Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen

Red Baron

At first glance most people would be surprised that I, an American, consider Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the legendary fighter pilot also known as the Red Baron, to be my hero. It’s expected that he would be my enemy because he fought for the Germans against the Allies in WW?. In reality however, he was very much respected and even admired by his enemies back during the war for his heroic characteristics.

Fokker Eindecker

Manfred von Richthofen was born in Breslau, Silesia in 1892. He grew up in a high-class society because his family was of nobility. They moved to Schweidnitz where he and his brother learned to hunt and ride horses. Manfred enjoyed these activities in particular a lot. The skills he developed in hunting greatly aided his success later as a pilot. For instance, he was excellent at stalking his prey, which he needed in flying while pursuing his enemies. His interest in horses also affected his future.

Albatros D.II

In 1911 he joined a Calvary unit and served as a scout on Germany’s borders during the war, but as the war escalated technology became more advanced. His Calvary unit grew obsolete. So, in 1915 he decided to change to Germany’s Flying Service. Starting as an observer he slowly worked his way up and was trained as a fighter pilot. His career flourished as his talents grew and he shot down many in single and double seater Albatross’, Fokker Eideckers, and Halberstadts. He didn’t fly his famous Fokker Dr. 1 triplane until nearly the end of his career. He was recorded to have around 80 victories at that time and had gained his respected title of “Red Baron”, due to his bright red colored planes and the fact that he was of nobility.

Fokker Dr.I triplane

In 1918 he was in pursuit of Wilfred May at a very low altitude over Allied ground and was being tailed by Roy Brown. Manfred got a fatal wound in his chest and managed to land before dying. The victory was given to Roy but he was probably shot from the ground by an anti-aircraft gunner.

Halberstadt

Part of what makes him a hero is how much respect he had for others but more importantly how much respect others had for him, including his enemies. When he died they gave him a full military funeral in France, which was Allied ground. He was greatly respected. Throughout Manfred’s life he showed traits of confidence, courage, excellent marksmanship and sacrifice. He was always confident in the face of danger and not only believed he could defeat his enemies but knew he would. There was no question in his mind. Also, he showed amazing courage when he returned to combat in October 1917 after having a serious head wound in a dogfight only a few months earlier. Besides good character qualities a hero must also have solid, physical skills and Manfred had excellent marksmanship. This is obvious looking at his 80 plus victories but it is even more spectacular than that when observing some battles. In a dogfight against the British flying ace Lanoe Hawker, Manfred used his flying skills and practiced marksmanship to bring him down. Last of all, Manfred was a perfect example of sacrifice. He devoted almost nine years of his life to the German Luftstreitkrafte and in the end he died for his country. That is great sacrifice.

Although Manfred von Richthofen had a short life he made it brilliant and accomplished amazing feats. He became the world’s most legendary fighter pilot and with respect, confidence, courage, marksmanship and sacrifice he became a true hero.