Until his death in april 1918, he was one of the best pilots and revolutionised aerial. The book was published while world war one still raged and suffered somewhat from the propaganda and censorship of the time. Greys preface to the original, wartime english translation. Ellis barker and published in 1918 under the name the red battle flyer. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project. Richthofen was the head of the flying circus jagdegeschwader nr. In 20 months of combat, he officially shot down 80 enemy aircraft, including 21 planes in the. Dear friends, all photographs on this page are protected by their owners. He is considered the aceofaces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.
Richthofen is the surname of a prominent german aristocratic family. Germanys fighter wing i came to be known as richthofens flying circus due to its fancifully decorated planes and speedy movements by rail. Richthofen was wellknown in the allied countries and a respected advisory of military aviators. He was credited with 80 victories in the air, before being shot down in disputed circumstances aged. He earned the nickname, the red baron, during world war i because he flew a red plane and was the top rated fighter pilot during the war. Aug 02, 2019 by 1918, he was regarded as a national hero in germany and held the countrys highest honour, the blue max. Originally a cavalryman, richthofen transferred to the air service in 1915. A dashing airman, gallant gentleman, and killer ace, the red baron comes to life in this engaging biography. Story highlights a witness account says the red baron was killed by machinegun fire from the ground. His body was taken to a hangar belonging to the no. Nicola perscheid 18641930 in 1903, at the age of eleven, manfred began his cadet training at a prussian military school in wahlstatt now legnickie pole, poland. The display included serial numbers cut from some of the aircraft he downed. During the war a book was published with his name on it as.