Capt. Manfred von Richterhofen, also known as the Red Baron, was the greatest fighter pilot of world war I.
If you're not impressed with the name Manfred von Richterhofen, it's probably because you're more familiar with the World War I flying master with his more famous nickname, the Red Baron. For 18 months, the Red Baron flew his bright red biplane, symbolizing the might of the German army. Between September 1916 and April 1918, he shot down more enemy aircraft than any other World War I pilot.
The Red Baron was a true Baron: he was born in 1892 into a Prussian aristocratic family. At the age of 11, he entered a top military school and, after 8 years as a cadet, he became an officer in the Prussian army. He was initially a member of the cavalry unit, but after military innovations during world war I, which rendered the cavalry unit largely ineffective, von Richterhofen was transferred to a supply unit. Frustrated by the transfer, he would soon request a transfer to the Reich Army Air Service and begin flight training in May 1915.
Von Richterhofen trained under the guidance of the famous German flying master, Oswald Boelcke, who played an important role in the young pilot's confidence and ultimate excellence. On September 17, 1916, after he shot down a British plane flying over France, he recorded his first confirmed killing record, and soon shot down four more planes, earning him the title of "Master Flyer". By the end of the year, he had shot down a total of 16 aircraft, making him the highest-scoring ace in the German army and receiving Germany's most prestigious military honor, the Order of the Blue Max.
In January 1917, von Richterhofen was appointed commander of his own flying squadron, known as "Jasta 11 Squadron", in which he assembled the best flying talents, including his brother Lothar von Richterhofen. He also demanded that his Albatross D111 fighter be repainted in crimson to intimidate the enemy, which also led to his famous nickname. In the spring of 1917, his military operations reached their peak, and in April alone he shot down more than 20 Allied aircraft, and by the end of the year he had killed a total of 52 men. The German army soon took advantage of his growing reputation as a folk legend, awarding him more and more military medals and turning every ceremony into a photo opportunity.
In June 1917, the "Red Baron" was sent to command a new squadron, the new squadron was named: Jagdgeschwader 1, but the media referred to it as the "Flying Circus" because all the planes were painted in bright colors and could be quickly transferred to where they were needed, when needed. Ironically, while other squadrons used aerobatics to confuse their opponents, von Richthofen's team chose no acrobatics in favor of a more conservative approach to ambushes.
Although the Red Baron seemed invincible, he also escaped death a few times. But on April 21, 1918, when his flying circus encountered a squadron of British aircraft over Vox-sur-Somme in France, he encountered an opportunity to meet with death. The battle was fierce, and in the pursuit of a British plane, von Richterhoven swooped to the ground, putting him within range of the Australian machine gunners' forces on the ground, though military historians are still debating whether they were british or Canadian pilots who eventually killed von Richterhofen. Anyway, he was shot through his body and crashed into a nearby field, and then the mighty Red Baron left the sky and the world.