This book is written by the Red Baron, the famous German flying ace of the Great War who was credited with 80 combat victories in flying battles. It is an autobiography, talking about his early life and love of horses and dogs, and his family. A fascinating insight into a famous figure.

Originally a cavalryman, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (1892-1918), nicknamed the Red Baron, transferred to the German Air Service in 1915. One of the first members of fighter squadron Jasta 2 in 1916, Richthofen quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, becoming leader of Jasta 11 in 1917 and later leading the larger fighter wing known as “The Flying Circus” or “Richthofen’s Circus” whose bright-colored aircraft moved from one area of Allied air activity to another, settling on improvised airfields. Richthofen was shot down and killed in April 1918 over France at age 25. Credited with 80 air combat victories, he was a national hero in Germany and was also respected by his enemies. “The context [of World War I air warfare] can be obtained from William E. Burrows’s ‘true history,’ a very good book. He has not only read the available material, but talked to a great many people who knew Richthofen. The result is as good a look at the withdrawn Prussian personality as we are likely to get.” — Pierce Fredericks, New York Times Book Review “This is a fine biography of the German flying ace of World War I fame, who, at the time of his death at age 25, was already a legend. The author has researched well his subject giving the reader a look at the person, not just the mystique, and reconstructs a few of the Red Baron’s famous dog-fights.” — US Naval Institute Proceedings “This ‘true history of the Red Baron’ gets behind the mystique clinging to the World War I aviation ace to the question of his use, or mis-use, by German propaganda.” — Wall Street Journal “In this intriguing biography, Burrows zooms in on the man behind the myth. He analyzes Richthofen’s persisting influence on his compatriots today.” — Book World “The Burrows book does serve to freshen the memory of the Red Baron and his place in history.” — The Louisville Times “William E. Burrows has done, in Richthofen, a sensitive job of examining how a killer is turned into a myth.” — Christian Science Monitor

Karl Bodenschatz was the Richthofen squadron adjutant. His historical record offers an insight into the war from the German viewpoint.

[16 Illustrations, portraits of the author, author’s unit and plane.] In the small city of Wiesbaden in southwest Germany, a small headstone proclaims that the incumbent of its grave is Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen. Small fanfare and panoply for the far-famed and feared Red Baron; a hunter even during his childhood, he took to the skies above France and Flanders in 1915 following service as a cavalry officer. In the air he hunted his prey, almost exclusively British pilots, and by the time of his death in 1918 was credited with some 80 air combat victories. He was only 25 at the time of his death. American author Floyd Gibbon’s biography seeks to give a fuller and more realistic portrait of Manfred von Richthofen than is widely known; to his German countryman he seemed to be a superhuman hero of the skies; to the Allies who opposed him, he seemed a ruthless bogeyman. The truth is far more complex than this as the author explains in great detail, using von Richthofen’s own autobiography and other contemporary sources in order to produce a portrait of the greatest World War One Ace.

This fascinating selection of photographs tells the story of the legendary Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen.

During World War II, certain air force generals demonstrated an uncommon ability to succeed on the battlefield in spite of considerable obstacles. Whether solving operational issues, developing technical innovations, or devising logistic solutions, these commanders transcended service-centric doctrine and loyalties in order to achieve their objectives. Are there common elements among their personal background, professional education, officer development, and operational experience that helps explain their success? This paper will examine two contemporary tactical airpower commanders, Lieutenant General Elwood “Pete” Quesada and Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Freiherr Von Richthofen, in an attempt to answer this important question. This study comprises an analysis of two contemporary tactical airpower commanders from World War II, Lieutenant General Elwood “Pete” Quesada and Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Freiherr Von Richthofen. It attempts to determine how they succeeded where others failed. Whether solving operational issues, developing technical innovations, or devising logistic solutions, these commanders transcended service-centric doctrine and loyalties in order to achieve their objectives. The author searches for common elements among their personal background, professional education, officer development, and operational experience that help explain their uncommon triumphs. The analysis includes both external and internal factors to determine which is dominant. The final section includes five recommendations intended for those who conduct officer accession, professional development, and promotion boards. The ultimate objective is to provide timeless criteria that transcend technological advancements and the changing character of war.

The Red Battle Flyer by Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen An Aviator's Field Book by Oswald Böelcke Two German Aces of the Great War There can be little doubt that the most iconic fighter pilot of the First World War on the Western Front was the aristocratic German 'ace of aces, ' Baron Manfred von Richtohofen. Known universally, due to his particularly conspicuous bright-red coloured Fokker Albatros triplane, as the 'Red Baron, ' he and the equally gaudy aircraft of his comrades of the 'Flying Circus' were no mere publicity stunt as their counterparts among the French and British squadrons who opposed them could attest, often to their fatal cost. In fact, Richtohofen's personal kill record was 80-more than any pilot in the conflict. Just twenty six years old when he was eventually killed in 1918, he might justifiably be described as the most famous fighter pilot of all time. Fortunately for posterity, Richtohofen found the time to write a book of his experiences, the well regarded The Red Battle Flyer. It will be a familiar text to many of those interested in the Great War in the air. It is accompanied in this special Leonaur edition by the account of another incredibly significant German fighter pilot of the period, Oswald Boelcke. Boelcke was nothing less than the Red Baron's mentor and Richtohofen's admiration for him was significant. Certainly, Boelcke was responsible for defining the craft of aerial combat and his leadership and tactical skills are regarded as original and highly influential. He was particularly concerned with the benefits and capabilities of formation fighting. An ace in his own right, he had 40 victories to his credit before he too was killed at the tragically young age of twenty five in 1916, whilst on patrol with Richtohofen himself. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

"This book is the work of a team who have for some sonsiderable time formed a study group to investigate Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen and his famous airfighting formation"--Foreword

The story of how a young cavalry officer eager to serve his country became a pilot and then, when success beckoned, had his life taken over by a very skilled group of publicists, writers, photographers and artists. It is more than a hundred years since Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’, was killed in combat on the Western Front. Yet this gallant fighter pilot is probably as well known today as he was his lifetime. Beginning in 1916, when his lethal skills were first realised, his image proved a godsend to his country’s propaganda machine. There, far above the misery of life in the trenches, was a shooting star of unimaginable potency to help pacify a weary nation that was now beginning to believe that the war was no longer necessary or the losses justified. And so, an image of chivalry was conjured up and exploited with little regard of the cost of this to an increasingly war weary man. Manfred von Richthofen: The Red Baron and the High Price of Glory draws on many sources, some previously untapped, including interviews with pilots he fought alongside and against, official documents held in collections around the world and the work of three noted Great War historians, two of whom began their work in the 1920s, all now dead but who left a rich legacy of research for us to explore. In addition, there are interviews with fifty or so pilots from the Second World War, who went through much that von Richthofen experienced above the Western Front and could speak with authority about the effects of continuous combat flying on aviators. This is the story of how a young cavalry officer eager to serve his country became a pilot and then, when success beckoned, had his life taken over by a very skilled group of publicists, writers, photographers and artists. Every element of his life was picked over, dissected and revealed to an ever-growing and intrusive audience. If he had simply been a celebrity – royalty, an actor or politician – this attention might have been accepted, but he was a front line pilot daily courting death, leading many other men in a constant life or death struggle. So here we have a man severely stressed by war, then stripped of his privacy and any opportunity to rest. Inevitably, some might say, he became another victim of a bloody war, but even in death the exploitation continued and was then re-awakened a decade or so later by the Nazi’s to help promote an even bloodier war.

"For this first full-length biography of Wolfram von Richthofen, James Corum has mined the field marshal's extensive diaries, which provide a detailed record of military campaigns, tactical and operational problems, interactions with other commanders, and his assessment of methods and weaponry. He has also drawn on interviews with Former Luftwaffe members and on his unparalleled access to von Richthofen family papers and photos." "Cutting through the myths that have grown around von Richthofen's life, Corum's study fills a major gap in the literature and offers new insight into German military culture, Hitler's strategic thinking, and their impact on the German way of war."--BOOK JACKET.