Baron: A History in Pictures—Powerpoint Outline
Professor Torres
Lynn University
Introduction: Manfred Von Richthofen was and is still regarded as one of the most elite ace pilots of the First World War. He over excelled his peers and competitors and received appropriate recognition for his achievements on the battlefield.
I. Early Life
A. Birth
a. He was born May 2nd, 1892 in Kleinburg, Germany—near Breslau (The Editors of Britannica)
B. Upbringing
a. He was a member of a prosperous, aristocratic Prussian family—his father, Major Albrecht von Richthofen, also led a military career (The Editors of Britannica)
b. Young Manfred grew up in a part of Prussia that is now Poland (The German Way)
c. He had a sister Elisabeth, two brothers Lothar and Bolko (The German Way)
d. The boys enjoyed horseback riding and hunting wild boar, elk, birds and deer (The German Way)
e. He and his younger brother, Lothar, continued this legacy and followed military careers as well—as expected from such families (The Editors of Britannica)
C. Education
a. When 11 in 1903, he began his cadet training at a Prussian military school in Wahlstatt—now Legnickie Pole (no joke) (The German Way)
b. After completing his schooling in 1911, he joined the Third Squadron of the Uhlan cavalry unit (The German Way)
II. Falling Into Aviation
A. What sparked flight
a. Already enlisted in the war, he felt that he wasn’t getting enough attention or action on the back of a horse (The German Way)
b. In 1915, he transferred to the Imperial Air Service as an observer and in September of 1916, he entered combat as a fighter pilot (The German Way)
B. First flight
a. He began training in October of 1915 while being an observer on reconnaissance missions with the 69th Flying Squadron (The German Way)
b. In his first solo, Richthofen crashed but his determination got him recruited for a new fighter squadron, Jasta 2 (A&E Television Network)
C. Enlisting as a pilot
a. In March of 1916, Richthofen flew his first missions as a pilot (The German Way)
b. His first confirmed downing of an enemy occurred on September 17, 1916 (A&E Television Network)
c. To celebrate, he ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and type of enemy plane (A&E Television Network)
III. World War I
A. Beginning
a. As you know, in 1912, Richthofen became a lieutenant in the 1st Uhlan Cavalry Regiment of the Prussian Army (The Editors of Britannica)
b. Because of this, he fought Russia in WW1 after outbreak and participated in Belgium and French invasions (The Editors of Britannica)
c. Trench Warfare soon became the game of the war, and so Richthofen joined the infantry—not wanting to feel sidelined as cavalry since horseback combat proved virtually impossible (The Editors of Britannica)
d. Afterwards, he went on to take a military career in aviation (A&E Television Network)
B. Transfer to Imperial German Air Service
a. Richthofen had an unsuccessful first solo, but his determination landed him a spot in squadron Jasta 2 (A&E Television Network)
b. After confirming his first kill, his squadron, Jasta 2, went on to receive devastating casualties that autumn (Andrews)
c. Defying the odds, he continued to increase his kill count and scored his 11th victory in November when he shot down a British RFC Ace, Lanoe Hawker (Andrews)
d. After shooting down his 16th plane in the beginning of 1917, he was made commander of squadron Jasta 11– later celebrating by painting his biplane bright red (Andrews)
C. Jasta 11
a. Under his command, the nine pilots of Jasta 11 grew into one of the deadliest flying units of the war (Andrews)
b. In 1917, During “Bloody April” its pilots shot down 89 British planes during Battle of Arras—chalking up 21 kills on his own (Franks)
c. His fighting style was patiently stalking enemies, swooping down from high altitude and blasting them out of the sky with pinpoint bursts of machine gun fire (Andrews)
D. Flying Circus
a. June after bloody April, Richthofen was made commander of his own 4-squadron fighter wing. Unit was regarded as a murderers row of German aces—including his brother Lothar (Andrews)
b. This squadron later was called the flying circus because of the team’s brightly colored aircraft and constant travels across the battlefront (Andrews)
IIII. Aircrafts Used
A. Jagdgeschwader 1–Fighter Wing I—Richthofen’s Flying Circus
a. He became commander of Fighter Wing I (Franks)
b. With his 4-manned squadron of aces, their frequent moves by rail and fancy-style decorations, they came to be known as “Richthofen’s Flying Circus” (Franks)
B. Fokker Dr.1
a. This was Richthofen’s elite and most iconic aircraft (A&E Television Network)
b. He used the highly maneuverable triplane to unleash havoc on the Allies (Andrews)
c. April 20, 1918, he brought his tally to a whopping 80—being his last (Andrews)
d. He was shot down in this aircraft the day after over France (A&E Television Network)
V. Contribution to Germany
A. Confirmed Kills
a. At a time when 15-20 aerial kills were considered above average and even exceptional—the Red Baron earned his status by shooting down 80 confirmed aircraft (The German Way)
b. All the aircrafts—except one French plane—were British (The German Way)
B. Richthofen’s Military Aim
a. According to popular legend, his aim was to destroy and shoot down planes, not kill the pilots flying them (The German Way)
b. But in fact, he was more cold blooded and had a more complex character than legend would have us believe. In his own words from Castan’s book: “I never get into an aircraft for fun. I aim first for the head of the pilot, or rather at the head of the observer, if there is one.” (The German Way)
c. He did still complain about how terrible he felt after finishing his missions (The German Way)
C. General Erich Ludendorff praise
a. German General Erich Ludendorff once remarked that Richthofen “was worth as much to us as three divisions” (Andrews)
D. “Red Baron”
a. Nicknamed the Red Baron after death by Americans (A&E Television Network)
b. Regarded as such because of the bright red color of his aircraft immense respect he attributed in his military careers from all countries (A&E Television Network)
c. Coined the greatest ace of his era due to his confirmed 80 kills (Andrews)
VI. Contribution to Aviation
A. Inspiration
a. It is recorded that Richthofen pioneered a drive for the youth of Germany to become fighter pilots as well (Franks)
b. Those who chose different paths still used his influence in their careers- aviation maintenance and manufacturing (Franks)
B. Tactics
a. His differed tactics allowed a new approach for German pilots in the later war, thought to be the inspiration for the creation of the Zepplin for his surveillance warfare (Franks)
VII. Death and What It Meant
A. Killed in Aerial attack
a. On April 21, 1918 Richthofen flew off with nine other planes from the airfield in France (Miller)
b. Soon after, they were in combat with a squadron of RAF led by Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown (Miller)
c. At one point, Richthofen was pursuing a plane piloted by a novice pilot—but when he flew across the British lines at low altitude, he was struck by a single bullet piercing the lower back of the fuselage and directly through his spine, fatally injuring him (The German Way)
d. Before he died, he was able to land his red Fokker Dr. 1 trip lane in a sector controlled by Australian forces (The German Way)
B. Unsure Killer
a. Brown was credited with shooting down Richthofen’s Fokker originally (Miller)
b. In recent years, however, forensic and other evidence confirms that he was actually killed by machine gun fire from the ground after his brief engagement with Brown (The German Way)
c. Entry and Exit points of the bullet indicate that the shot came from an Australian machine gun unit (Miller)
d. Who killed him is still up in air, but it is confirmed that Brown lied since he was killed by ground fire and no other pilot (Miller)
C. Bean Papers
a. The bean papers were a series of collected sources that tried to prove The Red Baron’s true fate (Franks)
b. Although it never brought any name to light, it brought about documentation showing forensic proof of how he was killed (The German Way)
VIII. Unknown Facts
A. Red Baron Nickname
a. The “Red Baron” was never actually called that while he was alive (The German Way)
b. He held a title in German “Freiherr” which roughly translates to Baron (The German Way)
c. Came to be known as the Red Baron first in English, then in German—although origin is unknown (The German Way)
d. In his diaries, the aviatior referred to himself as the red fighter pilot—in German— because of his bright red aircraft (The German Way)
B. Enemy Planes
a. The tradition of ordering a silver cup engraved with enemy plane and date he took it down on had to come to a halt after 60 because Germany was limited to silver (The German Way)
C. Burial
a. Not only did his death cause a questionable debate and speculation, but his death place wasn’t all decided at one neither (The German Way)
b. He was first buried in near Amiens, France—then moved to a German cemetery in Fricourt, France a few years later—then moved by his brother to bury him next to his father and brother four years after—then returned in the cemetery of Berlin alongside many other German military heroes—and was moved to Wiesbaden in 1975 (The German Way)
D. Peanuts
a. In the cartoon “Peanuts”, character Snoopy fantasized battling with the Red Baron (The German Way)
References
A&E Television Network. (2018, August 21). Red Baron. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/manfred-baron-von-richthofen
Andrews, E. (2016, September 16). Ace of Aces: How the Red Baron Became WWI's Most Legendary Fighter Pilot. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.history.com/news/ace-of-aces-how-the-red-baron-became-wwis-most-legendary-fighter-pilot
The Editors of Britannica. (2018, October 15). Manfred, baron von Richthofen. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manfred-Freiherr-von-Richthofen
Franks, N. L. (2016). The Red Baron: A History in Pictures. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Aviation.
Miller, M. G. (1998, June). The Death of Manfred von Richthofen: Who fired the fatal shot? Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/richt.htm
The German Way. (2018). Manfred Von Richthofen. Retrieved November 18, 2018, from https://www.german-way.com/notable-people/featured-bios/manfred-von-richthofen/