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Manfred von Richthofen [Germany]

Name:Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
Country:Germany
Rank:Rittmeister
Squadrons:FA 69
Jasta 2, 11
JG 1
KG 2
Victories:80
Born:2 May 1892
Place of Birth:Breslau
Died:21 April 1918Killed In Action
Place of Death:Morlancourt Ridge
Ordre Pour le Mérite (Blue Max)
Order of the Red Eagle
Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class
Manfred von Richthofen

Notes
The most famous ace of the war, Manfred von Richthofen briefly served in the trenches before transferring to the German air service in 1916. Oswald Boelcke's star pupil was a fast learner and achieved immediate success. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had six victories against Allied aircraft. As his reputation grew, the "Red Knight of Germany" painted the fuselage of his Albatros D.III bright red to flaunt his prowess in the air. The British called him the jolly "Red Baron," to the French he was the "Red Devil." He was shot down as he flew over the trenches in pursuit of Wilfrid May on 21 April 1918. Although Arthur Brown was officially credited with the victory, evidence suggests Richthofen was hit by a single bullet fired from a machine gun in the trenches. A British pilot flew over the German aerodrome at Cappy and dropped a note informing the Germans of the Baron's death. Buried in France with full military honors, Richthofen's body was later exhumed and reburied with members of his family in Wiesbaden, Germany.
"The Red Fighter Pilot" @ The War Times JournalVisit The War Times Journal, where you can read an on-line version of The Red Fighter Pilot, by J. Ellis Barker, an English translation of Manfred von Richthofen's Der Rotte Kampflieger.

Manfred von Richthofen's Victims
#11Lanoe HawkerEngland
#13Arthur KnightEngland
#54Robert FarquharEngland
#71Thomas SharpeEngland
#76Sydney SmithEngland
#79Richard Raymond-BarkerEngland

Quotes
"I hope he roasted all the way down." Edward Mannock, on hearing of the death of Manfred von Richthofen

"Success flourishes only in perseverance -- ceaseless, restless perseverance." Manfred von Richthofen

"When one has shot down one's first, second or third opponent, then one begins to find out how the trick is done." Manfred von Richthofen

"The duty of the fighter pilot is to patrol his area of the sky, and shoot down any enemy fighters in that area. Anything else is rubbish." Manfred von Richthofen

"Everything in the air that is beneath me, especially if it is a one-seater . . . is lost, for it cannot shoot to the rear." Manfred von Richthofen

"I started shooting when I was much too far away. That was merely a trick of mine. I did not mean so much as to hit him as to frighten him, and I succeeded in catching him. He began flying curves and this enabled me to draw near." Manfred von Richthofen

"If I should come out of this war alive, I will have more luck than brains." Manfred von Richthofen


Books
Hunting with Richthofen
The Bodenschatz Diaries: Sixteen Months of Battle with J.G. Freiherr von Richthofen; Jay Hayzlett (Editor) / Hardcover / Grub Street 1996
Manfred Von Richthofen : The Man and the Aircraft He Flew (Famous Flyers Series)
David Baker / Paperback / Voyageur Pr 1991
The Red Air Fighter
Manfred Von Richthofen, et al / Hardcover / Presidio Pr 1991
Red Baron
Manfred von Richthofen, Stanley Ulanoff (Editor) / Hardcover / Aero Pub 1980
The Red Baron
Manfred von Richthofen / Hardcover / Doubleday June 1969
The Red Baron
Nicolas Wright / School & Library Binding / McGraw Hill 1978
The Red Baron: A Calendar History (World War One Aces Series)
William Haiber / Paperback / Info Devels Pr 1992
The Red Baron Combat Wing
Jagdgeschwader Richthofen in Battle; Peter Kilduff / Hardcover / Sterling Pub 1998
The Red Baron's Last Flight: A Mystery Investigated
Norman Franks, Alan Bennett / Hardcover / Grub Street 1997
The Red Knight of Germany (War & Warriors Series)
Floyd Gibbons / Hardcover / Noontide Pr 1991
Red Knight of Germany
The Story of Baron Von Richthofen, Germany's Great War Bird; Floyd Gibbons / Hardcover / Ayer Co Pub 1979
Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron
Peter Kilduff / Hardcover / John Wiley & Sons 1994
Richthofen: A True History of the Red Baron
William E. Burrows / Hardcover / Harcourt Brace 1969
Under the Guns of the Red Baron
The Complete Record of Von Richthofen's Victories and Victims; Norman Franks, Hal Giblin & Nigel McCrery / Hardcover / Grub Street 1995
Von Richthofen: The Legend Evaluated
Richard Townshend Bickers / Hardcover / United States Naval Inst. 1997
Von Richthofen and the Flying Circus
H Nowarra / Hardcover / Aero Pub 1976
Who Killed the Red Baron?
Carisella / Hardcover / Avon 1980

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