THEENEMYACE
Richthofen was 25 when he was killed. The day after Richthofen shot down his 80th plane, his own number finally came up: He was shot down by Capt. Roy Brown of the Royal Air Force. British officials gave the Red Baron a solemn burial with full military honors. An unarmed plane flew over Richthofen’s base and dropped news of his death and photos of the funeral. On July 2, 1917, Richthofen was shot down in a battle with a two-seater British plane. His skull was creased and partially splintered, but Richthofen managed to crash-land in German territory. He returned to the fight after several weeks off, but his skills had faded and he suffered from powerful headaches. In August 1916, Richthofen applied for a position with Germany’s greatest ace, Oswald Boelcke. Boelcke arranged a transfer for the 24-year-old pilot. Richthofen paid off this debt immediately by shooting down a two-seater FE-2 on his very first mission. It took him less than a month to score his fifth kill, qualifying him to be called an “ace.” After victory No. 16 on Jan. 4, 1917, Richthofen was awarded the Blue Max medal, one of Germany’s highest honors. He was also given command of his own flying squadron: Jagdstaffel 11, which the British press called “the Flying Circus.” In order to parlay his new fame into striking fear into his prey, Richthofen began having his plane painted blood red. The legend of “the Red Baron” grew rapidly.