Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was a German fighter pilot and navigator, widely regarded as the most successful combat aviator of World War I. Credited with shooting down eighty enemy aircraft, he became one of the greatest fighter aces in history. Because of his distinctive red-painted aircraft, he was famously known as the “Red Baron.”

Manfred von Richthofen was born on May 2, 1892, in Breslau, Germany, into a Prussian aristocratic family. His father was Albrecht Philipp Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen, the governor of Kleinburg, and his mother was Kunigunde von Schickfuss und Neudorff. He was the second child in a family of four, with one older sister and two younger brothers.

Alongside formal schooling, Richthofen received private education at home and began military training at the age of eleven. At the outbreak of World War I, he was serving in a cavalry unit. However, as barbed wire and machine guns rendered traditional cavalry tactics ineffective, he applied for a transfer to the Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (German Imperial Air Service).

Richthofen joined the air service in March 1915. Until August of that year, he served as an observer on reconnaissance missions along the Western Front. While stationed in the Champagne region, he succeeded in shooting down a French Farman aircraft using a light machine gun mounted in the observer’s position. Because the aircraft fell behind enemy lines and its destruction could not be officially confirmed, the victory was not recorded in military reports.

In 1916, Richthofen began flying as a fighter pilot, initially operating the Jasta 2 unit. He achieved his first confirmed aerial victory over the French front and was awarded a silver cup for the achievement. During this period, he frequently flew alongside his brother Lothar von Richthofen, who was also a successful combat pilot.

Although not known as an aerobatic virtuoso, Richthofen was renowned as a tactical expert and an exceptional marksman. Unlike many pilots who engaged in turning dogfights, he favored a simple yet highly effective tactic: attacking from above in a steep dive, positioning the sun behind him to blind his opponent before delivering a precise and lethal attack.

One of the engagements that elevated Richthofen to legendary status was his duel with British ace Lanoe Hawker. On November 23, 1916, Richthofen shot down and killed Hawker, a highly decorated pilot and recipient of the Victoria Cross.

In 1917, after achieving his sixteenth confirmed aerial victory, Richthofen was awarded Germany’s highest military decoration of the era, the Pour le Mérite. During May 1917—known as “Bloody May,” the most intense month of aerial combat in the war—he destroyed twenty-two enemy aircraft in a single month, cementing his reputation as the war’s most successful fighter pilot.

On July 6, 1917, near Wervicq, Richthofen’s aircraft was severely damaged during combat, and he was seriously wounded. Despite briefly losing consciousness, he managed to regain control and land his plane. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was forced to suspend active combat duty for a time. During his recovery, he worked with the German propaganda department and wrote his autobiography, Der Rote Kampfflieger (“The Red Fighter Pilot”), intended to boost the morale of German soldiers.

Manfred von Richthofen was killed on April 21, 1918, during a reconnaissance flight over the Morlancourt area. It was confirmed that a single .303 caliber bullet caused his death, though the identity of the person who fired the fatal shot was never conclusively determined.

Throughout his active service, Richthofen was given numerous nicknames, including “The Red Baron,” “Der Rote Kampfflieger,” “Le Diable Rouge” (The Red Devil), and “The Red Knight.” The most enduring of these, “The Red Baron,” derived from his inherited noble title (Freiherr, or Baron) and his iconic red-painted Fokker Dr.I triplane, which became one of the most recognizable aircraft of World War I.

Manfred von Richthofen remains an enduring symbol of aerial warfare, discipline, and tactical brilliance, and his legacy continues to define the archetype of the fighter ace in military history.

Source: Biyografiler.com