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His brother Manfred was born in 1898 and Gerhard in 1902. He was the fourth cousin of the German World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as the "Red Baron", and the baron's younger brother Lothar von Richthofen. As the son of a nobleman, he enjoyed a life of privilege.
- He Came from Money
- He Began in The Saddle
- His First Kills Weren’T Counted
- He Had A Curious Way to Celebrate His Victories
- He Made Squadron Leader at 24
- He Acquired His Famous Tri-Plane at The End of His Career
- He Became A Best-Selling Author
- Controversy Surrounded His Death
- His Enemies Buried Him with Full Military Honours
- The Wreckage of His Plane Became A Trophy
Manfred Von Richthofen was born on May 2, 1892 in the town of Kleinburg, which today isn’t even in Germany at all, but rather near Wroclaw, Poland. Raised in an aristocratic Prussian family, Manfred inherited the medieval title of Freiherror “free lord”. The designation is roughly equal to a baron in English — it’s one of the lower levels of nobili...
Manfred enlisted in the German army in 1912. When war broke out two years later, he served as a mounted scout on both eastern and western fronts in the war’s opening months. Later, his cavalry regiment was forced to give up its horses and fight in the trenches alongside the infantry. The young lieutenant pondered a transfer to supply and logistics ...
Von Richthofen’s very first air-to-air kill was never officially counted. While serving as an observer and rear gunner on a two-seat reconnaissance plane in late 1915, young Manfred shot down a French pusher bi-plane above the Champagne sector. Since the enemy machine went down over unfriendly territory, the victory couldn’t be confirmed and as suc...
Manfred celebrated his first official victory on Sept. 17, 1916 shortly after being transferred to a fighter squadron. To mark the occasion, he ordered a silver cup for himself that was engraved with the date as well as the make of the enemy aircraft he shot down — a British F.E. 2b. Von Richthofen ordered another new cup for every subsequent victo...
Von Richthofen’s notoriety grew with each new victory. He became an ace on Oct. 16, 1916 and won the Blue Max, formally known as the Pour le Mérite citation, for his 16th confirmed kill in January 1917. That same month, the young flier was appointed commander of Jagdstaffel orJasta 11. Manfred’s legend only grew from there. He brought down 22 plane...
In early 1917, von Richthofen, ever mindful of his growing status as a celebrity, painted the wings of his aircraft a brilliant shade or red. Later he’d colour his entire plane crimson. Eventually, he became known to friend and foe alike as “the Red Knight,” “the Red Devil,” “Little Red” and finally “the Red Baron.” Interestingly enough, he only be...
After being hospitalized following a crash in July of 1917, Manfred penned a shamelessly self-aggrandizing autobiography from his hospital bed. Entitled Der rote Kampffliegeri or “The Red Battle Flier” (available in its entirety here), the book sold well in Germany and was even translated into English (and heavily censored) the following year. Von ...
Von Richthofen was killed in action on the morning of April 21, 1918 near the Somme. He met his end while chasing a 22-year-old rookie flier from the Canadian prairies named Wilfred “Wop” May. During the low-level dogfight, Manfred was fatally struck in the torso by a .303 round fired by either one of May’s squadron mates, Roy Brown, or by Australi...
Von Richthofen’s body was turned over to a nearby Australian fighter squadron who buried him with all the pomp and ceremony of a genuine war hero. His largely intact aircraft on the other hand was pulled apart by souvenir hunting solders. Von Richthofen’s body was disinterred in 1925 and repatriated to Germany for a second funeral (click here for f...
The seat from Manfred’s famous red triplane was recovered by Brown and later handed over to the Royal Canadian Military Institutewhere it’s been display for decades along with some of the plane’s fabric and a wingtip. Despite what many believe, the hole that’s clearly visible in the back of the seat isn’t from the fatal shot.
The Richthofen family is a prominent German Noble family. The most famous member is the air ace Manfred von Richthofen (1892–1918), also known as the "Red Baron", but a number of other members of his family are also notable for various reasons.
May had just fired on the Red Baron's cousin, Lieutenant Wolfram von Richthofen. On seeing his cousin being attacked, Richthofen flew to his rescue and fired on May, causing him to pull away. Richthofen pursued May across the Somme.
Nov 9, 2009 · The Red Baron was the name applied to Manfred von Richthofen, a German fighter pilot who was the deadliest flying ace of World War I. During a 19-month period between 1916 and 1918, the...
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Oct 7, 2003 · But when he sees a triplane tantalizingly close, adrenaline takes hold and he decides to attack. The pilot is Wolfram von Richthofen. But the Red Baron's eagle eye quickly spots the...
Feb 25, 2024 · Wolfram escapes, possibly lucky that May’s guns have jammed. May ends up among the German Fokkers; he tries to escape, but von Richtohofen has spotted him and gives chase.
