Than 100 Pilots Surpassed Manfred Von Richthofen's Kill Total, but None Earned His Fame Or Notoriety

More than 100 pilots surpassed Manfred von Richthofen’s kill total, but none earned his fame or notoriety.

The Red BaronBy Dik A. Daso n the history of aerial warfare, During World War II, more than 100 George C. Marshall and Henry H. “Hap” there is no name more recognizable pilots had exceeded Richthofen’s 80 Arnold, American Army officers, future than Manfred Albrecht Freiherr victories. Germany alone ended the war five-star generals, and Richthofen contem- von Richthofen—the Red Baron. with more than 5,000 ace pilots. Yet, the poraries, were both avid hunters. Arnold Credited with 80 victories (there leading aerial ace of all time, Erich A. was also accomplished at shooting skeet, were certainly more, unofficial Hartmann (352 in World War II), remains but never became an ace pilot. In 1909, ones), Richthofen’s rise to the pinnacle relatively unknown. Can it be as simple as former President Theodore Roosevelt ofI the aerial elite began in the cavalry the fact that the Red Baron was the first single-handedly provided the Smithsonian and survives today in an era witnessing “Ace of Aces”? Are there lessons from Institution with a collection of thousands the slow demise of the century-old ethos Richthofen’s experiences that might be of African mammals. Philosophically, and profession of the fighter pilot. relevant today? the crux of this fascination with hunting Why is the Red Baron still lionized In his youth, Richthofen enjoyed hunt- revolves around developing the determina- after nearly 100 years? There are some ing and became a skilled marksman. At tion and will to intentionally take the life 1,800 World War I aces, all belligerent the turn of the 20th century, game hunt- of another living thing—the killer instinct. countries counted. Why don’t the ever- ing was a popular pastime, particularly Richthofen, of course, killed dozens colorful Eddie Rickenbacker, Canadian among the affluent. He had a keen eye of airmen during the course of the war— William A. Bishop, Frenchman Rene and became particularly accurate with a sometimes at such a close range their P. Fonck, Germany’s Ernst Udet, or rifle. Much has been made of this skill, blood spattered his aircraft. Marshall English ace Edward C. Mannock hold but Richthofen was certainly not unique and Arnold went on to command Allied such mystique? in this regard. forces during World War II and routinely 70 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2012 The Red Baron AIR FORCE Magazine Magazine FORCE AIR by high culture, Richthofen had been been had Richthofen culture, high by characters. heroic these honoring symphonies and operas Richard wrote as Wagner, such Composers, nobility. German of ethos the fashioned attacks enemy to impervious knights Teutonic of Tales horsemen. as service into men young enticed often uniforms the flashy in the cavalry. The charge thunderous and case. Richthofen’s in benefit an added simply was shot excellent an Being globe. the around experiences military kill to to over ability carried purpose with and The calmly lines. sides battle both the on of casualties of in thousands resulting ultimately decisions made triplane. Dr.I Fokker iconic his flying Richthofen depicts Berryman Ivan by painting Above: This Born into social status and influenced and influenced status Born into social The Red Baron’s military career began / March 2012 March /

Painting by Ivan Berryman courtesy of Cranston Fine Arts to “fly right up to the opponent.” the to up right “fly to enough courage require did but shooter” trick or artist pilot aerobatic an a “be not that need believed He command. in of his months any during kind aerobatics airmen. enemy kill and aircraft other destroy and attack to was ultimately the purpose of military fighters that believed men Both aerobatics). and the enemy than on piloting ability (looping more importance on audacity in the face of hofen cared much for flying.They placed of confirmed victories. victories. confirmed of history a with pilots fighter for reserved honor sought by every Prussian an soldier Mérite, le Pour and Order the to admitted airmen two first the became Immelmann flyingtutor. This master of the air and Richthofen’s became pilots, fighter early Max Like many fighter pilots of his day, the Red Baron was an ambitious, glory-seeking egomaniac. glory-seeking ambitious, an was Baron Red day, the his of pilots fighter many Like Close-in Work German air service). air German (the when Fliegertruppe him the to with transferred he took glory for Richthofen longing his 1915, May In War. both Great the on of year first duty the during fronts cavalry on while unful filled remained he and thoughts such any derailed completely warfare Trench combat. in victories cavalry after home at hereditary his celebration triumphant a envisioned he but infancy, its in only then was be weaponry yet aerial as not imagined, could skies the in age. early Acclaim an at glory personal and ity nobil of aspects traditional to exposed Richthofen Richthofen even went as far as to forbid Strangely, neither Boelcke nor Richt nor Boelcke neither Strangely, Germany’s of one Boelcke, Oswald ­ - - deeply.” loss of his mentor “affected all of us very death.” “beautiful a as characterized end had denied Boelcke what Richthofen an Such Richthofen. young a by chased evasive action to miss an enemy D.H.2— his aircraft and his wingman’s, both taking death came in between a collision midair Max.” “Blue its received had Boelcke, teacher, his after year one Richthofen joined the Pour le Mérite order impact on a student’s future performance. ties and characteristics can have a dramatic Billy Mitchell. Clearly, Gen. the Brig. mentor’s than abili other none was mentor war, Arnold’s the after years the During American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Gen. John J. of commander Pershing, the War I, for example, Marshall’s mentor was were not out of the ordinary. During World rapier. his gun, machine his steed—the became airplane Richthofen’s rolls. barrel and loops ing than practic far more became important vation of one’s own forces and equipment particularly Preser victim. by the unobserved when successful, more were usually environment stabilized a “two-dimensional” in attacks and enemy, the killing was flying combat of object the that understood Richthofen dimensions. in three maneuvering a target killing for aerial early the gun, machine closer was better definitely of your days to the close In “get work.” to essential was it Richthofen would only write that the the that write only would Richthofen Boelcke’s that irony certain is There Richthofen’s early learning experiences In modern fighter pilot terms, he meant 71 - - -

Photo via National Archives his red Fokker Dr.I triplane may be The quest for military honors was more iconic. initially fueled by the requirement to Modern characterizations fre- reach eight victories—a number typically quently highlight those few kills needed to earn the Pour le Merite. By the that he scored near the end of his time Richthofen gained acceptance to the career in that colorful three-winged order with 16 kills, he was the first to suc- aircraft. While the translation was cessfully meet its increasingly demanding different in each country, soon ev- aerial victory numbers. eryone knew that engaging the blood In addition to shootdown trophies during red Albatros meant a tangle with these early days, he ordered a small cup, the Red Baron. This was precisely from a silversmith in Berlin, engraved with the effect he had been hoping for. the aircraft type and the shootdown date, following each of his first 60 victories. Guts for the Glory Only a nationwide silver shortage stopped By laying down the gauntlet, that tradition. Richthofen made certain there Bravado was common among all fighter

Photo via National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution (SI 76-13317) would be other aerial “knights” pilots. Some might argue it was actually to challenge Jasta 11—the pilots necessary in aerial combat in those days. and the commander. This approach Both French and British pilots personalized might today be interpreted as taking their airplanes, usually to ensure recogni- nose art to an unhealthy extreme, tion by their own units in the air. British but to the Red Baron, it established authorities, however, frowned on markings an attitude of invincibility that he that overshadowed the cohesiveness of the continued to instill in his airmen fighting unit, and although individualism The Red Baron took trophies from every kill. by both word and deed. during aerial action was encouraged, in- Yet, beyond his obvious courage and dividualism demonstrated in appearances Yet, witnessing aerial accidents was daring, there remains a less examined side, was “in poor taste.” not a unique occurrence in those days. perhaps the side that made Richthofen so The Red Baron narrowly escaped death A young Lt. Jimmy Doolittle saw a fatal deadly in the air and also resulted in his on July 6, 1917, when a British F.E.2 collision between two training aircraft demise: He was an ambitious egomaniac, observer’s bullet struck him in the head, just before taking off on his first military a “Kreuzschmerzen” (slang for one dili- splintering a section of his skull. He was training flight, and then helped to pull gently pursuing the Iron Cross), and he forced to land and was immediately hospi- survivors from the wreckage. He continued was not alone. talized to heal the wound. Richthofen had the mission and took off. Doolittle later French pilots freely admitted medals just taken command of Jagdgeschwader escaped death himself after decapitating brought the glory they sought in combat. 1, a fighter wing consisting of four Jastas. a student pilot during a midair collision Canadian ace Bishop flew and fought This unit, dispersed along the front lines in the traffic pattern. relentlessly until he had earned the Vic- and all painted in colorful schemes, became Events such as these hardened most toria Cross, his country’s highest award known as Richthofen’s Flying Circus. pilots to the realities of early aerial combat. for valor. Again, nothing in Richthofen’s But it was also during these months Richthofen took command of Royal persona was particularly unique. In fact, that the British regained their technical Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 (Jasta 11) in glory quests were rewarded not only with advantage in the skies over Germany. January 1917 and arrived at his new medals but also with fame and notoriety. Advanced Sopwith fighters (Triplanes and base in the newest fighter available, the It was common practice after an aerial Camels), along with Bristol two-seaters, Albatros D.III. Immediately, he ordered victory to land near the vanquished and soon dominated Richthofen’s Fokker his standard camouflage paint scheme retrieve a piece of the enemy’s airplane. aircraft. In a letter to a close friend writ- changed to a solid, bright blood red over While this act may sound a bit crazy, ten during his recuperation he said, “You the entire Albatros. German fighter airplanes primarily had a would not believe how low morale is among This was the same month he received defensive role and seldom crossed over fighter pilots presently at the front because the Pour le Mérite after his 16th victory. Allied lines any farther than would allow of their sorry machines. No one wants to These hard-fought wins had taken five them to glide back to friendly territory in be a fighter pilot anymore.” difficult months. By April 21, 1918, he an emergency. Wounded and facing mounting odds, would add 64 more. Richthofen, however, often went far he continued to command and to fight, Richthofen had the rest of his unit’s beyond the simple proof required for an refusing medical grounding. He returned airplanes also painted red, and each indi- aerial credit. Typically, he or the ground to combat—shooting down two enemy vidual pilot added distinguishing colors soldier verifying the kill, cut from his airplanes in August—before taking another or markings so they could be identified by victim’s airplane a swath of cloth that hiatus through the fall of 1917. He then the color during aerial combat. included the serial number, and then flew two successful combat sorties but It took little time for British and French Richthofen affixed the cloth to the wall subsequently endured another dry spell pilots to report that they had been attacked in his trophy room. In at least one case, until March 1918. by—and barely escaped from—a group of lacking any physical proof from a de- It seemed that the head wound had more airplanes that resembled a “flying circus,” stroyed airplane, he had a rather graphic long-lasting effects than initially thought with the leader’s aircraft completely red. photograph taken of the dead pilot as proof by his doctors. Richthofen scored the vast majority of of the kill, reproduced it, then sent a copy Recuperation from his open head wound his victories in his red Albatros, although home to his mother. was painful and required several surgical 72 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2012 Left: Richthofen (in the cockpit of an Albatros D.III) pictured with members of Jasta 11.

Approaching 10:30 a.m. on April 21, German Bundesarchiv 1918, the Red Baron and two wingmen took to the skies, responding to incoming British aircraft. Less than an hour later Richthofen, deep in Allied territory, died in his airplane. His life was most probably ended by a lucky shot from the ground. For whatever reason, Richthofen had violated his second general principle and followed a seemingly hapless British pilot, flying a Sopwith Camel, who was attempting to escape to friendlier skies. Flying very low, the dueling twosome etched their way through the Somme River valley until the baron’s Fokker triplane, closing for the kill, appeared to suddenly spin into the ground behind the Australian Front.

The Red Baron’s mystique still filters learned: Exploit the element of surprise into popular culture in numerous ways. The rock band Led Zeppelin reworked and shoot before being discovered, main- the top left picture of the infamous tain energy in a tough dogfight (speed baron and members of Jasta 11 for the procedures and time, more time than and power), and shoot the gunner of a cover of their second album—with their Richthofen was willing to sacrifice away two-seat aircraft first. own and other music figures’ heads from his unit. During the period he spent Richthofen also described two “Gen- superimposed on the bodies. at home, he did take the opportunity to eral Principles” that were “never” to be He was 11 days shy of his 26th deal with the realities of the war. violated. birthday. All indications are that, mentally, he First, never “overshoot” your adver- Through the decades that followed, the had matured a tremendous amount. He sary—that is, fly past a slower opponent legend of the Red Baron became larger completed an aerial tactics manual and who might then shoot at you. than life, heroic in epic proportions. His also reread his diary-autobiography funeral rivaled those given to heads of written during the early months of the Maturation state and was perhaps more ceremonial. war. As a seasoned combat veteran and And second, “never obstinately stay Since his death, the Great War’s leading a witness to mounting losses, he saw with an opponent whom through bad fighter ace has represented the embodiment the poor morale—the result of loom- shooting [by the attacking pilot] or skillful of the chivalrous “Knight of the Air,” not ing defeat—among the fliers. He found turning [by the defender] one has been only for Germany but for fighter pilots his early writing flamboyant and self- unable to shoot down.” He noted that everywhere. Even in recent generations, important—not representative of the man when the battle lasts until it is far on the name “Red Baron” has repeatedly he had become during the war. the other side of the enemy lines, “one popped up in popular songs, cartoons, On April 19, 1918, a copy of Richt­ is alone and faced by a greater number and elsewhere, ensuring that his legend hofen’s Air Combat Operations Manual of opponents.” continues. n was delivered to the Supreme Headquar- ters for dissemination to other units. Dik A. Daso is a retired USAF F-15, F-4, and T-38 pilot with 2,750 flying hours The detailed document summarized and is the curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian’s National Air and combat flight experience into a practical Space Museum. His most recent article for Air Force Magazine, “Bullets Between aerial tactics manual. Among the lessons the Blades,” appeared in the April 2008 issue AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2012 73