INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE RED BARON

1. Manfred von Richthofen was born on May 2, 1892 in Kleinburg, Germany (today Poland). His family was from the lower nobility and he inherited the title Freiherr (“free lord”) which was equivalent to a baron.
2. He was sent to military school at age 11. He enlisted in the army at age 19.  He spent the early months of WWI in a cavalry unit.  He was a military scout on the Eastern and Western Fronts and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery.  When it became apparent there was no role for cavalry in a war dominated by machine guns, his unit was converted to infantry.  They became dispatch runners and telephone operators.  When they were tasked to handle supplies, that was the last straw.  He “didn’t go to war to collect cheese and eggs”, so he transferred to the air force.
3. He was mentored by the leading ace, Oswald Boelcke (who reached 21 victories before being killed). His first confirmed kill was on Sept. 17, 1916.  He had a jeweler make a silver cup for each of his victories.  He collected 60 cups before the shortage in silver ended the collecting.
4. He became on ace on Oct. 16, 1916. He received the Pour le Merite (The Blue Max) after his 16^th victory.  By this time the press had made him famous as The Red Baron.  He was also known as The Red Battle Flyer and The Red Fighter Pilot.
5. He became leader of the squadron Jasta 11. It became known as the Flying Circus.  One of his pilots was his brother Lothar.  Von Richthofen began to paint his plane red.  In the last few months of his life, he flew his famous Fokker Dr. 1 triplane.
6. He was a cautious pilot and believed in teamwork. He was not a lone wolf like most of the other great aces.  His favorite tactic was to attack from above and behind, preferably with the sun at his back.  He would close in on his victim and fire from close.  He aimed at the pilot and/or the back-seat machine gunner.  He then dove away and looked for another victim.
7. When he was in the hospital due to a head wound, he wrote a boastful autobiography entitled “The Red Battle Flier”. It was a bestseller.
8. He was killed on April 21, 1918 near the Somme. He was attacking a Sopwith Camel when he was mortally wounded by one bullet.  A Canadian pilot named Roy Brown was given credit for shooting him down, but most historians now believe the bullet came from an Australian machine gunner in the trenches.  His body was given a full military funeral by an Australian squadron.
9. He finished with 80 victories over a 19 month span. This made him the “ace of aces” for the Great War.

https://militaryhistorynow.com/2014/01/15/get-your-baron-on-14-amazing-facts-about-germanys-most-famous-flying-ace/

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/manfred-baron-von-richthofen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Baron_in_popular_culture