he took down 80 allied aircraft in the war (holding the record for the first ww). he was my hero when i was a kid. i had my little red baron toy plane and loved it more than any other

edit to add: of course he wasn't my hero for killing all those people (i was a kid, i didn't even understand the concept of death and war). i guess i just really liked that plane

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Not on the anniversary of his death.

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The legend of the Red Baron in his all-red Fokker Triplane owes more to a cartoon strip & a pop record than the truth.

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http://www.briggsenterprises.com/bluemax/

A great man from the era when dogfights still had a knightly touch.
Sadly, this era ended around 1941...

I agree with Hagar.

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Although it has been blown out of proportion-I think part of it is due to the fact that he was shot down while flying a basically all red Triplane.  Although he usually flew a Albatros D class fighter-he was killed in a red triplane.  And, I think that helps the legend.

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From what I have read, almost all of his kills were against two-seaters (as were most of the aces).  The stereotypical dog fight of a bunch of fighters didn't make much sense at the time-it was pretty impractical.  Although there were a couple big fighter to fighter "dogfights"-for example the dogfight were Werner Voss was killed, or the one for which William Barker won the Victory Cross (which I think is one of the most amazing stories of WWI).  So, Hagar is quite correct (as usual  ).

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Actually there was more than one. Probably before your time.


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http://www.petcaretips.net/snoopy_song.html

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I know that song!!!   

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LOL I missed that.

He was actually Canadian.
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http://www.billybishop.net/barker.html

The Red Baron was indeed a cold calculating killer, as was any fighter pilot worth his salt!


Brave men fighting & paying the ultimate price....

Yes, Lothar was pretty damn good too.
Kinda like Ralph Schumacher and Michael.

A.

OK, I found it-his name was Wolfram von Richthofen-he had 8 kills.  He was the cousin of Manfred and Lother von Richthofen.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/richthofen3.html

Apparently, he was Germany's youngest field marshall during WWII and recieved the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves.

I was a bass player back in the late 60's and one band I was in actually played this song.
The red baron song:

After the turn of the century
In the clear blue skies over Germany
Came a roar and a thunder men had never heard
Like the scream and the sound of a big war bird

Up in the sky, a man in a plane
Baron von Richthofen was his name
Eighty men tried, and eighty men died
Now they're buried together on the countryside

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score
Eighty men died tryin' to end that spree
of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

In the nick of time, a hero arose
A funny-looking dog with a big black nose
He flew into the sky to seek revenge
But the Baron shot him down - "Curses, foiled again!"

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score
Eighty men died tryin' to end that spree
of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

Now, Snoopy had sworn that he'd get that man
So he asked the Great Pumpkin for a new battle plan
He challenged the German to a real dogfight
While the Baron was laughing, he got him in his sight

That Bloody Red Baron was in a fix
He'd tried everything, but he'd run out of tricks
Snoopy fired once, and he fired twice
And that Bloody Red Baron went spinning out of sight

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score
Eighty men died tryin' to end that spree
of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' up the score
Eighty men died tryin' to end that spree
of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

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They will never know for sure how he waws killed.  A lot of people believe that he was shot down by ground machine gunners and there was a TV show that did a special on this and "solved" this mystery.  Like many of these TV shows that "solve" historical mysteries they only present information that is helpful to their claim.  I personally believe that he was shot down by a ground machine gun, but there is no way to ever know for sure.