{"id":112467,"date":"2019-08-03T23:02:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T03:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=112467"},"modified":"2019-08-03T23:02:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T01:01:11","slug":"the-death-of-a-legend-baron-manfred-von-richthofen-the-vickers-that-may-have-killed-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-death-of-a-legend-baron-manfred-von-richthofen-the-vickers-that-may-have-killed-him\/","title":{"rendered":"The Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The
The death of Baron Manfred von Richthofen represented a seminal moment in the First World War. The details remain controversial even today. The chin wound seen in this post-mortem photograph stemmed from striking the butt of one of his Maxim guns when he crashed his Fokker Dr.I triplane. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The bullet was of .303-caliber and\nweighed 174 grains. It entered the man\u2019s chest underneath his\nright armpit, shattering the ninth rib. The projectile then yawed and tumbled\nthrough the right lung, shredding the associated pulmonary vasculature. The\nbullet subsequently tore through the anterior aspect of the heart and great\nvessels before exiting lateral the left nipple. Given the catastrophic damage,\nthe man\u2019s blood pressure dropped precipitously. He was unconscious in seconds\nand dead within a minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Red Baron was the most famous fighter pilot who ever lived. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The death of Baron Manfred Albrecht\nFreiherr von Richthofen on April 21, 1918, was and is shrouded in mystery.\nArguably the most popular fighter pilot who ever lived, von Richthofen was a\nvictim of his violent profession. Though only twenty-five when he died,\nRichthofen shot down eighty confirmed Allied aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Origin Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Here we see von Richthofen as a toddler. For some unfathomable reason, it was common at this time to dress all young children as girls. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manfred von Richthofen was technically Polish.\nBorn in Kleinburg near Breslau in western Poland, Manfred was the son of\nPrussian nobility. His father was Major Albrecht Phillipp Karl Julius Freiherr\nvon Richthofen, and he had an elder sister as well as two younger brothers. One\nof his brothers, Lothar, finished the Great War with forty aerial victories\nhimself. Young Manfred began his formal military training at age eleven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Manfred von Richthofen began World War 1 as a horse cavalry officer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At age nineteen he joined an Uhlan\nCavalry unit. Early in World War 1 a young von Richthofen served as a cavalry\nreconnaissance officer on both the Eastern and Western fronts. He fought in\nRussia, France, and Belgium. Once the war devolved into static trench combat\nthe German Imperial Army no longer had need of large numbers of cavalry\nsoldiers. As a result, von Richthofen was transferred to the supply service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This most flamboyant of aviators very nearly spent the war managing supply stores. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frustrated with life in the supply trains\nvon Richthofen applied for the Imperial German Army Air Service later known as\nthe Luftstreikrafte. He purportedly wrote on his application, \u201cI have not gone to\nwar to collect cheese and eggs…\u201d Despite his\nimpertinence, the young Prussian cavalry officer was accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
A French Farman machine similar to this one was likely the Red Baron\u2019s first kill. It was, however, unconfirmed. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From June to August of 1915 Manfred\nserved as an observer on reconnaissance missions over the Eastern Front. Once\ntransferred to France he purportedly shot down a French Farman airplane with\nhis tail gun. However, as the plane crashed behind French lines it could not be\nconfirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Oswald Boelcke fathered Boelcke\u2019s Dicta, a respected early treatise on fighter tactics. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a chance meeting with legendary\nGerman fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke, von Richthofen applied for pilot training\nin October of 1915. Four months later Manfred convinced his brother Lothar to\nfollow him into the Fliegertruppe. Early in his career, Manfred seemed like a\npretty lousy pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Von Richthofen scored many of his aerial victories in Albatross fighters. The first C.III he flew operationally he unceremoniously destroyed. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manfred crashed on his first solo in a\ntactical aircraft, an Albatross C.III. However, he learned quickly and likely\nscored his first aerial victory over Verdun in April of 2016. German standards\nfor claiming victories were stringent. As this French Nieuport went down over\nenemy territory it was not verified. A week after this event von Richthofen\nflew into a thunderstorm against the orders of his superiors and barely escaped\nwith his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Aerial combat during World War 1 was ferocious and pitiless. Fliers frequently achieved momentary greatness before dying young in a blaze of glory. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In August of 1916 von Richthofen joined\nOswald Boelcke\u2019s elite Jasta 2. On September 17, 1916, over Cambrai, France, von\nRichthofen scored his first confirmed aerial victory. A month later von\nRichthofen saw his hero Boelcke killed in a midair collision with another\nGerman aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Major Lanoe Hawker was a respected and successful British fighter pilot who fell to von Richthofen\u2019s twin Maxims. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Von Richthofen was not known for his\naerobatic prowess. He was rather a methodical aerial hunter and a superb\nmarksman. He would typically attack an enemy aircraft from up sun and behind\nwhile his squadron mates provided cover. In November of 1916 while flying an\nAlbatross D.II fighter von Richthofen shot down and killed Major Lanoe Hawker,\none of Britain\u2019s most successful fighter pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The red Fokker Dr.I triplane has been inextricably linked to von Richthofen. However, he scored most of his aerial victories in other machines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Manfred von Richthofen has become associated\nwith his famous red Fokker Dr. I triplane, but that was not where he spent most\nof his combat time. Most of his aerial victories were scored in Albatross\nfighters. Despite the Dr. I\u2019s remarkable agility, the lumbering\ntriplane was fairly slow. Von Richthofen was an ardent supporter of its\nreplacement, the Fokker D.VII, but he died before having a chance to fly it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Baron\u2019s Brush with Death<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Dr.I triplanes came from the factory in a streaked green camouflage. Von Richthofen and his pilots frequently decorated theirs in bright garish colors. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In April of 1917 while in command of\nJasta 11 von Richthofen shot down 22 British planes, including four in a single\nday. By June he had taken command of Jagdegeschwader 1 and its four separate\nfighter squadrons. This organization was known as von Richthofen\u2019s Flying Circus based\nupon its tents and trains as it moved about the front providing aerial fire\nsupport. Throughout this period von Richthofen had his fighters painted bright\nred as both an identification aid for his own pilots and for its intimidation\nvalue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This is the leather flying helmet von Richthofen was wearing when he caught a .303 bullet to the head from a British tail gunner. The round inflicted a ghastly wound. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On July 6, 1917 von Richthofen was flying\nan Albatross D.V against a flight of British F.E.2d two-seat fighters when he\ncaught a bullet to his head. The resulting four-inch wound left him temporarily\npartially blind and badly disoriented. Von Richthofen barely recovered from a\nspin and executed an emergency landing near German troops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Von Richthofen left the hospital against medical advice a mere two weeks after incurring his head wound. Much to his consternation, his physician insisted the young German hero be accompanied to his squadron by a personal nurse. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After multiple surgeries to remove bone\nsplinters von Richthofen left the hospital against doctor\u2019s orders only two\nweeks after being wounded. However, the combination of the injury and\ncumulative combat stress took its toll. The great ace began suffering recurrent\nheadaches and regular post-flight nausea. Acquaintances also noted a marked\nchange to his temperament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The End of von\nRichthofen<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Pilot Lieutenant \u201cWop\u201d May was an inexperienced Canadian Camel pilot on the day von Richthofen chased him across no man’s land. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On April 21, 1918, Manfred von Richthofen\nwas flying his red Dr. I triplane in pursuit of a British Camel piloted by\nCanadian Wilfrid \u201cWop\u201d May. May had just\nengaged von Richthofen\u2019s cousin Wolfram, and the Baron apparently\nallowed the intensity of the moment to cloud his judgment. He followed May down\nto low level above Allied trenches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Captain Roy Brown was ultimately given credit for shooting down von Richthofen. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, another Canadian Camel pilot named Arthur \u201cRoy\u201d Brown made a diving attack on von Richthofen\u2019s brilliant red triplane. The RAF ultimately gave Brown credit for downing the Baron, but forensic evidence makes this unlikely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Brown\u2019s Sopwith Camel was armed with a pair of air-cooled Vickers machine guns. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The single .303 bullet that killed von\nRichthofen came from below and to the right, an orientation that makes it the likely\nresult of ground fire. Von Richthofen\u2019s triplane flew on\nfor about two minutes after Brown\u2019s engagement,\nsomething unimaginable given the severity of his wound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Germans saturated the crash site with artillery but failed to destroy the Baron\u2019s crashed triplane. Souvenir hunters stripped the machine in short order. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Both of the Baron\u2019s Maxim guns were found to be inoperative when examined in detail. One gun had a stuck case. The other had a broken firing mechanism. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Credit for the fatal shot has alternately\nbeen claimed by Sergeant Cedric Popkin armed with a Vickers gun as well as WJ \u201cSnowy\u201d Evans and Robert\nBuie wielding Lewis machineguns. Brown\u2019s Camel also\nmounted a brace of air-cooled Vickers guns. It could of course also just been\nsome nameless grunt with a rifle. Regardless, in his last few seconds of life\nvon Richthofen made a forced landing in which his triplane was not badly\ndamaged. However, souvenir hunters quickly ravaged the plane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weapons<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The Vickers gun was a British adaptation of the classic Maxim recoil-operated action. Ground versions were water-cooled. The aerial sort was air-cooled and sported a ventilated barrel jacket. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The British Vickers water-cooled\nmachinegun was itself an adaptation of the classic Maxim action that drove most\nof the belt-fed automatic weapons used on all sides during WW1. The Vickers\nentered service in 1912 and was served by a six to eight-man crew. Despite its\n53-pound all-up weight, the tripod-mounted Vickers gun was a remarkably\neffective battlefield implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The British Vickers gun was almost unnaturally reliable. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In August of 1916, the British 100th<\/sup>\nCompany of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for\ntwelve hours. Using 100 barrels they fired a million rounds without a single\nfailure. The Vickers gun continued in British military service until 1968.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The pan-fed Lewis gun was much more mobile than the tripod-mounted Vickers. Note the battle damage to the near end of the barrel jacket on this veteran example. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like Hiram Stevens Maxim, the designer of\nboth the British Vickers and German MG08 machineguns, Colonel Isaac Newton\nLewis was also an American. His eponymous machine rifle entered service in\n1913.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Lewis gun\u2019s odd bulbous architecture earned it a place as a stormtrooper weapon in the epic sci-fi movie Star Wars.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the belt-fed, water-cooled\nVickers, the Lewis gun was a pan-fed, air-cooled design. The characteristic fat\ntubular barrel jacket found on ground variants of the Lewis gun actually\ncontained long aluminum cooling fins of dubious value. Aerial versions of the\ngun dispensed with this component.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Though limited somewhat by its pan-fed mechanism, the Lewis gun was used extensively in ground, vehicle, and anti-aircraft mountings. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the recoil-operated Maxim design, the Lewis was a gas-operated weapon driven by a clockwork-style spiral spring contained within the semicircular housing on the bottom of the gun. The Lewis gun fed on either 47 or 97-round pan drums and cycled at between 500 and 600 rounds per minute. The 28-pound Lewis could be fired by one man on the assault and offered significant enhancements in both mobility and firepower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the\nStory<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Von Richthofen, like countless millions of other young men fighting in World War 1 died young and hard. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WW1 represented the world\u2019s rude introduction\nto warfare on an industrial scale. Despite millions of lives lost, there yet remained\nvestiges of the chivalry that characterized combat in previous eras. As a\nresult, von Richthofen\u2019s body was afforded full military honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Von Richthofen\u2019s opponents held the Red Baron in the utmost respect, affording him a formal military funeral. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

No. 3 Squadron of the Australian Flying Service presided. Six of their officers served as pallbearers, while a guard of honor fired in salute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Von Richthofen\u2019s former enemies held the ace in high esteem. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nearby Allied squadrons sent memorial\nwreaths, one of which was inscribed with, \u201cTo Our Gallant and\nWorthy Foe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This marker commemorated von Richthofen\u2019s grave throughout World War 2. Note the bullet marks. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Von Richthofen\u2019s body was years\nlater moved to Berlin and given a state funeral by the Nazis. His imposing\ngravestone read simply, \u201cRichthofen.\u201d This marker was\ndamaged by gunfire from East German border guards shooting at escapees as they\nfled communism during the Cold War. In 1975 von Richthofen\u2019s corpse was\nreinterred yet again in the Richthofen family plot in Wiesbaden, Germany. It\nwas a fitting end for one of the most flamboyant fighter pilots of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Red Baron inspired generations of combat aviators, died a hero\u2019s death, became a household term, and bequeathed his name to a pizza company. In the end, he was just another young man who bled out and died for a hopeless cause. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In August of 1916, the British 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels they fired a million rounds without a single failure. The Vickers gun continued in British military service until 1968.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":112473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,257,772],"tags":[132,102,752,1944],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-112467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gunsamerica-authors","8":"category-historical-guns","9":"category-will-dabbs","10":"tag-buzz","11":"tag-feature-articles","12":"tag-historical-guns","13":"tag-vickers-machine-gun"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him. - Will Dabbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-death-of-a-legend-baron-manfred-von-richthofen-the-vickers-that-may-have-killed-him\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In August of 1916, the British 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels they fired a million rounds without a single failure. 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