April 21: On This Day in World History … briefly
There has been considerable discussion and debate regarding aspects of his career, especially the circumstances of his death. He remains one of the most widely known fighter pilots of all time, and has been the subject of many books, films and other media.
1918: Red Baron runs out of luck
The most feared fighter pilot of World War I, Germany’s Baron Manfred von Richthofen is killed – shot by a single bullet. Competing claims for the deed were received from a Canadian pilot of 209 Squadron, Roy Brown, as well as from British and Australian ground artillery.
A report was also received from an observer of a British reconnaissance plane who allegedly fired on a German in a scarlet plane when he passed him. By the time of his death, the Baron had notched up 80 ‘kills’, most of them British.
Von Richthofen’s passion for shooting down enemy airmen was said to have been assuaged for 15 minutes by each ‘kill’. It is doubtful that his victims would draw any consolation from the fact that the Baron would order a silver trophy for each plane shot down.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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