Richthofen, Manfred von

     
Příjmení:
Surname:
von Richthofen von Richthofen
Jméno:
Given Name:
Manfred Albrecht Manfred Albrecht
Jméno v originále:
Original Name:
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
Fotografie či obrázek:
Photograph or Picture:
Hodnost:
Rank:
rytmistr Rittmaster
Akademický či vědecký titul:
Academic or Scientific Title:
- -
Šlechtický titul:
Hereditary Title:
svobodný pán baron
Datum, místo narození:
Date and Place of Birth:
02.05.1892 Vratislav /
02.05.1892 Wroclav /
Datum, místo úmrtí:
Date and Place of Decease:
21.04.1918 Morlancourtský hřbet /
21.04.1918 Morlancourt Ridge /
Nejvýznamnější funkce:
(maximálně tři)
Most Important Appointments:
(up to three)
- velitel prvního většího německého leteckého útvaru Jagdgeschwader (stíhací skupiny) - Commander of the first of the new larger Jagdgeschwader (wing) formations
Jiné významné skutečnosti:
(maximálně tři)
Other Notable Facts:
(up to three)
- nejúspěšnější stíhací eso první světové války s 80 sestřely
- padl v boji
- Most successful Fighter ace of the World War I with 80 victories
- Killed in action
Související články:
Related Articles:

Zdroje:
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#323963 Version : 0
     
Příjmení:
Surname:
von Richthofen von Richthofen
Jméno:
Given Name:
Manfred Albrecht Manfred Albrecht
Jméno v originále:
Original Name:
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen
Všeobecné vzdělání:
General Education:
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
Vojenské vzdělání:
Military Education:
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
Důstojnické hodnosti:
Officer Ranks:
19.11.1912 poručík
23.03.1917 nadporučík
08.04.1917 rytmistr
19.11.1912 Leutnant
23.03.1917 Oberleutnant
08.04.1917 Rittmeister
Průběh vojenské služby:
Military Career:
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
DD.MM.RRRR-DD.MM.RRRR
Vyznamenání:
Awards:
Poznámka:
Note:
- -
Zdroje:
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org
de.wikipedia.org
https://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#499666 Version : 0
Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen



The English pilots and mechanics passed the time in the eerie gloom of the hangars where they waited for orders by telling horror stories. They whispered of planes that had returned to the airfield with dead crews, of planes that had been missing for weeks and yet were seen again and again in the air, heralding losses in the ranks of the unit, or of pilots who, though long dead, came in and out of the canteen without a word, and everyone they encountered sooner or later also passed into the realm of oblivion. None of these tales, however, was more horrible than that of the "Red Baron."


It was said that this accursed Hun (Hun is an English derogatory term for a German. Something like the French Bosh or the Czech Kraut) flies a red-coloured aeroplane, and whoever meets him never returns home. He is said to have killed dozens of Englishmen and there was no one who could beat him. He reappeared after Boelck's death, as his avenger, his ghost. Fear ran through Boelcke, but his successor was the epitome of terror. The French called him "Le Diable Rouge" - "The Red Devil" - and they certainly had good reason. He led a pack of immensely combative and deadly Albatrosses into battle, and wherever the bunch turned up they left behind the charred wreckage of enemy aircraft and decimated Allied squadrons. The mere appearance of a red aircraft over the front caused a sharp drop in morale among the Allied pilots.


At home in Germany it was known as "Der Rote Kampfflieger" - "The Red Fighting Airman". Here, too, stories were told of British killing squadrons specially formed with the task of shooting down this remarkable pilot and of a £5,000 bounty placed on his head.


He was shrouded in the mystery of legend during his lifetime and later the reality was covered by a layer of myth quite. But the fact remains that the man became the most successful fighter of World War I. His name was Manfred von Richthofen.


Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (Freiherr means free lord. A not very happy translation into English made Manfred a baron, but this title is not known to Prussian nobility) prepared for a military career from childhood.


At the age of eleven (born 2 May 1892) he was sent to the military school in Wahlstatt. Even there he proved his courage by climbing the steeple of the local church, at the top of which he tied a handkerchief. After successfully completing his cadet and officer training, he entered the Berlin Military Academy in 1911. At the age of nineteen he began his service with the Ulanen - Regiment Kaiser Alexander III Nr. 1 (Hulan Cavalry Regiment). By the end of 1912, he had already attained the rank of lieutenant.


After the outbreak of World War, the regiment was sent to Poland. Later it was transferred to the Western Front. But the latter, crowded with trenches and barbed wire, was no place for cavalry. Richthofen, eager for a fight, applied for reassignment after eight months of inactivity. It was approved, and in 1915 Richthofen was assigned to the military air force. He soon became a qualified observer. He served first on the Russian front and later in Belgium.


In a chance meeting and conversation with Oswald Boelck, Richthofen was inspired and determined to pursue pilot training. However, his talent for flying was not the best. On his first solo flight, he broke the landing gear, and failed his first flight test. But on Christmas of 1915, he finally passed his third and final test.


Richthofen first served as an observer, then as a pilot of two-seat aircraft, eventually switching to the Fokker E in April 1916. After another chance meeting, by then with the legendary Oswald Boelck, von Richthofen accepted an offer to join the ranks of his fledgling fighter unit, the Jasta 2.


Oswald Boelcke became Richthofen's great role model and irreplaceable teacher. The celebration of this first great success of Boelcke's unit included a toast from silver cups filled with beer according to medieval custom. A toast was made both to victory and in honour of the opponent. Each airman had his own beer cup ready for the day when he would toast his first victory. In addition to this, each German airman received a large silver cup, the so-called Ehrenbecher (Cup of Glory) from the commander of the combat air force for his first victory. Richthofen liked the custom of toasting after each first victory so much that he had his Berlin jeweler make a supply of 60 cups, which he toasted from after each of his victories.


On 16 October 1916, von Richthofen became a fighter ace when he won his fifth victory. By 9 November, he had already scored eight kills, and was very disappointed and felt cheated that he had not become the next man to win the Pour le Mérite after eight kills. At the time, however, the criteria for this decoration had been modified, and double the number of aerial victories was required to obtain it. Richthofen received a different decoration.


On 23 November 1916, Manfred von Richthofen received his eleventh victory. His victim was D.H. 2, piloted by the legendary Major Lanoe Hawker VC, DSO. In his report of this engagement, he stated: "I must admit that the Englishman whom I succeeded in shooting down on 23 November was the English counterpart of our Immelmann. Naturally I did not know this when we fought together, but the masterly way in which he controlled his aircraft and the vigour with which he flew showed that he must have been a fabulous fellow.


The weather was glorious when we took off from our airfield. I was in good spirits and looking forward to the hunt. At an altitude of
3,000m I spotted three English aircraft. I knew that the English had also spotted me, and from their manoeuvres it was clear to me that our hopes of a prank of the day would meet with determined resistance. They were against the victim, and so was I. They had the advantage of height, but I accepted their challenge. I was flying lower and had no advantageous position to attack, so I had to wait for one of them to make a dive-bombing attack. The wait was not long. The first of them swooped down hard on me and tried to get me from behind. He fired five shots, at which point I changed direction and veered sharply to the left. He chased me and a wild game of cartwheel ensued. He was trying to get behind me. We circled around like two fools. Both engines were running at full throttle and neither of us seemed to gain an inch. We found ourselves on a circle exactly opposite each other, and from that position neither of us could fire a single shot at the other.


First we circled twenty times to the right, then twenty times to the left. As this dead circling continued, neither of us gained the slightest advantage in the process. I knew instantly that I had not chosen any beginner, for I had never dreamed of breaking out of the circle and thus ending this game. He had an excellent plane as far as his agility was concerned, but my machine could climb better and faster. And with that, I finally managed to gain position behind him with the necessary elevation gain.


We were losing altitude as we chased each other - we were barely a thousand feet off the ground. The wind was blowing to my liking. Throughout the entire fight so far, we had not only come close to the ground, but the wind slowly blew us up above the German trenches. I noticed that we were exactly over the town of Bapaume, and my opponent must have known that the moment had come for him to break off the fight, for he was getting deeper and deeper over German territory. But he was a cutting devil. Although I was behind him and above him, he turned in his seat and waved to me as if to say - how are you? We restarted the chase as fast as we could and as tight a turn as we could manage. I often estimated the diameter of the circle we were describing to be less than 100 metres. I could almost look completely vertically into his cockpit and watch every movement of his head. If he had not been wearing a balaclava and goggles, then I would have even known his face.


He was a real sportsman, but I knew that my position just above and behind him was too much for him, especially as we kept losing altitude and found ourselves deeper into the German rear. We were now just above the ground and he now had to decide whether to land on German soil or try to fly out of the circle to get to his own side of the front again. Apparently, however, it did not occur to this athlete to land and surrender, but he suddenly attempted several somersaults and other crazy stunts to prepare to return home. Then, as he took his course towards his own lines after these amusements were over, my first bullets whistled past his ears, for, except for his brief burst at the beginning of the fight, not a single shot was fired-neither of us had occasion to do so.


The fight was now brought close to the ground. We were not even within 100 yards. We were flying uncomfortably fast. He knew I was close behind him. He knew the muzzle of my machine gun was pointed at him. He began to manoeuvre and kept changing direction, changing direction abruptly and irregularly left and right, constantly making accurate aiming impossible. But the right moment came anyway. I was fifty meters behind him. I opened fire with a long burst. We were barely fifty meters above the ground and we were moving forward. Now I was only thirty meters behind him. He must have fallen. The machine gun was spitting fire and lead.


Then the machine gun malfunctioned, but in a moment it started firing again. The malfunction almost saved his life. One of the bullets hit. Right through the head. His plane took off and then it was falling. It hit the ground as I was leaving. His machine gun is buried in the ground, now hanging over the door of my room. He was a brave opponent, a sportsman and a fighter."


On 4 January 1917, Manfred von Richthofen won his sixteenth victory. On that day, a trio of Albatrosses Jasty 2 recorded four aircraft of unknown type over the front. They turned out to be English. One of them attacked the Germans. The British machine immediately proved superior. Its weaknesses were only exposed to the Germans by being three-on-one. Eventually, Richthofen got in the back of the Englishman and shot him down. The unknown aircraft was a hot English novelty - Sopwith Pup. It was a superb aircraft, the best British fighter in its day. It was extremely reliable in combat conditions, responsive to steering and extremely agile biplane, not losing altitude even in the tightest of turns. At higher altitudes, it reliably outperformed all contemporary German aircraft in manoeuvrability. It was armed with one synchronized Vickers machine gun of 7.7 mm caliber, equipped with a mechanical Scarff - Dibovski synchronizer.


After the sixteenth victory, Manfred von Richthofen was 1917 was finally awarded the coveted Blue Max (as he was popularly known among British aviators as Pour le Mérite. The Germans did not use this designation much. The nickname is meant to commemorate one of the first fighters to be awarded this order - Max Immelmann), and he was also given command of his own fighter unit Jasta 11. It had its home airfield at Douai. After three months of frontline service, while Jasta 11 had no losses, it did not score a single aerial victory. The unit was operating with Halberstadt aircraft that had weak engines, and so Manfred's first act after taking command (on 14 January) was to attempt to rearm the Jasta with Albatros D.III aircraft. The new machines were delivered to the unit in the third week of January.


In the cockpit of one of these new aircraft, Richthofen won the unit's first aerial victory on 23 January. He added one more kill the following day, but during the fight the airframe broke at 300 m and Richthofen managed an emergency landing by a miracle. The limited strength of the carrier surfaces was a well-known vice of the Albatros. The Albatros had a lower wing that was narrower and shorter than the upper wing. This improved the agility of the aircraft and improved the pilot's vision. However, there was only a single V-shaped strut at each wingtip, the tip of which exerted pressure on the weakest point of the lower wing, so that it broke there under undue pressure. Despite this defect, however, the number of accidents was negligible in relation to the number of take-offs made, and the Albatros remained the master of the air.


By this time Manfred von Richthofen was already using an aircraft with a red painted fuselage. Unfortunately, it is not known exactly when this paint job was done. It is hard to say what prompted Richthofen to do this, as such a striking aircraft was directly asking for an attack. But the red paint also had a practical meaning. Other pilots of Jasta 11 could thus quickly and easily identify the commander's machine even in the fiercest combat. Richthofen chose the red color probably based on the colors of his original unit, the Hulan Regiment No. 1. The red-painted aircraft soon became legendary on both sides of the front.


Manfred von Richthofen followed in the footsteps of his great teacher Oswald Boelcke. He taught his pilots how to fly and how to shoot, and advised them how to behave at what point in a battle. That he was a good teacher was proved by the first victories of his students. In February, Sebastian Festner (12 kills in total) and Karl Allmenröder (30 kills) scored their first kills.


In March, the Allies were preparing an offensive at Arras. The skies were full of reconnaissance planes and escort fighters. Jasta 11 began to do its commander honour. In the month of March, the entire unit scored 27 victories. Manfred himself contributed ten kills to that number. He was followed by Karl Schäfer with seven kills (30 pts. total), Kurt Wolff with five victories (33 pts.) and one kill each by Constantin Krefft (2 sec.) and Lothar Freiherr von Richthofen (40 sec.), who joined Jasta 11 got with only one hour flown on a fighter thanks to the intervention of his older brother.


However, besides the glorious victories, there were also the first defeats. On March 6, a five-man formation led by Manfred attacked a squadron of Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter of 15 machines, and Schäfer shot down two of them. However, British fighters immediately intervened in the battle FE 8 and sent two Albatrosses to the ground. One of them was Manfred von Richthofen. The fire hit the engine and fuel tank of his plane. Leaving a foggy belt of petrol behind, Manfred plummeted to the ground behind the German lines and made an emergency landing. It's a miracle he didn't take the plane out.


On March 23, Manfred was promoted to the rank of Oberleutnant (lieutenant). The next day he shot down Spad VII from the RFC. This marked his 30th kill, and a day later he shot down Nieuport XVII from a British squadron.


For the spring months, the Allies planned to break the German lines between Arras and Aisne. To support the British offensive on the stretch at Arras, the RFC had 25 squadrons with approximately 365 aircraft, about a third of which were fighters. The offensive at Arras was launched on 9 April 1917. By this date, there were 5 German Jagdstaffeln in the Arras section of the front. As the battle continued, their number grew to eight. The battle spelled disaster for the RFC. Heaven turned into hell. The British named the month "Bloody April". During this single month, the British lost 245 aircraft in combat, 211 crew members were killed or missing, and 108 airmen were captured. The average lifespan of an RFC fighter pilot was then less than two weeks.


This heavy defeat was the result of several adverse circumstances. At all times the British were conducting an air offensive behind German lines. Thus, the RFC aircraft, mostly old reconnaissance BE 2 and FE 2, fought deep in German territory. Their pilots, flying slower aircraft and with dwindling fuel supplies, then had to fight their way back. The wind was mostly from the west, and so the journey to safety usually turned into a desperate struggle for life. The German fighters, flying fast and well-armed Albatrosses and, moreover, on average more experienced and better trained than their British counterparts, fought over their own territory and were thus not in danger of capture if the machine was damaged. Moreover, entirely in the spirit of defensive tactics, they chose their targets and the moment of attack carefully. April was undoubtedly a terrible month for the RFC, yet it was a heartening fact that the British Air Force, despite a high percentage of losses, was still able to operate in German airspace.


The Jasta 11 itself claimed 89 victories in April. She was therefore responsible for a full third of the RFC's losses! On 13 April alone, 1917, five German pilots Jasta 11 shot down thirteen British aircraft. Of this number, four kills went to Wolff, three were shot down by Manfred von Richthofen, and two each by Lothar von Richthofen, Festner and Schäfer. Still, the fighting was not a clear-cut affair. On April 22, Schäfer was shot down by ground fire while flying through the lines, managing to make an emergency landing and just barely avoiding being captured. Three days later he was killed by Festner and on the same day was ambushed from behind by a British fighter by Lothar von Richthofen. The Englishman was shot down at the last moment by Schäfer, allowing Lothar to bring his badly damaged aircraft to base.


Manfred von Richthofen shot down 21 English aircraft in April. He was therefore responsible for a quarter of all aircraft attributed to his unit and a tenth of the RFC's total losses. His first April casualty was an BE 2, which he pursued just above the ground until an English machine crashed at full speed into a house. Its observer fired his guns to the last moment.


Manfred wrote about it: "It was another instance of their great courage. They defended themselves to the end."


This and similar engagements greatly influenced Manfred's view of the British airmen: "A great deal depends on what opponent you are up against, whether you have the fearful French or the sharp fellows - the English... A Frenchman will avoid a fight, an Englishman never will."

It is a fact that the French were much more cautious and also had better machines than their allies at the time. That's also why they suffered far fewer casualties on the Aisne. Because of the less aggressive nature of the French pilots, the German airmen considered their deployment to the French section of the front as a kind of rest.


On 8 April, Richthofen was promoted to the rank of Rittmeister (Captain - a cavalry rank. For other troop types it corresponds to the rank of Hauptmann), he was thus a lieutenant for just over two weeks. By mid-April, Richthofen had already scored 45 victories, surpassing even the able French ace Guynemer, who had 36 kills at the time, and his great mentor Boelcke.


During this same period, Richthofen's aircraft became less conspicuous. His subordinates convinced him that his distinctive aircraft was too attractive a target. Therefore, all the aircraft were painted red Jasta 11. However, only Manfred's machine was all-red. The other pilots still had different coloured accessories on their planes.


On May 1, after achieving 52 victories, Manfred went on leave and put his brother Lothar, who had 16 kills at the time, in command of Jasta 11. On 1 May, Schäfer was awarded the Pour le Mérite. Wolff was awarded the same decoration on 4 May. Lothar himself had increased his number of victories to 24 by 13 May, but was severely injured the same day and had to be hospitalized. A day later, Pour le Mérite was also awarded. After his injury, Jasta 11 Karl Allmenröder took command. He won the Pour le Mérite on 14 June 1917. But times were changing...


Allied strikes carried out in the spring of 1917 had little success and left the French army on the brink of mutiny. In an attempt to ease the situation for the French, the British launched a series of attacks in Flanders. One of these was the Ypres offensive. Air operations carried out in connection with this offensive were gaining in intensity.


British fighter units began to badly press the German fighters. Their numbers continued to increase and pilot training improved, a consequence of the nightmare that Bloody April was for the RFC. If at the beginning of the year British fighter pilots arriving at the front often had less than 20 hours flying time, by the summer the mandatory minimum was 48 hours. New British fighters were also thrust onto the battlefield, most notably the SE 5a and Sopwith Camel, designed to turn the tide in favour of the Allies.


The first of these, the SE 5 and its later modification, the SE 5a, appeared over the trenches in late April 1917. This aircraft became the Royal British Factory's most successful design. It was equipped with a stationary engine with an in-line cylinder arrangement. A version of the SE 5 had a 150 hp engine, and later modifications of the SE 5a were given an even more powerful 50 hp engine.


The SE 5 and 5a became the fastest fighters in service at the time. They were high-performance machines, with performance meaning initiative being the most practical value in any fight. The aircraft were quite heavy, which, combined with the unusually high lift of the airframes, made them less maneuverable, but this deficiency was compensated for by their high speed and perfect maneuverability at all altitudes and modes of flight. In addition, the pilots greatly appreciated the excellent visibility and stability when firing. Strong armament consisted of one Vickers synchronized machine gun and one Lewis mounted on the upper carrier. The SE 5a had superior vertical manoeuvre over all German aircraft and, if well piloted, became formidable enemies to German pilots.

The Sopwith Camel arrived at the front in late June and quickly became the sovereign of aerial combat. By the end of the war, the type was credited with 1,294 kills, the most kills achieved by a single aircraft type, with 5,490 produced. It was powered by a 150 hp rotary engine (unlike conventional inline engines where the cylinder pistons rotate around a common crankshaft, the rotary engine's cylinders rotate around a common crankshaft, which is non-movable. This means that the rotary engine is rigidly coupled to the propeller and rotates with it. The advantage of this design arrangement was lower weight and easier air cooling. The disadvantage was a certain performance ceiling, which was impossible to get over with this type of engine. Therefore, at the end of the war, such engines had to give way to water-cooled engines with an in-line cylinder arrangement, which, although much heavier, were also much more powerful. Another disadvantage was the large gyroscopic effect. The huge mass of the rotating engine tended to deflect the aircraft considerably in the direction of rotation, i.e. mostly to the right. This torque was deadly for inexperienced pilots, but aviators with sufficient experience used this peculiarity to make extremely sharp turns. The Camel itself turned right "on a dime", and in the time it took the Albatross to make two turns, the Camel managed three). It was heavily armed with two synchronised 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns, making it the first British fighter to match the German machines in this respect.


Camel was, due to the enormous torque of its rotary engine, very unstable, which on the one hand increased maneuverability and made it easier to quickly bring the aircraft into a maneuver, but on the other hand, it was in constant danger of falling into a corkscrew. In the hands of experienced pilots the Camel became an extremely dangerous opponent, while in the hands of those less knowledgeable it turned into a death trap. To master this highly maneuverable aircraft meant three months of painstaking flying, at the end of which the pilot was either a corpse, a bundle of nerves, or a terror to his enemies. The reward for any aviator who could master the machine was very sharp turns and excellent climbability. The only drawback of the aeroplane was its relatively low speed, which usually gave the British no choice whether or not to accept combat.


By the time British forces attempted to break through the German lines, Manfred von Richthofen was recalled from leave (General von Ludendorff at the time valued Richthofen's presence at the front at three infantry divisions) and returned to the front on 17 June. He was immediately put in charge of implementing the new German strategy. His task was to assemble the first fighter squadron - Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1). It was a mobile unit consisting of four Jasta fighter squadrons 4, 6, 10 and 11. The unit was formed on 22 June 1917 and was tasked with operational deployment in the most critical sections of the battle line. To this end she used tents and collapsible wooden hangars, which allowed her to use both automobile and rail transport. The high agility and brightly colored aircraft of JG 1 caused the unit to be known as "Richthofen's" or also "Flying Circus" on the other side of the front.

Manfred, who now commanded JG 1, handed command of Jasta 11 to Allmenröder and shot down four more Englishmen by the end of June. However, the successes were redeemed by heavy losses. On 5 June, Karl - Emil Schäfer was killed in aerial combat. On 27 June, Allmenröder was shot down and killed. Both pilots fell after achieving 30 victories. The command of Jasta 11 was given to Kurt Wolff.

On 6 July 1917, Rittmeister M. von Richthofen was wounded in an attack on British FE 2. Incredibly, his gunner managed to hit Manfred at 270 meters with a single shot to the head. The bullet lodged in his skull and Richthofen lost consciousness. Fortunately, he regained consciousness at an altitude of 150 m and, although he could hardly see, managed to make an emergency landing. He was immediately transferred to Field Hospital 76 in Courtrai, where he remained until 25 July. Even after his discharge, however, Richthofen did not feel well. He complained of constant fatigue, headaches and dizziness. Nevertheless, he continued to fight. He returned to operational flying in mid-August.


On August 21, JG 1 received a completely new type of aircraft. These were two tri-plane Fokker F.I. These machines became the pre-production examples of the later famous Fokker Dr.I. Their development was provoked by the success of the British Sopwith Triplane. These exquisite aircraft appeared over the front in February 1917. They were extremely manoeuvrable, climbed superbly and in all respects immediately proved their superiority over the German Albatrosses.


The Triplane was armed with only one machine gun (except for a few machines that had two machine guns), which somewhat reduced its combat value, but it still posed a serious threat to the German air force. However, for various reasons the British did not deploy the aircraft in large numbers, and the combat career of this type was relatively short.


German pilots demanded an equally powerful aircraft, and the aircraft manufacturers in Germany were thus Idflieg (Inspektion der Fliegertruppen - Inspectorate of German Military Aviation. This office was responsible for the development and supply of new aircraft, engines and other aviation equipment) was asked to design and produce a triplane of similar quality.


The Fokker aircraft factory was the best at the task. The result of its efforts was a remarkable fighting machine. Like the Triplane, it was powered by a 110-horsepower rotary engine. The new Fokker was armed with two 7.92 mm Spandau synchronized machine guns. It was distinguished by its high agility and climbability, but its weakness was its low speed. However, its manoeuvring capabilities were superior to all Allied aircraft, including the Camel. Manfred himself said of it: "It climbs like a monkey and is agile as the devil!"


The first two Dreideckers (triplanes), serial numbers F.I 102/17 and F.I 103/17 were entrusted to two of Germany's best pilots at the time, Manfred von Richthofen and Werner Voss, winners of the Pour le Mérite and ace with 38 kills to their credit. The combination of top aircraft and pilots proved lethal. Both aces won victories on their first combat flights with the new aircraft.


Twenty-year-old Werner Voss, originally Jewish, enlisted, like Manfred, in the cavalry. This was before the war, in April 1914. He fought on the Eastern Front, where he was promoted to lance corporal in January 1915 and to sergeant in May of that year. At his own request, he was transferred to the Air Force on 1 August 1915 and sent to pilot school in September. He served as an observer in two-seat aircraft on the Eastern Front, later qualifying as an observation pilot. However, this was not very satisfying as he longed for a fighter.


By 28 March 1916 he was flying Fokkers for KEK 20 at Verdun. On 9 September 1916 was commissioned a lieutenant and sent to Boelcke's Jasta 2, where he met Manfred. They soon became good friends, as Manfred certainly never suffered from racial prejudice. Voss, on the other hand, had a pleasant disposition and his friends liked him. He treated the enemy as mercifully as possible. When he left his original unit of two-seaters, he was the last surviving member of its basic cadre. Because he had seen so many of his comrades here go down in flames, he felt such compassion for the crews of enemy two-seaters that he usually fired on the engine to give them a chance of survival. He was a marked individualist, a somewhat unusual thing in the German Air Force. He often went hunting all alone. Voss was distinctly a schoolboy type, constantly studying combat reports and learning from his own mistakes and those of his comrades and enemies. He was considered by some German aces (e.g. Josef Jacobs - 47 victories) to be the best German pilot ever. He won his first two victories (two at once!) on November 27, 1916.


By the end of March 1917 his score was already 22 kills, making him the most successful fighter of Jasta Boelcke. On 8 April 1917 he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. After his 28th victory on 9/5 1917, he became commander of his own unit, Jasta 5. He later commanded successively Jasta units 29 and 14. By the time he was given command of one of the first Fokker triplanes, he was commanding Jasta 10, armed with Pfalzy D. III, where he had come at the request of Manfred von Richthofen.

On the first day of September, Manfred received his 60th kill, shooting down a Sopwith Pup on 3 September. The fighting was so hectic that Richthofen did not even find time to have his 61st cup made by his Berlin jeweller.


Von Richthofen, however, no longer found as much pleasure in flying as before. This was probably the result of a head injury which left a bone fragment in his cranial cavity.


"I feel terrible after every aerial fight. It's probably the aftermath of a head injury. As soon as I step out of the plane onto solid ground, I try to get between my four walls, not wanting to see anyone or hear anything," he wrote about it in his memoir.


On Sept. 6, Richthofen went on medical leave and the new Dreidecker handed over to Lt. Wolff. He was appointed Oberleutnant (lieutenant) on 12 September and on 15 September was killed in the wreckage of a Fokker F.I during a battle with the new British fighters Sopwith Camel.


Eight days later, on September 23, 1917, a second triplane was also lost when Lt. Werner Voss, already a forty-eight-time winner in aerial combat, lost his spectacular battle with seven planes of the SE 5a of the 56th Squadron. The British squadron was led by James McCudden,VC (57 kills). During the fierce combat, Voss managed to damage (some severely) all enemy aircraft, while he himself was seemingly invulnerable. He performed incredible turns and maneuvers with his triplane, but was eventually shot down and killed by Lieutenant Arthur Rhys-Davids (23 victories). According to the testimony of British pilots, Voss could have disengaged from the fight at any time, but he did not, and his decision to remain in combat proved fatal. Voss's Fokker crashed on the British side of the front, and it was here that Werner Voss was also buried by the British, without a coffin or military honours, like so many other soldiers in the midst of battle.


These sad events seemed to foreshadow the future course of the air war on the Western Front. The British began to gain numerical and technical superiority, and their pilots increasingly asserted themselves against their opponents in combat. The German air force suffered heavy losses. Among the dead were many distinguished air aces. On 26 June, more than a hundred aircraft fought a single dogfight over Ypres. The craft of air warfare had become a deadly business, and easy victories were practically non-existent. Manfred von Richthofen felt it too: "The fight, which is taking place on all fronts, has become damned serious. There is nothing left of the 'fresh, joyful war', as we called our activities at first. Now we must desperately defend ourselves everywhere to prevent the enemy from entering our homeland... Everything is much more serious, much harder..."

The Ypres offensive stalled in October 1917. After heavy losses, it was finally finally halted on 10 November. It seemed the ground fighting was over for the year 1917. But the British decided to play their last card. On November 20, they launched a surprise attack on Cambrai. Under a screen of artillery fire, the British pushed forward with 374 tanks, with another 102 tanks in reserve and 300 aircraft in support. After heavy losses at the Battle of Ypres, however, the British were unable to provide the tanks with sufficient infantry support. The German lines completely collapsed in several places, but the British, themselves caught off guard by the sudden prospect of a breakthrough, failed to take advantage of the success. This gave the Germans time to organise their defences, and thanks to the tremendous courage of the German troops, particularly in the Bourlon Forest area, the British attack was halted.


The heroes of this battle were the German artillerymen, who posed a deadly danger to the enemy tanks, often firing their guns to the last moment until the tanks overran them. At the end of the first day of the battle, the British had lost 65 tanks, 71 had been damaged and 43 were stuck in the trenches. The British continued to strike until 25 November, but although they achieved some partial successes, the opportunity for a decisive breakthrough had already passed. They subsequently tried to break through the British lines as well, but fresh British reinforcements halted the German offensive, and on 6 December, after several days of indecisive fighting, the battle ceased. Both sides took up their original positions...


The aerial fighting over Cambrai was, of course, no easier than on the ground. Especially over Bourlon Woods, the focal point of the battle, large formations of aircraft were engaged. On 21 November, JG 1 also rushed into the battle area. Von Richthofen shot down two British machines there, but it was clear that he was still not in good shape after his injury. From the beginning of September until the end of the year, he shot down only four aircraft.


The situation for the German pilots was further complicated by the fact that they could not fly the triplane Fokkers.On 30 October, he crashed his Dr.I Leutnant Heinrich Gontermann, Staffelführer (Squadron Leader) of Jasta 15, an ace with 39 kills to his credit and a specialist in destroying enemy tethered balloons (18 balloons out of a total of 18 victories), and died of his injuries. The upper wing of his triplane collapsed. The very next day, a pilot from Jasta 11 killed himself under similar circumstances. His machine's upper airframe also collapsed.


Air Force Headquarters immediately banned all Dr.I's from flying and also appointed a commission to investigate the causes of both accidents. It turned out that the wing had insufficient structural strength in the aft section. Thus, improvements were made in the design and all operationally deployed Dr.I were sent back to the factory for wing replacements. On 28 November, Anthony Fokker was notified that deliveries of production machines could begin again, but the first aircraft did not arrive at the front until sometime in late December 1917.


In early 1918, Manfred von Richthofen showed little interest in expanding his combat account. Instead of shooting down enemy aircraft, he now directed all his energy to training his pilots. He did not realize how much he resembled his great teacher Oswald Boelcke. He, too, built on a foundation of strong belief in saving the German Empire. Richthofen increasingly stressed the need to preserve the fighting spirit. To his pilots he kept stressing: "The decisive factor in achieving victory is simply personal courage."

It was not until March that he again plunged into battle at the head of his airmen. German troops were about to launch their final offensive.


After the Battle of Cambrai, the winter of 1917/18 passed without drama. Russia, wracked by revolution, concluded the 3rd. March 1918 peace with the Central Powers. This allowed the Germans to move divisions from the east to the western front. The Germans intended to strike before strong US Army formations landed in Europe. Although the U.S. had declared neutrality at the beginning of the war, German submarine warfare and attempts by German diplomats to provoke a war between the United States and Japan or Mexico caused the U.S. to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.


The German General Staff knew, of course, that the situation was desperate. German artillery had stopped pushing forward for lack of ammunition, supplies of materiel and supplies had reached a low point, and in the rear, increasing food shortages were forcing civilians into complete destitution. The aim of the offensive was not to win, nor was that even possible in the present conditions. Its success was only to give the Germans an advantage in the coming peace negotiations.


The direction of the strike was planned between the towns of Arras, Saint-Quentin and La Fére, because here the English fortifications were weak and, moreover, the French troops were in contact with the English. The Germans wanted to try to separate them from each other.


The offensive was launched on 21 March 1918. Hidden in the fog, German assault troops broke through the British positions. The British retreat and the line is torn. The British retreat to their bases on the English Channel. On the first day of the battle, the British lose 38,000 men, 532 guns and are pushed back 15km.


The Royal Air Force was thrown into the battle with the task of turning the tide. Pilots were ordered to attack everything they saw and fly very low regardless of the risk. The British airmen went into battle with great determination, courage and confidence. Almost all the British squadrons now had better machines than the German squadrons. The training of British pilots was already of a high quality and the British, under the command of experienced commanders, boldly went into battle.


The situation was critical, however. In places the front line had retreated even beyond the position of 1916. There is already a considerable gap between the French and British armies. The German general staff, detached from reality, changed its original sober plan and decided to strike a final victorious blow. The German troops, who had been pushing the British to the sea, turned on Paris. This gave the British troops time to catch their breath and counterattack.


The activity of the Royal Air Force was beginning to reach its peak. Although losses due to ground fire continued to mount, British airmen took off again and again, continuously strafing the advancing wedges of the German attack formations. They returned to the airfields in horribly shot-up aircraft, yet with a heroism bordering on self-sacrifice they still threw themselves into action and made a decisive difference to the course of the battle. The German army, not very mobile and without tanks, had to halt its advance under frequent air attacks. The promised reinforcements never came. In fact, the plan of the offensive included divisions released from Russian captivity. However, the Trans-Siberian Highway was occupied by Czechoslovak Legionnaires at the time, thus preventing the influx of German reinforcements from the east.


The German air force completely failed in this offensive. Until then it had fought exclusively on the defensive, and now that the ground troops desperately needed its support, it was unable to rethink its defensive tactics and adapt to offensive operations.


The fierce fighting lasted until 25 April 1918, when the Germans broke off the offensive. Although the German troops penetrated as far as 60 km in places, although the Germans captured 90,000 Allied soldiers in the fighting, and their artillery stood almost at the gates of Paris, the chance of victory was irretrievably lost.


Manfred von Richthofen did not slack off during the offensive. From mid-March to 19 April he increased his score from 63 victories to 78. By this time, Richthofen was flying exclusively Dr.I. Fokkers His last machine was painted red on all surfaces. There was much celebrating and drinking after the landing that day. Richthofen seemed happy; a jubilant again after so many months.


The following day was Sunday, April 21, 1918. A powerful formation of more than 20 Fokker triplanes and D.V. Albatrosses from Jasta 11 and Jasta 5 plied the air. At the head of this massive formation was, of course, Manfred von Richthofen. Around 10:30 in the morning, Richthofen registered a pair of reconnaissance R.E.8 and gave the signal to attack. However, the German formation was attacked by a patrol of 15 British Camels from the 209th Squadron RAF (on 1 April, the Army and Navy's air services, the RFC and RNAS, merged into a single unit named the Royal Air Force). Arthur Roy Brown, at the time an ace with 9 kills. His squadron included his classmate and friend Lt. Wilfred Reid May, a rookie at the time who had just completed pilot training (he was returning home to Canada at the end of the war as an ace with 13 kills). Brown signaled to the inexperienced May to stay away and give his squadron the command to attack. In the next few seconds, a furious aerial battle was unleashed. During the fierce battle, an impatient May couldn't hold out and wasted all his ammunition by unsuccessfully strafing the enemies flying around. After a few minutes, he headed for his own lines with his machine guns jammed. At that moment Manfred von Richthofen spotted him and, suspecting easy prey, rushed after him.

Brown registered this and, rushing to his friend's aid, hung onto the red triplane's tail. May was desperately swinging his Camel from side to side, and so Richthofen, firing burst after burst, failed to register any hits. Richthofen had no idea of the Brown behind him, and chasing May he drove very low and deeper into Allied territory. He realized this and tried to break away with a right climbing turn. This last fatal rudder movement may also have been initiated by the breaking of the firing pin of one gun and the subsequent jamming of the other. It was then that Brown got into an advantageous position and a burst of machine gun fire hit the rudders and hull of Red Dreidecker. The triplane crashed on the ground near the Corbie-Bray road. Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, recipient of the Order of Pour le Mérite, eighty times victorious in aerial combat, Germany's most successful fighter, national hero and crowd favourite, was found dead in the wreckage of his aircraft.


At the same time as Brown, Australian infantry ground gunners fired on the red triplane, so there were several reports claiming he had been shot down. Manfred was hit by a single bullet, which entered the body through the left lower back, penetrated the heart and exited through the chest. Such a wound would be consistent in nature with a ground shot. Officially, however, the kill was awarded to Brown as his tenth (and final) aerial victory. It was probably partly a political decision, as the RAF became the vanquisher of Germany's greatest ace, and victory over the dreaded Red Baron was thus a hugely prestigious affair for the newly formed air force. It should be noted, however, that Brown would have been credited with the kill anyway, regardless of who actually killed Manfred.


A day later, the respected enemy was given a funeral by the British with full military honours. As the coffin containing Richthofen's body was lowered into the grave, British planes circled over the cemetery. The British then informed the German side and sent Richthofen's family a precise description of the funeral ceremony and a photograph of Manfred's grave.


On April 24, the terrible news was made public in an official communiqué from the German General Staff:"Rittmeister Freiherr von Richthofen did not return while pursuing the enemy over the Somme battlefield. According to the English report, he was killed."

Sources:


HPM 4/1993
Manfred von Richthofen: The Red Airman, published by. Revi Publications, Ostrava 1997, ISBN 80-85957-02-7
R. Townshend Bickers: Von Richthofen, published by Jota, Brno 1997, ISBN 80-7217-014-7
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#25898 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Doplňuji tři fotografie vztahující se k mému článku o Richthofenovi.


Na prvním obrázku jsou seřazeny letouny Jasta 11 zřejmě společně se stroji Jasty 12 pravděpodobně na Roucortském letišti kolem poloviny dubna 1917. První stroj je údajně Krefftův, druhý je s jistotou Richthofenův, třetí Wollfův a čtvrtý Schäferův.


Na druhém snímku jsou piloti Jasty 11 po sestřelení 100 spojeneckého letounu. V kokpitu "Der Rote Vogel" - Rudého ptáka sedí Mannfred von Richthofen. Stojící zleva Allmenröder, Hintsch, Festner, Schäfer, Wolff, Simon, Brauneck. Sedící zleva Esser, Krefft, zcela vpředu Lothar von Richthofen. Letiště Roucourt 23. 4. 1917.


Na závěr "velký a malý bratr". Jak se to ovšem vezme, "velký" bratr Manfred stojí vlevo a "malý" bratr Lothar je tedy ve skutečnosti vyšší než jeho bratr. Lothar byl o dva roky mladší než Manfred, na počátku války sloužil též u jezdectva, posléze se na radu svého bratra nechal převelet k letectvu. Byl zařazen právě k Manfredově Jasta 11. Velmi dobře se od staršího bratra naučil stíhacímu řemeslu, neboť do konce války dosáhl přesně poloviny Manfredova skóre - 40 sestřelů. Nebylo to právě málo, protože byl v průběhu války třikrát velmi těžce raněn, což jej na dlouhou dobu vyřazovalo z bojové činnosti. Válku přežil, nicméně zahynul roku 1922 při letecké havárii.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#62966 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Trosky Fokkeru Dr. I Červeného baróna nafotené v deń jeho zostrelu.


zdroj: en.wikipedia.org
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#232352 Version : 0
Richthofenův Fokker Dreidecker in which he was 21. April 1918 shot down and killed, shortly after he took the australian hunters of souvenirs of the "attack". All the canvas is stripped and left only the bare skeleton.
Richthofen, Manfred von - Zachovala část plátna ze směrovky Richthofenova trojplošníku

Zachovala část plátna ze směrovky Richthofenova trojplošníku
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608735 Version : 0
Postmortem photos of the most successful air aces of 1. World war, Manfred "free lord" von Richthofen, known as "the Red baron", taken approximately an hour after his downing..
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608737 Version : 0
The funeral and the grave of Manfred von Richthofen, known as "the Red baron". He was buried in the cemetery at Bertangles near Amiens in northern France with full military honors 22. April 1918, the day after its downing, the australian troops who shot him down. Was taken film footage of his funeral, which is here in the link: airwar19141918.wordpress.com.
Richthofen, Manfred von - Po válce byl jeho hrob převezen do vlasti

Po válce byl jeho hrob převezen do vlasti
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608739 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

British soldiers bury Baron Manfred von Richthofen, 'their famous enemy air-warrior', at Bertangles, Western Front, 22nd April 1918.

The most famous German ace of the war, Richthofen was shot and killed during a dogfight on 21 April 1918.

© IWM (IWM 661b) pic.twitter.com/FXYS31CdTA
— Imperial War Museums (@I_W_M) January 18, 2024
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#746680 Version : 0

Diskuse

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Já mám osobně za to, že se Richthofen nechal inspirovat Navarrem, jenž měl červeně natreny Nieuport 11 během bitvy o Verdun, v té době létal rudý baron ještě jako pozorovatel, tehdy Navarre šířil mezi Němci strach a zřejmě se tou aurou strachu nechal částečně inspirovat
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608615 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

.
Richthofen, Manfred von - Manfred von Richthofen se svým otcem,
Hlavu má obvazanou po střelném zranění z 6. Července 1917.

Manfred von Richthofen se svým otcem,
Hlavu má obvazanou po střelném zranění z 6. Července 1917.

Richthofen, Manfred von - Letecká kukla kterou měl 6. Července 1917 na hlavě když ho zasáhl zadní střelec FE 2 na 270 metrů!

Letecká kukla kterou měl 6. Července 1917 na hlavě když ho zasáhl zadní střelec FE 2 na 270 metrů!
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608728 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

.
Richthofen, Manfred von - Letecké boty 
Manfreda von Richthofena v leteckém muzeu v Canberrě v Austrálii

Letecké boty
Manfreda von Richthofena v leteckém muzeu v Canberrě v Austrálii

Richthofen, Manfred von - Zde Richthofen nastupuje do albatrosu s výše zmíněnýma botama

Zde Richthofen nastupuje do albatrosu s výše zmíněnýma botama
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608733 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Podoba stíhacích letadel s nimiž létal rudý baron
Chronologický popis podle sestřelů:
Fokker Eindecker III - jaro 1916, žádný sestřel, havaroval.
Albatros D.I - (nevyobrazen, podobná kamufláž jako D.II) 1.-3. sestřel.
Albatros D.II 491/16 - 4.-16. sestřel, s tímto strojem porazil Lanoe Hawkera a za 16. sestřel získal "Modrého Maxe" Pour le Merité.
Halberstadt D.II - 19. sestřel.
Albatros D.III 589/17 - 37.-53. sestřel.
Albatros D.V 1177/17 - 54.-57. sestřel.
Albatros D.V 4693/17 a 1033/17 - 58.-59. sestřel na 4693/17, na 1033/17 zraněn, nouzové přistání 6. Července 1917.
Fokker F.1 102/17 - prototyp Fokkeru Dr.I, 60.-61. sestřel, během Richthofenova pobytu na dovolené v něm byl sestřelen a zabit Kurt Wolf (33 sestřelů, Pour le Merité) 15. září 1917.
Albatros D.V 2059/17 - 62.-63. sestřel.
Fokker Dr.I 152/17 - březen 1918 - 64.-66. sestřel.
Fokker Dr.I 477/17 - duben 1918 - 67.-78. sestřel.
Fokker Dr.I 425/17 - duben 1918 - 79.-80. sestřel. V tomto stroji 21. Dubna 1918 Rudý baron zahynul.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#608751 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Citace - Jirka Cooper :

Já mám osobně za to, že se Richthofen nechal inspirovat Navarrem, jenž měl červeně natreny Nieuport 11 během bitvy o Verdun, v té době létal rudý baron ještě jako pozorovatel, tehdy Navarre šířil mezi Němci strach a zřejmě se tou aurou strachu nechal částečně inspirovat


Možné to samozřejmě je, ale neexistuje pro to žádný důkaz. Richthofen se o Navarrovi ve svých pamětech nikdy nezmínil, popravdě není vůbec jisté, že o něm kdy slyšel. To jak se piloti navzájem znali jmény a poznali se podle letadel je dnes součástí legendy, ale upřímně tomu tak úplně nevěřím. Vůbec tvrzení, že Navarre šířil mezi Němci strach je těžko doložitelné, na žádnou zmínku některého německého pilota, že by měli obavy z Navarra (třeba tak jak psal Udet o Guynemerovi) jsem nikdy nenarazil.

Ke zbarvení "Der Rote Vogel" Richthofen sám udává: "jednoho dne mne z nějakých důvodů napadlo, že si namaluji svoji "bednu" křiklavě čevenou. Účinek? Můj červený pták se svojí nápadností přímo vnucoval."

Jeho bratr Lothar k tomu dodal: "Jak přišel Rittmeister Richthofen na nápad natřít bednu na červeno? (...) Když začal Manfred dosahovat v Boelckově stíhací letce první úspěchy, mrzelo ho, že ho nepřátelé ve vzdušném boji viděli příliš brzy. Chtěl, aby se pomocí různých barev stal pokud možno neviditelným. Mimo jiné natřel letadlo také barvou země tak, že by se shora nedalo rozeznat, kdyby se nepohybovalo. Manfred ke svému zklamání poznal, že barva nepomáhá. (...) Vybral si tedy jasně červenou barvu, aby byl alespoň svými kamarády jako velitel vždy rozeznán..."
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#609217 Version : 0

This post has not been translated to English yet. Please use the TRANSLATE button above to see machine translation of this post.

Přiznávam, neměl sem k tomu žádný důkaz, jen zmínku na webové stránce o Jeanu Navarrovy, byla to čistě má domněnka Odkaz na stránku:
http://donhollway.com/jeannavarre/
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Richthofen-Manfred-von-t9105#609339 Version : 0
Discussion post Fact post
Attachments

Join us

We believe that there are people with different interests and experiences who could contribute their knowledge and ideas. If you love military history and have experience in historical research, writing articles, editing text, moderating, creating images, graphics or videos, or simply have a desire to contribute to our unique system, you can join us and help us create content that will be interesting and beneficial to other readers.

Find out more