World War I Ace Manfred von Richthofen
World War I Ace Manfred von Richthofen
Throughout the course of history, many wars have taken place. Among these wars, World War I particularly stands out for having contained several war aces and heroes. Some of these aces include Captain René Fonok of France, Major Edward Mannok of Britain, Manfred von Richthofen of Germany, and Eddie Rickenbacker of America (21:26). However, the one hero that stands out the most is the famous Red Baron or Manfred von Richthofen. Manfred von Richthofen, a German aviator, was very prominent and well known in World War I due to his many feats with his fighter plane.
Before the war occurred, Manfred von Richthofen was already on his way to success (Iavarone). Richthofen came into this world on May 2, 1892 in Breslau, Germany, which is present-day Wroclow, Poland (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). Manfred came from a family of wealthy Junkers (Iavarone). He was born the son of Major Albrecht von Richthofen, a Prussian nobleman, and was the eldest of three boys with one older sister (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). By age 11, Manfred was already being groomed for battle. He enrolled in the military school at Wahlstatt (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). Following his attendance at Wahlstatt, Manfred attended the Royal Military Academy at Lichterelde (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). Richthofen excelled in athletics and was an exceptionally good horseman (Iavarone). It is perhaps ironic that it was not his horsemanship, but his flying abilities that made him famous. However, his horsemanship did lead him to the cavalry in the beginning of his war career (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). When the war first broke out, Manfred was a cavalry officer for both the Eastern and Western fronts (Iavarone). He scouted for Germany, but he quickly became bored with this task (Iavarone). By May of 1915, Richthofen was transferred to the flying service where he was soon to become the legendary "Red Baron" (Iavarone).
After only one day of training from Overleutnant Georg Zeumer, Richthofen made his first solo flight on October 10, 1915 (The Red Baron: Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen). Manfred ended up crashing his plane when trying to land...