Manfred von Richthofen didn’t start World War I in an airplane. He was a Prussian cavalry officer, a prestigious role that quickly became obsolete in the muddy, static trenches of the Western Front. Frustrated and yearning for action, he famously wrote to his commander, “I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.” That purpose, he decided, was in the clouds. He transferred to the Imperial German Army Air Service in 1915.
Richthofen quickly proved himself to be a cold, calculating, and exceptionally skilled tactician. In 1917, after taking command of his own fighter squadron, he made a decision that would cement his place in history: he painted his Albatros combat plane brilliant, blood red.
At a time when most planes were painted in muted greens and browns for camouflage, this was a massive flex. It was a psychological tactic designed to intimidate his enemies and allow his own pilots to easily spot him in the chaos of a dogfight. It worked. The sight of the red plane struck fear into Allied pilots, and the legend of the "Red Baron" was born.
His unit, Jagdgeschwader 1, became known as "The Flying Circus" because of their brightly colored aircraft and the fact that they moved from sector to sector up and down the front lines like a traveling carnival. Under his leadership, the Flying Circus dominated the skies. Richthofen himself ultimately recorded 80 confirmed combat victories—the highest of any pilot in the war.
The Red Baron's luck ran out on April 21, 1918, over the Somme River in France. While pursuing a novice Canadian pilot at a dangerously low altitude, Richthofen came under heavy fire from both the ground (Australian infantry) and the air (Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown). A single bullet struck him in the chest.
In a final testament to his skill, Richthofen managed to roughly land his famous red Fokker Dr.I triplane before he died.
Perhaps the most incredible part of the Red Baron's story is what happened after he fell. The Allied forces who recovered his body didn't treat him as a hated enemy. Instead, they buried the 25-year-old Ace of Aces with full military honors. An Allied pilot even flew over the German lines to drop a message informing them of his death, reading: "To the German Flying Corps. Cavalry Captain von Richthofen was killed in aerial combat... He was buried with all military honors."
