Richthofens personal squadron in jagdgeschwader 2, jagdstaffel 11, all painted their craft in red with different colored highlights, in emulation of richthofen. Biographer unveils man behind the red baron myth culture arts. I triplane, photgraphed in front of the evening sky over wiesbaden, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of the red baron in 1918. Quentin roosevelt, son of the former president and colonel from the spanishamerican wars rough riders, was an aviator in the 95th aero squadron, flying pursuit aircraft such as the. Here is the response to what became of mvrs great dane moritz. Richthofen had destroyed 80 allied aircraft, the highest score of any fighter pilot during the first world war. As a child, manfred loved all sorts of athletics and hunting. Red barons decendants meet british family of his first. He personally was credited with shooting down 80 enemy aircraft. Alfred gerstenberg took care of his great dane dog moritz. Manfred was the most successful fighter pilot of the war and he remains the most popular fighter pilot in history. Greys preface to the original, wartime english translation.
He is considered the top ace of that war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot. Rimell highlights the book in three pages of color plates, as is typical of the offerings by albatros productions. This book didnt contain much of those insights, but it was still interesting reading about wwi and combat flying from his perspective. While german propagandists and censors edited the book, it does. It was a brillant pilot, outstanding person, and friend to all his men, loved his parents. It contains many excellent picture of the great ace, along with large and well written captions. In 20 months of combat, he officially shot down 80 enemy aircraft, including 21 planes in the. The famous boelcke squadron, although a fairly mobile body, the members of which cooperated closely on occasion, never developed. Germanys fighter wing i came to be known as richthofens flying circus due to its fancifully decorated planes and speedy movements by rail. Next to it is the rock with his name, date of death and the iron cross, which was placed in the park opposite the house during ww ii. Richthofen s personal squadron in jagdgeschwader 2, jagdstaffel 11, all painted their craft in red with different colored highlights, in emulation of richthofen.
Ellis barker and published in 1918 under the name the red battle flyer. He remains one of the most widely known fighter pilots of all time, and has been the subject of many books, films and other media. The book was published while world war one still raged and suffered. Manfred s father was a major in the german army and it was understood since manfred was a boy that he would also enter the army. Both brothers had shot down six englishmen in one day, manfred wrote. Richthofen was born into a prussian aristocratic family on may 2nd 1892. I liked seeing so many pictures of him, and found the captions to be as good as any biography. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. By the end of the month he had 52, including no less than a quadruple kill on the 29th, the same day lothar got two. Before the war he lived in london, to learn english, working in an office in the city, when so inclined, but mostly spending his time on the river, or in sport. Bestowing honor upon fallen adversaries was practice by the allies opponents, the germans. In this book the author puts the facts behind the german aces fighting record into a perspective with other famous fighter pilots of both world wars. Originally a cavalryman, richthofen transferred to the air service in 1915. As late as 1927, a book by floyd gibbons about the barons world war i exploits was entitled the red knight of germany, not the red baron.