate of lower-wing spar failures. By September 1917 von Richthofen was flying the celebrated
Fokker Dr.I triplane, the distinctive three-winged aircraft with which he is most commonly associated.
In January 1917, after his 16th kill, von 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 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 planes painted entirely red. This practice soon had its use in German propaganda, even the RFC aircrew dubbing Von Richthofen 'Le Petit Rouge'.
Von 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 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 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 partially from the aircraft of all different colors.
However, on the 6th of July, fighting a formation of No. 20 Squadron FE-2s, Richthofen was hit by gunfire and sustained a serious head wound that grounded him for several weeks. Later he would return to combat, although this head wound is thought to have caused lasting damage, as after the injury he often suffered from post-flight nausea and headaches, and a change in temperament. Richthofen was a brilliant tactician, building on Boelcke's shoulders. But unlike Boelcke, he led by example and force of will rather than by inspiration. He was often described as distant, unemotional, and rather humorless, though some colleagues contend otherwise. (See Karl Bodenschatz,
Hunting With Richtofen).
Some say that, 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. So, his superiors asked him to retire, but he refused, considering it his duty to carry on the fight in support of the foot soldier who had no choice but to fight.
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Australian soldiers and airmen with the wreckage of von Richthofen's plane |
The Red Baron met his death on
April 21,
1918 from a single
.303 bullet, while flying over
Morlancourt Ridge, near the
Somme River.
At the time he had been pursuing a
Sopwith Camel piloted by a
Canadian,
Lieutenant Wilfrid "Wop" May of No. 209 Squadron,
Royal Air Force. In turn the baron was chased by a Camel piloted by a school friend of May,
Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown; the Red Baron turned to check the tail of his plane, that is, in the direction of Brown. He was then caught by the bullet, shot from behind and below, which passed diagonally through his chest.
Von Richthofen then made 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 damaged by the landing. One account claims that von Richthofen died a few moments after Allied soldiers reached the plane, and that before he died, von Richthofen said a few words including
"kaputt" ("broken"). Most authorities, however, believe that he was already dead or unconscious by that time.
No. 3 Squadron (3 Sqn) an Australian squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps, the nearest Allied air unit, assumed responsibility for the Baron's remains.
The identity of the person who shot the baron remains unknown; 0.303 ammunition was the standard ammunition for all machine guns and rifles used by British Empire forces during World War I. It is now considered all but certain by historians, doctors, and ballistics experts that von Richthofen was killed by an
anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner, as the wound through his body indicated that it had been caused by a bullet moving in an upward motion, providing ample evidence for a shot coming from the ground. Many experts believe that the shot probably came from Sergeant
Cedric Popkin of the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company.[
1] Popkin is the only ground-based machine gunner known to have fired at Richthofen from the right, immediately before he landed. Many Australian
riflemen were also shooting at the baron at the time, so one of them may well have fired the fatal shot. The
Royal Air Force gave official credit to Brown. However, it has been calculated that Richthofen would have lived for only 20-30 seconds after he was hit — due to the severity of his wound — and Brown did not fire at him within that time frame. It was reported that a spent .303 bullet was found inside Richthofen's clothing, which would also support a low velocity shot from a long distance.
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3 Squadron officers were pallbearers and Australian soldiers acted as a guard of honour during the Red Baron's funeral on April 22 1918. |
The commanding officer of 3 Sqn, Major
David Blake suggested initially that the baron had been killed by the crew of one of his squadron's
RE8s, which had also fought Richthofen's unit that afternoon. However, following an
autopsy which he witnessed, Blake became a strong proponent of the view that an AA machine gunner had killed the baron.
In common with most Allied air officers, Blake regarded von Richthofen with respect and he organised a full military funeral. The Baron was buried in the cemetery at the village of
Bertangles near
Amiens on
April 22,
1918. Six airmen with the rank of captain — the closest peers of Richthofen — acted as pallbearers and a guard of honour fired a salute. Other Allied squadrons presented memorial wreaths.
In 1925, Manfred von Richthofen's younger brother, Bolko, recovered the body and took it home. The family's first intention was it to lay Manfred's coffin down at the Schweidnitz cemetery, beside the graves of his father and his brother Lothar. But important German authorities of the Empire - above all the Imperial Ministry of War as well as the aeronautical organizations - expressed a wish for the final resting place of rest for the body of Manfred should be at the Invaliden Cemetery in Berlin, where already so many German heroes and commanders found their eternal rest. The family agreed to this in the knowledge that the memories of Manfred did not just belong to them, but to the whole German nation.
Brain damage theory
In September 2004, researchers at the
University of Missouri stated that it was likely that brain damage from the earlier head injury had played a part in the Baron's death. This theory had been published by a German researcher in the medical journal "The Lancet" 5 years earlier (Lancet. 1999 Aug 7;354(9177):502-4.). His behavior after his injury was noted as consistent with
brain-injured patients, and such an injury would have accounted for his lack of judgement on his final flight: flying too low over enemy territory and suffering
target fixation. Indeed, for reasons that might never fully be known, on his final flight, Richthofen suddenly and inexplicably strayed from several of the strict rules of aerial combat, that he himself had devised and obeyed throughout his career. He may also have suffered from what is now recognised as
combat fatigue; a symptom of which is a recklessness and disregard for personal safety, as evidenced by his final flight at low level over enemy lines.
For decades after World War I, some authors denigrated von Richtofen's 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, a resurgence in Great War scholarship resulted in detailed investigation of many facets of air combat. The definitive study was conducted by British historian
Norman Franks with two colleagues, resulting in publication of
Under the Guns of the Red Baron in 1998. Their research confirmed the veracity of at least 73 of von Richtofen's claims, with identities of the Allied airmen whom von Richthofen had fought.
The Red Baron has become a symbol for dexterity, daring and victory, combined with an element of tragedy both as being 'on the losing side' and in his ultimate death.
The engine from von Richthofen's aircraft is on display in the
Imperial War Museum in
London as part of the War in the Air Exhibit. It still bears the damage sustained in that final crash.
Von Richthofen has been the subject of numerous films, both documentary and fictional, including the grossly inaccurate 1971
Roger Corman movie,
Von Richthofen and Brown, alternatively titled
The Red Baron.
An American frozen foods manufacturer has adopted his nickname on
Red Baron Pizza accompanied by an image that looks substantially unlike von Richthofen. The image includes a
handlebar moustache, which the real Richthofen never had.
In the
comic strip Peanuts, one of
Snoopy's favorite fantasies portrays him as a World War I flying ace (Arthur Brown's nickname was Snoopy) who has a personal grudge against the Red Baron. Snoopy can never best the Red Baron, who is
never seen—but still manages to riddle Snoopy's doghouse/biplane with bullet holes. In the 1970s there was a board game called "Snoopy vs The Red Baron". It was a somewhat 3-D game with marbles. The conflict between Snoopy and the Baron was turned into a video game for the
Atari system in the 1980s, and again in 2006 by Namco for the Playstation 2, PSP, and Xbox game systems.
The Royal Guardsmen's debut album was in
1966. Among other popular songs, they recorded the song
Snoopy vs. The Red Baron which made it to number two on request charts. The conflict between Snoopy and the Red Baron was also a theme in the songs
Return of the Red Baron,
The Smallest Astronaut,
Snoopy for President, and
Snoopy's Christmas, which are all on the album.
Corto Maltese, the most famous character of the
Italian cartoonist Hugo Pratt, witnesses the defeat of the Red Baron in one of his adventures, where it's speculated that the Baron may have been killed by a single shot fired by a lone Australian gunman, although Corto Maltese himself doesn't believe it was the case.
British
comedian Adrian Edmondson played the Baron in the fourth season of
Blackadder in an episode entitled "Plan D: Private Plane". The
humor of his sole scene was based upon the differences in British and German culture, Edmondson's use of a clichéd accent and mannerisms, and his quick, meaningless death at the hands of Lord Flasheart (
Rik Mayall).
The
World War I setting of
George Lucas' television series
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles saw the appearance of the Baron (played by actor
Marc Warren) in an episode where the young
Indiana Jones is shot down over
Germany.
The troubled main character of
DC Comics's
Enemy Ace comics is modeled after the Red Baron. Hans von Hammer, as he was called, even flew a red triplane during WWI. Unlike Richthofen, Von Hammer survives to fly
Messerschmitts (red, of course) in WW2, including the
Me 262.
There have also been a number of WWI flight simulators involving Baron von Richthofen. They include
Hunt for the Red Baron, written and published by
Small Rockets,
Knights of the Sky by
Microprose, and
Red Baron by
Dynamix and published by
Sierra Entertainment which was followed up by a less successful sequel
Red Baron II.
A song entitled "Not the Red Baron" by
Tori Amos on her
Boys for Pele album contrasts the feeling of shock and sorrow felt by the death of a well-known figure (in this case, the Red Baron) with the unnoticed death of the majority of pilots who were entirely unknown, making the point that a death is really a death, regardless of who it is; it is terrible to consider one death more important than another.
A biographical song entitled
"Red Baron" by "The Bicycling Guitarist" describes the events of July 6, 1917 when the Red Baron was critically wounded in aerial combat with F.E.2's of Number 20 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. The song's lyrics emphasize the Red Baron's traits of leadership and loyalty to one's comrades.
In the cartoon,
SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, a Red Baron-like character called the Red Lynx was portrayed as the enemy of Mayor Manx's great grandfather, the Blue Manx. The Red Lynx returned as a ghost, taking over a prototype jet named for his old enemy, until being shot down by Mayor Manx. Red Lynx was voiced by
Mark Hamill.
One of the characters in
Mobile Suit Gundam, a hugely popular Japanese sci-fi military drama, a saga that spans over thirty years, is believed to be at least partially based on Baron von Richthofen.
Char Aznable, nicknamed "The Red Comet" was a legendary pilot for the fictional
Principality of Zeon, and pilotted a variety of mobile suits (weapons designed for outer space combat), always painted a trademark red. A variation on this character has existed in every new Gundam series produced, and their red mobile suits pay homage to the real life hero who was recognized as the "Ace of aces".
The American heavy metal band
Iced Earth recorded "Red Baron/Blue Max" based on von Richthofen for their "Glorious Burden" album.
The Spanish heavy metal band
Barón Rojo is named after the Red Baron (in Spanish), and their logo is a shadow resembling a pilot.
In the videogame
Empire Earth one of the campaigns is based on the Red Baron. Players take control of Manfred von Richthofen
In the videogame
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas a
radio-controlled aircraft called "Red Baron" can be controlled during a mission.
In the videogame
Shining Force 2 Lemon, a Germanic-looking and powerful knight, is also known as The Red Baron. This character is wearing a red armor and a red shield.
Namco's videogame
Skykid depicts the fanciful air journey of the "Red Baron" and the "
Blue Max".
In an episode of
SpongeBob SquarePants, SpongeBob shouts, "Squidward, this ship belongs to the Red Baron!" It happens to be the Flying Dutchman's ship.
The German power metal band
Masterplan features a track on their "Aeronautics" album entitled "Crimson Rider" which mentions a "Baron of the sky". This is presumably a tribute to Richthofen since his name, The Red Baron, relates to "Crimson Rider".
In the science-fiction television show
Space: Above and Beyond, the marines encounter a
Chig "ace of aces" flying an advanced stealth fighter, who ambushes and destroys several USMC squadrons. Naval intelligence nicknames him "Chiggy von Richthofen". Several fighter squadrons are sent to destroy him in "Operation Red Baron."
Similarly, an episode of the sci-fi series
Battlestar Galactica revolved around the hunt for an "ace" Cylon Raider nicknamed
"Scar" by
Galactica's pilots because of the heavy damage it has endured from multiple skrimishes. The story of Scar contains many parallels to that of Baron von Richthofen.
In Fred Saberhagen's short story
"Wings Out of Shadow" (part of the 'Berkserker' shared-world SF series), a captured historian uses 'personality modules' based on several WWI fighter aces, including von Richthoften, to suborn the spacecraft he is forced use against his own allies.
In The
Star Wars X-Wing Saga there is an Imperial flying ace named Baron Soontir Fel. He commands the elite 181st TIE Squadron, and they are identified by 2 red blood stripes on their fighters as well as their jumpsuits.
In one of
WB's "
Bugs Bunny" cartoons, "Dumb Patrol,"
Yosemite Sam plays the Red Baron and is shown as a negative character who fights against Bugs Bunny.
In an episode of
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, "The Secret Snake Club," Grim appears out of a doghouse saying, "We gotta talk about these living conditions. There's no running water, it smells like feet, and the stupid Red Baron keeps flying by and shooting at me!"
He was distant cousins with the German
Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen[Wolfram von Richthofen and Manfred von Richthofen were fourth cousins], as well as
Frieda von Richthofen (
1879–
1956), who married the English
novelist
D.H. Lawrence (
1885–
1930) in July
1914[Frieda (von Richthofen) Lawrence and Manfred von Richthofen were fifth cousins once removed]. Though their last common ancestor was born in
1661, the Red Baron's infamy nonetheless attached to Frieda's reputation in England. Frieda's sister
Else von Richthofen was the first female social scientist in Germany.
His younger brother,
Lothar von Richthofen (
1894–
1922), was also a flying ace, with 40 victories. He served along side his brother in jasta 11. He died in an air crash in 1922.
His great-nephew, Baron Dr.
Hermann von Richthofen, was German
Ambassador to the
United Kingdom from 1989 to 1993, and his name made him a media favorite.
Another great-nephew, Manfred Alberto von Richthofen, was murdered with his wife Marisia, in their home in
São Paulo,
Brazil, on
October 31,
2002. On
June 5,
2006, his daughter, Suzane von Richthofen, along with her boyfriend and his brother, were put on trial for the murder. The case generated significant media attention in Brazil due to the stark contrast between the crime and the daughter's affluent upbringing. On
July 22,
2006 Suzane was sentenced to 39 years and a half in prison for the crime. Her boyfriend got the same sentence and his brother was sentenced to 38 years and a half, having collaborated with Justice.
His uncle, Baron Walter von Richthofen, was a native of
Silesia. Walter von Richthofen had come to
Denver (Colorado, USA) in 1877 after the Franco-Prussian War, started the Denver Chamber of Commerce, and was celebrated locally as the founder of Montclair as "a fount of health and prosperity, and as a model community with enlightened planning and sophisticated architecture." His
Richthofen Castle was one of the most sumptuous mansions in the American West. Begun in 1883 and completed in 1887, it was modeled on the original Richthofen Castle in Germany. Located immediately around the Castle are the Baron's mistress's house and his sanitarium/dairy.
He is also the 10th cousin, 6 times removed of
Prince Felipe of Spain.
*
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*
Snoopy vs the Red Baron Pop song lyrics*
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)ReferencesNorman Franks, et al (1998).
Under the Guns of the Red Baron. Grub Street, London.
Norman Franks and Alan Bennett (1997).
The Red Baron's Last Flight. Grub Street, London.
Henning Allmers: Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen‘s Medical Record. Was the "Red Baron" fit to fly? Lancet 1999; 354: 502-4
