There’s never been an ace quite like the “Red Baron”, who downed 80 enemy aircraft within 20 months. He was a national hero and a 20th century legend.

Air combat, the pinnacle of aerial operations, came into prominence first during World War I. That’s when every fighter pilot began to aspire to score at least five aerial victories, enough to be called an ace. But there’s never been an ace quite like Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron”, who downed 80 enemy aircraft within 20 months. The sudden appearance of his bright-red biplane swooping down on an opposing aircraft formation was calculated to instil terror in the hearts of allied pilots.

Richthofen ultimately became a national hero and a 20th century legend. Born on May 2, 1892, in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen came from a distinguished Prussian family. His father, an army officer, enrolled Manfred in a military cadet institute at the age of 11. On coming of age he joined the cavalry. When World War I broke out in 1914, Manfred yearned for action. He was disgusted with the logistical post he was assigned to and applied to be transferred, saying, “I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.” His superiors, surprisingly, saw the point. In May 1915, Richthofen was posted to the flying service as an airborne observer. A short time later, he met the German ace pilot Oswald Boelcke, who inspired him to enter training as a pilot in October 1915. Though his initial flying performance did not seem at all impressive, he stuck to his dream with great determination. On December 25, 1915, he was awarded a pilot’s certificate.

It did not take long for Richthofen to distinguish himself as a combat pilot. After his first confirmed kill on September 17, 1916, when he shot down a British FE2b aircraft, he ordered a silver cup from a Berlin jeweller and engraved it with the date and the type of enemy aircraft. He scored his fifth kill within a month to become an ace. In due course he accumulated 60 victory cups. But with the dwindling supply of silver in Germany, he decided to stop ordering more cups rather than agree to trophies of a base metal. However, he was neither excessively aggressive, nor did he take unnecessary risks. Rather, he employed superior tactics to gain advantage over the enemy and his sublime manoeuvring skills and fine marksmanship did the rest. He scrupulously followed the “Dicta Boelcke” (eight rules for combat in the air, formulated by Oswald Boelcke) to ensure the highest probability of success with the lowest risk. When launching an attack, he preferred to dive from above, keeping the sun behind him to prevent his victim from spotting him. On November 23, 1916, Richthofen shot down his most famous adversary, the British ace Major Lanoe Hawker, VC, following a prolonged dogfight.

In January 1917, Richthofen became the leader of a flying unit known as Jasta 11. Training his men, as Boelcke had taught him, Richthofen quickly developed an elite force. He changed his aircraft to the Albatros D III and had it painted bright red, which served to create his name and reputation as the Red Baron. His juniors also had their machines painted in bright colours. Within weeks, he personally led his new unit to stunning success. In April 1917 (“Bloody April”) alone, he downed 21 British aircraft, including four in a single day. Some wondered if Richthofen’s 80 credited kills were all genuine. Some might be mere frivolous claims unsupported by facts? But many years later, independent researchers discovered that Richthofen’s victories were better documented than those of most other aces. In fact, if his unconfirmed victories were added, his tally of conquests was probably a hundred or more.

Being constantly in the thick of aerial combat, Richthofen had little doubt that his luck would run out some day. In July 1917, during an engagement with a formation of British fighter aircraft, he was hit in the head by a bullet. This caused instant disorientation and temporary blindness. He regained consciousness just in time to recover his stricken aircraft and make a bumpy but safe landing in a nearby field. Multiple surgeries followed to extract bone fragments from his brain. When he resumed flying, he suffered from post-flight nausea and headache. Friends and colleagues also noticed a change in temperament. He exhibited symptoms of cumulative combat stress that made him fail to observe some of his usual precautions. He had become such a star that his superiors feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of the German people. But he refused a ground job stating that the average German soldier had no choice in his duties and he too would therefore continue to fly and fight.