Manfred Von Richthofen: The Man and the Aircrafthe Flew

This book does not pretend to be a detailed biography of Manfred von Richthofen, the famous "Red Baron" of the German airforce in the First World War. Nevertheless, it is very revealing, and the photography and illustration is wonderful--much of it in full color."Nothing happens without God's will," said von Richtofen, "This is the only consolation which we can put into our soul during this war."In modern warfare, all pretense at chivalry and knightly honor is gone. Not even a memory of it remains. Warriors kill their "enemy," both the enemy warriors and the civilian populations with impunity, at long distance, with detachment and clinical precision. In von Richthofen's time, at least in the beginning, it was different. Their airplanes were made of sticks and fabric stuck together with animal glue. Their guns were primitive, and to fly at all, regardless of enemies trying to kill you, was a dangerous proposition. They were the pioneers of aerial warfare, still clinging to the old traditions of the cavalry, and honor, and courage, and chivalry toward a vanquished ("unhorsed") enemy.Their commanders forbade the wearing of parachutes, thinking that it would encourage cowardice and the abandonment of the fight and their valuable aircraft. So, when the wings tore loose from the fuselage in a high-G maneuver, or when the aircraft burst into flames, the aviator's doom was sealed, and a horrible death resulted.On June 6th, 1917, Manfred von Richthofen was shot down and received a head wound, with which he was hospitalized. He returned to duty. On April 21st, 1918, less than a year later, Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen, intent upon shooting down Lt. May's Sopwith Camel, of the 209th Squadron of the RAF, was himself caught from behind by a burst of machine gun fire by Capt. A.R. Brown. Brown saw him stiffen as he saw the burst of tracer. He kept after his quarry, Lt. May, though, as Brown pulled up and clear. They flew behind the English lines at treetop level, May twisting and turning, and von Richthofen following each move with his red Fokker triplane. The Baron was hit by ground fire and landed his airplane, dead. He had been officially credited with 80 air-to-air kills, the largest number of any aviator on either side in the First World War.This is an interesting book, both for the insight into the Baron von Richthofen's character, and for the information included in it about World War One aircraft and tactics.Joseph Pierre

A quite extensive book for its size, many pictures of whom many are very good in quality. For people who want to know more about Manfred von Richthofen, but are not interested in lengthy books, this book is a brilliant chronological summary of his life and work .