Manfred von Richthofen, the German flying ace, was born. Reckless and almost suicidal, he became the terror of aerial combat during the First World War and the target of enemy pilots, who sought to bring down that relentless red plane that was waging war across the entire front lines. His fascinating life and mysterious death. "Well, now you're going to fly solo," Professor Zeumer was surprised by. The young pilot's first impulse was to tell him he was very afraid, but he remained silent and settled, quite naturally, into the cockpit. While the instructor kept giving him instructions on how to operate the controls, Manfred Richthofen barely paid attention because he was convinced that, once in the air, he would forget half of the instructions. It was mid-1915, and thousands of Europeans were killing each other in trench warfare during the First World War. Von Richthofen was born in Wroclaw, present-day Poland, on May 2, 1892. He was the eldest of three children, and at a very young age, the family settled in Schweidmitz. A sports fanatic, intent on emulating his father's brilliant military career, Manfred enlisted in the Uhlans, a prestigious cavalry unit, where he excelled in equestrian competitions.
At the outbreak of World War I, he went to fight on the Russian front. Commanding his cavalry, he made several incursions into enemy territory and was later sent to Belgium and then France.
After a while, he transferred to the infantry, and as life in the trenches became unbearable, in May 1915 he requested a transfer to the air force. He had already received the Iron Cross, and a new world was about to open up. Air combat was completely unknown before the outbreak of the Great War, and the belligerent countries were eager for men who dared to fly like birds and fight like lions.
On his first solo flight in a fighter plane, he followed instructions. After passing almost level with the canopy of a tree, he activated the controls to land, but the aircraft didn't respond, and when he touched down, the plane, resembling a rearing horse, was damaged. Two days later, he successfully repeated the flight, and two weeks later, he took his final exam. He believed he had successfully completed all the prescribed maneuvers, but when he landed, he was informed that he had failed. A few days later, he would pass the exam with flying colors.
His air debut was on the Russian front, performing reconnaissance, fire-setting, and bombing flights. In August 1915, upon returning to the Western Front, he flew fighter planes, but as a passenger. A month later, he shot down his first enemy aircraft over Champagne, a Farman, which was not counted because it fell behind the French front.
He joined a fighter squadron. Flying over Verdun on April 26, he shot down a Nieuport, which was also not counted.
The then-flying ace Oswald von Boelcke included him in the Jadsstaffel, or Jasta II, squadron. His baptism of fire took place on July 17, 1916, over the skies of Cambrai, France, where he made his first kill.
It was in 1917 that he painted his plane red, perhaps to frighten his enemies or to make it recognizable. These were times when every pilot could choose the color of his aircraft. The Jasta II squadron became known as the "flying circus" for the colorfulness of its planes and for the way they set up and took down the tents, as they never stayed in one place for long.
He became known as the "Red Baron."
Richthofen's fame increased when he shot down the English ace Lande Hawker. By 1917, he had been awarded the Cross of Merit.
A severe blow for him was the death of his mentor and role model, Boelcke, in October 1916, when his plane grazed another of his own squadron while they were pursuing an English aircraft. Until then, Boelcke held the record for the most enemy aircraft shot down.
The young pilot's victories continued. The German high command needed another hero, and they found one in Richthofen. On January 24, 1917, the public would read his name for the first time when it was announced that the pilot had achieved his 24th victory.
His squadron was made up of true aviation aces, including his own brother Lothar, who, just after joining the force, shot down 20 enemy airplanes in one month, including the famous English pilot Albert Ball, who had 43 victories to his name.
The German ace was causing so much damage that the British formed a special squadron tasked with finishing him off.
On July 6 of that year, he was wounded in the head by a stray bullet. They suggested that during the long convalescence he had ahead of him, he write his memoirs. It would be excellent war propaganda. Richthofen refused; he didn't feel up to it, wanted to use his time differently, and also lacked the talent for writing. The high command ordered him to do so.
The manuscript was polished by journalist Erich von Salzman and, after passing through military censorship, was published under the title Exploits of Captain Baron von Richthofen, as told by himself. Consisting of 165 pages and 48 short chapters, it naturally recounted his aerial combats. The print run was large, and copies were often found in soldiers' pockets and in the trenches.
When he returned to duty in September, he was no longer the same. He wore his head bandaged for a long time, and his comrades were alarmed by his almost suicidal behavior. He was already piloting a Fokker triplane, whose wings were held not by steel cables, but by vertical wooden struts. Fully loaded, he weighed 571 kilos.
He was 25 years old and had already fought in Russia and Belgium; he had fought at Verdun, the Somme, and on the English front. Enemies feared him, respected him, and everyone strove to shoot him down.
With a chivalrous demeanor according to some, or implacable, cold, and competitive according to others, he collected artifacts from each of his kills, which reached 80.
His end is shrouded in mystery and doubt. He met his death in the skies above Vaux-sur-Somme on April 21, 1918, on the English front. During an engagement, he saw an enemy plane trying to flee and recklessly pursued it over enemy territory. He was seen flying 50 meters above the ground before his plane crashed. The Canadian pilot Arthur Brown and Australian John Evans claimed credit for the shot down. Evans claimed he was killed by machine gun fire from the ground.
His body was riddled with bullets, one of which had pierced his heart. It is presumed he died in the air. It is unknown why, on that mission, he failed to observe any of the regulations he himself required of his pilots.
The funeral took place in a cemetery near Amiens on the afternoon of April 22. Half a dozen British airmen carried the black-painted pine coffin on their shoulders. On either side of him was an honor guard of 12 men, armed with funeral weapons. The procession included 50 British officers, soldiers, and French airmen.
Four wreaths in the colors of the German flag were placed on the coffin. It bore the inscription: "To Captain Von Richthofen, brave and worthy adversary."
At the entrance to the cemetery, a Protestant minister from the British Air Force recited a prayer service. As the coffin was lowered into the grave, three salutes were fired, and the British squadron flying overhead fired its machine guns. An aluminum plaque was hung on the cross, engraved in English and German: “Cavalry Captain Manfred, Baron von Richthofen. Twenty-five years old. Killed in aerial combat on April 21, 1918.”
Twenty days later, his brother died of a fractured skull when he was shot down over the Somme Valley.
Ten years after her sister's death, Baroness Reibnitz erected a monument in her honor in the town of Schweidnitz. It is an oak tree surrounded by large granite pillars.
It was in memory of Manfred, the one who flew the red fighter plane, the one who hid his fear of flying solo and who ended up becoming a legendary nightmare for his enemies.
