Manfred von Richthofen
Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.
Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen, discovered by Oswald Boelcke, transferred to the Air Service in 1915, becoming one of the first members of fighter squadron Jagdstaffel 2 in 1916. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became the leader of Jasta 11. He eventually rose to command the larger fighter wing Jagdgeschwader I, better known as "The Flying Circus" or "Richthofen's Circus" because of the bright colours of its aircraft, and perhaps also because of the way the unit was transferred from one area of Entente air activity to another – moving like a travelling circus with their aircraft loaded on railroad flatcars, and frequently setting up in tents on improvised airfields. A master tactician and an effective leader, Richthofen became famous due to the mystique of his scarlet planes and was regarded as a national hero in Germany, and inspired fear and respect in his enemies.
Richthofen was shot down and killed over France near Vaux-sur-Somme on 21 April 1918. There has been considerable discussion and debate regarding aspects of his career, especially the circumstances of his death. He remains one of the most famous fighter pilots of all time, and has been the subject of many books, films, and other media, usually with his Red Baron moniker and flying his signature red Fokker Dr.I.
Name and nicknames
Richthofen was a Freiherr, a title of nobility often translated as "baron". That is not a given name or strictly a hereditary title since all male members of the family were entitled to it, even during the lifetime of their father. Richthofen painted his aircraft red, which, combined with his title, led to him being called the "Red Baron", both inside and outside Germany. During his lifetime, he was more frequently described in German as Der Rote Kampfflieger. That was variously translated as "The Red Battle Flyer" or "The Red Fighter Pilot" and was the name used as the title of Richthofen's 1917 autobiography.Early life
Richthofen was born in Kleinburg, near Breslau, Lower Silesia, on 2 May 1892 into a prominent Prussian aristocratic family. His father was Major Albrecht Philipp Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen and his mother was Kunigunde von Schickfuss und Neudorff. He had an elder sister, Ilse, and two younger brothers.When he was four years old, Manfred moved with his family to nearby Schweidnitz. He enjoyed riding horses and hunting. He also was fond of gymnastics; he excelled at parallel bars and won a number of awards at school. He and his brothers, Lothar and Bolko, hunted wild boar, elk, birds, and deer.
After being educated at home, he attended a school at Schweidnitz for a year before beginning cadet training at the Wahlstatt military school when he was 11. After completing cadet training at the Groß-Lichterfelde Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt in 1909, he joined an Uhlan cavalry unit, the Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander der III. von Russland Nr. 1 and was assigned to the regiment's 3. Eskadron.
Early war work
When World War I began, Richthofen served as a cavalry reconnaissance officer on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, seeing action in Russia, France, and Belgium; with the advent of trench warfare, which made traditional cavalry operations outdated and inefficient, Richthofen's regiment was dismounted, serving as dispatch runners and field telephone operators. Disappointed and bored at not being able to directly participate in combat, the last straw for Richthofen was an order to transfer to the army's supply branch. His interest in the Air Service had been aroused by his examination of a German military aircraft behind the lines, and he applied for a transfer to Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches, later to be known as the Luftstreitkräfte. He was widely reported to have written in his application for transfer, "I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose." His request was granted, and Richthofen joined the flying service at the end of May 1915 training as an aerial observer at Großenhain.From June to August 1915, Richthofen served as an observer on reconnaissance missions over the Eastern Front with Feldflieger Abteilung 69. In August 1915, he was transferred to a flying unit in Ostend, a coastal city in Belgium. There he flew with a friend and fellow pilot Georg Zeumer, who would later teach him to fly solo. In September 1915 on being transferred to Brieftauben Abteilung Ostende on the Champagne front and assigned to Pilot Henning von Osterroth, he is believed to have shot down an attacking French Farman aircraft aboard an Albatros C.I with his observer's machine gun in a tense battle over French lines; he was not credited with the kill, since it fell behind Allied lines and therefore could not be confirmed.
Piloting career
Manfred von Richthofen had a chance meeting with German ace fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke which led him to enter training as a pilot in October 1915. In February 1916, Manfred "rescued" his brother Lothar from the boredom of training new troops in Lüben and encouraged him to transfer to the Fliegertruppe. The next month, Manfred joined Kampfgeschwader 2 flying a two-seater Albatros C.III. Initially, he appeared to be a below-average pilot. He struggled to control his aircraft, and he crashed during his first flight at the controls. Despite this poor start, he rapidly became attuned to his aircraft. He was over Verdun on 26 April 1916 and fired on a French Nieuport, shooting it down over Fort Douaumont—although he received no official credit. A week later, he decided to ignore more experienced pilots' advice against flying through a thunderstorm. He later noted that he had been "lucky to get through the weather" and vowed never again to fly in such conditions unless ordered to do so.Richthofen met Oswald Boelcke again in August 1916, after another spell flying two-seaters on the Eastern Front. Boelcke was visiting the east in search of candidates for his newly formed Jasta 2, and he selected Richthofen to join this unit, one of the first German fighter squadrons. Boelcke was killed during a midair collision with a friendly aircraft on 28 October 1916, and Richthofen witnessed the event.
Richthofen scored his first confirmed victory when he engaged Second Lieutenant Lionel Morris and his observer Tom Rees in the skies over Cambrai, France, on 17 September 1916. His autobiography states, "I honoured the fallen enemy by placing a stone on his beautiful grave." Von Richthofen then contacted a jeweller in Berlin and ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and the type of enemy aircraft. He continued to celebrate each of his victories in the same manner until he had 60 cups, by which time the dwindling supply of silver in blockaded Germany meant that silver cups could no longer be supplied. Richthofen discontinued his orders at this stage, rather than accept cups made from base metal.
His brother Lothar used risky, aggressive tactics but Manfred observed maxims known as the "Dicta Boelcke" to assure success for both the squadron and its pilots. He was not a spectacular or aerobatic pilot like his brother or Werner Voss, he was a noted tactician and squadron leader and a fine marksman. Typically, he would dive from above to attack with the advantage of the sun behind him, with other pilots of his squadron covering his rear and flanks.
On 23 November 1916, Richthofen shot down his most famous adversary, British ace Major Lanoe Hawker VC, described by Richthofen as "the British Boelcke". The victory came while Richthofen was flying an Albatros D.II and Hawker was flying the older DH.2. After a long dogfight, Hawker was shot in the back of the head as he attempted to escape back to his own lines. After this combat, Richthofen was convinced that he needed a fighter aircraft with more agility, even with a loss of speed. He switched to the Albatros D.III in January 1917, scoring two victories before suffering an in-flight crack in the spar of the aircraft's lower wing on 24 January, and he reverted to the Albatros D.II or Halberstadt D.II for the next five weeks.
Richthofen was flying his Halberstadt on 6 March in combat with F.E.8s of 40 Squadron RFC when his aircraft was shot through the fuel tank, by Edwin Benbow, who was credited with a victory from this fight. Richthofen was able to make a forced landing near Hénin-Liétard without his aircraft catching fire. He then scored a victory in the Albatros D.II on 9 March, but his Albatros D.III was grounded for the rest of the month so he switched again to a Halberstadt D.II. He returned to his Albatros D.III on 2 April 1917 and scored 22 victories in it before switching to the Albatros D.V in late June.
Richthofen flew the celebrated Fokker Dr.I triplane from late August 1917, the distinctive three-winged aircraft with which he is most commonly associated—although he did not use the type exclusively until after it was reissued with strengthened wings in November. Only 19 of his 80 kills were made in this type of aircraft, despite the popular link between Richthofen and the Fokker Dr.I. It was his Albatros D.III Serial No. 789/16 that was first painted bright red, in late January 1917, 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. He never had an opportunity to fly the new type in combat, as he was killed before it entered service.