The Red Baron By Anna Murrey

Objectives Learn about Manfred von Ricthofen’s early life Understand why Manfred was known as the Red Baron Understand why he was important Learn about his–not definitive– death

Who was Manfred von Richthofen? He was a German pilot who was fighting for the Triple Alliance during WWI. His families coat of arms  He was born May 2, 1892, and died at the age of 25 on April 21, 1918

Military School He was sent to a military school in Wahlstatt at the age of 11, obeying the wishes of his father. His father was a Prussian nobleman who served in the war until he was not allowed due to deafness. At the school, Manfred was great at sports but fell short where academics were concerned. After 6 years, he attended the Royal Military Academy at Lichterfelde. After a short time at the Berlin War Academy, he was commissioned an officer in the 1st Regiment of Uhlans Kaiser Alexander III in April 1911.

The German Military In 1912, Manfred was promoted to Lieutenant. Manfred wanted to a cavalry officer because of his ridding skills, and before WWI broke out, he was still competing in horse jumping and racing contests. Manfred von Richthofen served as a messenger for the first two years (1914-1915) of WWI. He did not see any glory in the Trench Warfare, so he requested a transfer to the air force.

Flying Manfred knew nothing when it came to flying, but he was eager to learn because the air offered him a new war, one not restricted by an immobile front line. Like everyone in Europe, Manfred believed that WWI would be quick; therefore, he trained as an observer so that he could get in on the action in 4 weeks instead of 3 months of training. He began his flying career at Feldfiegerabtedung 69 as an observer on the Eastern Front, taking photographs of Russian troop positions.

Love at First Flight Richthofen had loved flying from the first moment he flew during training. His love of flying was further enhanced by watching the bombs he dropped explode on enemy targets. His fascination with seeing the damage he was inflicting earned him his first war wound. Frantically signaling to his pilot to bank for a clear view after dropping a load on a village near Dunkirk, he accidentally dipped his hand into one of the bomber's whirling propellers and lost the tip of a finger!

He wanted to FLY With the new advancement in weaponry and planes, Manfred knew that he wanted to fly, but he was still just an observer. To fix this, he asked his friend (Oberleutnant  Georg Zeumer) for help. After 24 hours of training with Zeumer, Manfred flew his first solo flight and destroyed the plane while trying to land. Unharmed and determined, Manfred continued to practice and attended a flying school at Doberitz. After 5 months, he returned as a pilot.

The Fokker Eindekker After June 1915, the Fokker Eindekker monoplane series became the most feared aircraft in the air. Equipped with synchronized machine guns that could fire through the propeller arc without damaging the plane, they gave German scout pilots a firm advantage in air combat. These planes were also very rare. Only the top aces had the Fokker Eindekker planes.

Dog Fights A dog fight is when two planes fight each other while airborne. Because it is so dangerous, pilots were given the title of “ace” when they shot down five planes without getting killed. Oswald Boelcke was Germany’s top ace during WWI– before the Red Baron.

The Red Baron is Born By 1916, Manfred was terrorizing the skies over the western front in an Albatross biplane, downing 15 enemy planes by the end of the year, including one piloted by British flying ace Major Lanoe Hawker. By 1917, Manfred had exceeded all flying ace records on both sides of the western front.  Manfred von Richthofen gained the title of Red Baron because he had shot down 80 enemy planes. Fun fact: He had destroyed two French planes at the beginning of his career, but they were not added to his record because a pilot cannot count a plane that falls behind enemy lines as a victory.

Why Red? In 1917, he began to fly with a Fokker triplane, which he painted completely red to honor his old cavalry regiment.

So Who Killed Him… No one knows for sure who killed Manfred. Many people claim that they were the ones who killed him, but where is the proof? The Red Baron was flying too near the ground–an Australian gunner shot him through his chest, and his plane crashed into a field alongside the road from Corbie to Bray. Another account has Captain A. Roy Brown, a Canadian in the Royal Air Force, shooting him down. There are countless other stories like this one, which causes historians to have no credible proof as to who killed the legendary Red Baron.

Important to Even His Enemies When Richthofen was killed in 1918, British troops recovered his body, and he was buried with full military honors. The Allies dropped leaflets with pictures of the ceremony over German lines to inform the Germans of their actions.

Did you get it? How many planes has Manfred shot down? 15 110 80 91

Did you get it? How old was he when he first attended military school? 18 12 11 14 None of the above

Did you get it? Who killed the Red Baron? Manfred von Richthofen George Washington An Australian soldier A French soldier None of the above

True or False Manfred’s father was a Prussian nobleman. Manfred had shot down 80 planes by the end of 1916. False; he has shot down 15 planes by the end of 1916. At first he wanted to be a cavalry man. He did not see any glory in Trench Warfare. He hated flying at first. False; he loved it from the very beginning. The Allies buried him with full military honors.

Game Time You will have a few seconds to figure out the puzzle before the answer is revealed! Example: Unscramble and figure out what the following phrase says: OBNRA DRE Answer: RED BARON

Fill in the Blank Manfred von Richthofen fought for the Tripple Alliance: ___________, _____________, ___________. Answer: Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire

Which One is Manfred?

Thank You For Learning about the Red Baron! Have a nice break!