Introduction
Of all the fighter pilots of all the combatant nations of the Great War, the best known then, and now, was, and is, the German ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen - The Red Baron, and leader of first Flying Circus.
To have achieved such a universal aura of success, fame, and even the fierce hatred of his enemies, was a product of his unusual longevity in a military cadre with a notoriously brief operational life - the fighter pilot. Allied with this was the exceptionally high number of confirmed 'kill's in aerial combat of enemy aircraft - 80 - that were attributed to him. He also had an excellent, if not entirely unique, mastery of the techniques of aerial combat. Like most of the more successful fighter pilots, he had the emotional detachment to ensure that when flying on operations he always endeavoured to maintain an advantage over his opponents. Be it by his skill at flying, his exceptional accuracy at aerial shooting, or the constant support of his fellow flyers. His cardinal rule was 'Never fly alone'. The one time that he is known to have disobeyed this rule proved to be his nemesis.
That Richthofen reached such a level of international fame, renown and hatred was the largely unforeseen result of the decision of the German High Command to adopt a special status for aviators who attained a certain level of destruction of enemy aircraft in combat. As we shall see, these successful aviators became known as 'aces' and the whole system of distinction and reward was quickly established in the eye of the German public.
The genesis of the flying 'Ace'
The introduction of the term 'Ace' arose with the decision in 1915 of the French Press to honour one of their fighter pilots - Adolphe Pégoud - for being the first of their pilots to shoot down five aircraft in aerial combat. Soon after, during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, fighter units of the Aéronautique Militaire (French Airforce) began to publish the scores of their individual pilots.
Around about that time, in Germany, the High Command had realised that something was required to divert the German people from the fact that the much vaunted meticulous planning for the long awaited European War had not gone as well as expected. The High Command chose to adopt the French 'Ace' system as a propaganda tool, refining it further by rewarding eight confirmed combat 'kills' with the German highest reward for gallantry - Pour le Merité, or as it was widely known, 'The Blue Max. (Later in the war, the qualifying number of confirmed kills, rose to 18).
The 'Ace' system proved to be a complete success as the German newspapers vied to publicise and applaud the skill of these aces, and that of some aviators in particular. And the German public clamoured for yet more information about, and photographs of, these flying heroes.
N.B.: It is of interest to note that in the Great War the British authorities never officially acknowledged the existence of a British 'Ace' system; although, similar interest was shown by the British public and the Press. However, in March 1918 it was decided that the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) would be dependent upon confirmed 'kills' of at least eight aircraft in aerial combat.
Baron Manfred von Richthofen was not the first German air ace. He started the war as an officer in the Prussian cavalry - Uhlan Regiment No. 1., Kaiser Alexander - and only transferred into the German Aviation Service - 69th Flying Squadron - in May 1915. There he served as an air observer on the Eastern Front and later, in the same role, in reconnaissance aircraft in Belgium and France. In October 1915 Richthofen was accepted for training as a pilot and graduated in December 1915. He first flew operationally with KampfGeschwader 2 over Verdun in early 1916 and learned to fly well both single and double-seater aircraft. Once again transferred back to the Eastern Front he met his destiny when, in August 1916, he encountered the already well known German fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke - one of the first German aces - who was searching for new talent. Impressed, Boelcke took Richthofen back with him to his new fighter pursuit flight - Jagstaffeln (or Jasta) 2 - on the Somme to train as a fighter pilot. The baron's illustrious career was launched and the 'kills' soon began to mount from single to double figures.
Richthofen in command
After the death of Oswald Boelcke in an air-collision with another German aircraft, Richthofen took over the command of Jagstaffeln 2 in January 1917, by which time he was himself a confirmed ace with a score of 15 aircraft downed under his guns.
As his total of victories continued to rise to reach 52 confirmed 'kills' by April 1917, he became the most famous of the German ace fighter pilots receiving the much desired decoration Pour le Merité.
In June 1917, Richthofen was promoted to the command of Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Group)1, which was the first of the new mobile 'Flying Circuses'. It comprised of four fighter squadrons of 12 aircraft each, piloted by the elite of the German Aviation Service. Mobility was an essential element of its make-up as it was under the direct command of Headquarters and could be sent to wherever on the Western Front that the need was greatest. The unit was transported from base to base by rail.
Under Richthofen's command the unit quickly adopted a flamboyant approach to war. One feature of which was to paint the aircraft, and particularly the tail and propeller boss, in vivid colours. This, along with its facility for rapid transportation, gave rise to the appellation 'circus' being used to describe the unit. The use of bright, even garish, paintwork was directly opposed to the drab utilitarian colours favoured previously by all of the flying services of the combatant nations and added to the impresson of a circus.
This daring flaunting gesture was aimed at the intimidation of the enemy with the philosophy that the pilots of the Flying Circuses were so invincible that there was no need to avoid detection and identification. For his own aircraft, Richthofen chose to paint the whole of it a carmine-red. Thereafter this became synonymous with him and led to the nickname 'The Red Baron'. The mere sight of his red aircraft was said to throw Allied neophyte pilots into paroxysms of fear and dread. There is no doubt that this psychological approach provided him with many easy victims. He developed a particular ability to spot inexperienced pilots in the air and, indeed, it is said that the other pilots of his unit deliberately set-up such victims for him to finish off. As the fame of Richthofen grew, it became more or less the official policy of the Flying Circus that he should be given maximum protection by his colleagues and 'helped' to further improve his score whenever possible. This allowed Richthofen to rapidly build up his huge score and enhanced the aura of invincibility and increased his unit's propaganda value.
The demeanour of a hero?
As a member of the minor Prussian (Junker) aristocracy, Richthofen had the usual air of assurance, self confidence and natural expectation of command that such a background conferred in those days. An attitude that was readily acceptable to the lower orders, especially when combined with a Prussian military background. Even in his early 20's he naturally assumed command of the groups sophisticated officer pilots that made up the upper echelons of the flying elite of the German Aviation Services. In both of his commands of air combat units he quickly gathered around him a dedicated core of highly efficient and loyal fighter pilots who were only too keen to follow his proactive philosophy of aerial warfare. He believed in himself, radiated an aura of invincibility, and his pilots rejoiced in the sharing of it.
Richthofen was an inveterate collector of memorabilia from his aerial conquests. He amassed a considerable collection, often retrieved from the battlefield at some risk to himself. At times he even landed his aircraft alongside the wreck of his victim to obtain his souvenir. After he downed his 11th victim - British ace Major Lanoe George Hawker, VC, commander of 24 Squadron - Richthofen personally removed the machine gun from Hawker's wrecked aircraft and sent it to his home in Germany, where it was mounted above the main entrance door. Richthofen also ordered his customary small silver cup inscribed with details of the British aircraft and the date of its shooting down. Such a cup was commissioned for every confirmed victory and added to his collection.
His favourite modus operandi was to attack from out of the sun, behind and below his target. His deflection shooting was excellent and he usually aimed at the cockpit for a definitive 'kill' of the pilot. As a rule he did not directly participate in dog fights, remaining - like most aces - at the periphery of the fight looking for easy target, and well protected by his fellow fliers. When he spoke of 'kills' he tended to mean pilots he had killed in aerial combat and not aircraft destroyed per se, as was the usual terminology of the aces. He always carried with him the photograph of the horribly shattered body of a British pilot he had killed with machine gun fire in aerial combat.
The nemesis
As is expected of most good stories, there are various accounts of how Richthofen died and many claimants of being the one who finally despatched him.
What is known with some surety are the following facts about Richthofen demise:
- He had suffered a nearly fatal head wound in an encounter with the British 20th Squadron on the 2nd July 1917. A single bullet had creased his skull splintering the bone and causing an open wound, concussion and internal bleeding. The wound stubbornly refused to heal. When Richthofen flew on the fateful April day in 1918 he was still suffering from its sequelae which included mental depression, a possible attenuation of his acute flying skills and, as events would tend to prove, his judgement.
- He took off with his squadron at mid-morning on Sunday 21 April 1918, flying his usual aircraft - the red Fokker tri-plane DR-1 425/17 - from a base at Cappy, east of Bray on the River Somme.
- He had, unusually, after a fiercely fought dog-fight with British RE8's and Camels led by a Canadian of 209 Squadron, Capt. A. R. (Roy) Brown, flown in lone low pursuit of a British pilot at whom he had already fired and missed. In turn, Capt. Brown had gone to the aid of the British pilot. He followed Richthofen and opened fire on him from behind. But Brown soon broke off due to the hazard of small arms fire from the ground. Heedless of the danger, Richthofen continued to fly on in pursuit, entering into Allied territory manned by Australian infantry and artillerymen.
- He was hit in mid flight by a single British 0.303 bullet that struck him on the lower right chest, and passed through several vital organs before exiting in a classic slot-shaped 0.303 wound on the left side of the upper chest. (The 0.303 round tends to tumble once it has penetrated tissue). The expended round was subsequently found in the folds of Richthofen's flying coat. This would indicate that although the bullet had enough energy to penetrate the fuselage of Richthofen's aircraft, and traverse the full width of his chest, the bullet when it hit him was moving at less than its maximum velocity. The ballistics of the expended bullet was that expected of one fired at a range of about 500 metres
The wound was mortal, and Richthofen probably took around one or two minutes to die from shock, loss of blood or, possibly heart failure. British Army doctors who examined the body post-mortem wrote a detailed description of his wound, but no photographs were taken
He had flown his aircraft down to the ground and into a heavy crash-landing in what is now an open corn-field close to the D1 minor road, northwest of Vaux-sur-Somme (some accounts quote the nearby hamlets of Sailly-le-Sac or Corbie). The crash site was inside the lines of the Australian Army. He died on the ground shortly afterwards in the presence of Australian soldiers including a medic
The aircraft was largely stripped by souvenir hunters. Some of these souvenirs are now in the Australian Imperial War Museum in Canberra. - He was buried with full military honours in Bertangles Military Cemetery. In 1925 the body was reburied in Fricourt German Military Cemetery. The body - some reports state it was only the skull that was exhumed - was later repatriated to Richthofen's home in East Germany.
With these facts now conclusively established, what is now generally accepted as the general truth about who shot down Rittmeister Baron Manfred von Richthofen is:
- He was not killed by the Canadian pilot Capt. A. R. (Roy) Brown, in a British Sopwith Camel, as the trajectory of the bullet through Richthofen's body was forensic evidence of ground-fire being the source. Moreover, it is most unlikely that Brown would have opened fire at a distance as much as 500 yards, or ever got into position to shoot at the side of Richthofen's aircraft. It also seems probable that Richthofen received his wound after Brown had left the scene.
- Australian soldiers of the 14th Artillery Brigade fired at Richthofen with Lewis machine guns, and the infantrymen with their Lee Enfield rifles, as he flew at low altitude past their positions. All these guns involved, including that on Capt. Brown's aircraft. used the same British standard 0.303 ammunition.
- Three Australian machine gunners made specific claims that they fired the fatal bullet. One of these claims can be ruled out as most unlikely by the machine gunner's own description of his position and his field of fire. Another fired at the front of Richthofen's aircraft as it approached him, whereas the fatal shot definitely entered through the right hand side of the fuselage. The remaining Lewis gunner could have been the firer of the fatal bullet, but then so could any other of the Australian infantrymen firing their rifles with single shots. To hit a low flying pilot in a fast moving and low flying aircraft from the ground is generally accepted as a notoriously difficult thing to do. The odds are it was just a lucky shot by one of the many Australian soldiers who were present on that day and opened fire as Richthofen flew over them, intent on escape. An escape that Richthofen probably thought was inevitable for the ace of German aces.
Postscriptum
As alluded to earlier, Richthofen's score of 80 confirmed 'kills' in combat was the highest recorded in the Great War. The highest for the other combatant nations were:
FRANCE, R. Fonck = 75 (he survived the war);
BRITISH EMPIRE, Mannock = 72;
AUSTRIA/HUNGARY, G. Brunowski = 40;
ITALY, F. Baracca = 34;
USA. E. Rickenbacker = 26 (also survived) and
RUSSIAN EMPIRE, A. Kazakov = 17
