Although the German Air Force, largely thanks to the daring talents of the von Richthofen and his squadron, established dominance in the air, the War on the ground was not developing well for the Central Powers. As the year 1917 came to a close the fortunes of the Central Powers were waning and in early 1918 matters worsened as they lost their best aviator in the form of von Richthofen. The details of how von Richthofen lost his life are debated but the fact that it occurred on the morning after he registered his 80th aerial kill is not. The German high command had been urging von Richthofen to retire from combat and to retire to a desk position but, at the tender age of 26, von Richthofen was not ready to do so. As a result of his reluctance to retire, Germany and the Central Powers lost a great hero.
The path to greatness for von Richthofen was an unusual one. Although he came from a strong military background, his father being a major in the German army, he was not a traditionally trained aviator. His military career began in the German cavalry but when it appeared to him that the future of the cavalry was limited due to changes in military strategy von Richthefon became interested in the rapidly developing Air Force. Without ever having been formally trained as a flyer until the War had already begun, von Richthofen quickly developed his flying skills to become the War's greatest aviator.
The aircraft that was most closely associated...
Although von Richthenof alternated using the Fokker triplane with the Albatross model, most depictions of him have been with the triplane. Oddly, the red color that von Richthenof adopted for his plane was done to make it easily identifiable it turned out to be an defensive measure as well as the red color made it somehow difficult for opposing aviators to focus their guns on von Richthenof. The reasons for this have never been explained but fear caused by the sight of his all red plane must have been a major part of it.
The importance of von Richthenof to the German war effort in the spring of 1918 is hard to measure. The War was already going poorly for the Central Powers and the loss of their greatest hero had to have a demoralizing effect. Part of the reason that the German high command had requested that von Richthenof retire to a desk job was to protect their hero. His death came as a terrible blow to the German army and people. Only 26 years old at the time of his death, von Richthenof was a hero in life but in death he quickly became a legend; a legend that ultimately became immortalized in song and cartoons.
Works Cited
Franks, N. (2001). Fokker Dr. I Aces of World War I. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
Kilduff, P. (2000). Richthofen: Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron. London: Brockhampton Press.
King, H.…
