THE RED BARON AND THE .303 BULLET
Who killed Baron von Richthoven?
IIT WAS AN hour before noon on 21 April 1918, when a .303 British bullet slammed into the chest of the pilot of a red, three-winged aeroplane flying over the Somme River in France. Moments later, the world’s most feared fighter ace crash-landed in a beet field and died. Within minutes, troops from the Australian Medical Corps were on scene, but it was too late.
On that day, Baron Manfred Freiherr von Richthoven, the Red Baron, had been flying over Vaux-sur-somme when his squadron was attacked by No 209 Squadron RAF. After coming to the rescue of his cousin, Wolfram von Richthoven, also a pilot, the Red Baron found himself low over the battlefield, with a Sopwith Camel piloted by Canadian, Arthur ‘Roy’ Brown, on his tail. Brown opened up on the hard-manoeuvring, red Fokker Tri-plane with his forward-mounted Vickers machine gun. At the same time, from the ground, Australian soldier, Cedric Popkin blazed away at the low-flying plane with his own Vickers. The debate as to whose .303 bullet provided the fatal shot continues to this day.
What is not in doubt is how that bullet changed the course of the Great War.
Germany had just launched their Great Spring Offensive which they hoped would win them the war before America tipped the scales in favour of the Allies. Air-superiority over the battlefield was a vital component of their strategy. The rulers of the skies could accurately direct their ground forces’ artillery fire onto the enemy and, in World War I, it was the cannon and machine gun that ruled the killing fields of France.
At the outset of the conflict, aeroplanes were little more than a novelty on the battlefield. Their primary role was to provide reconnaissance and report on enemy positions, but they were too lightly built and underpowered to take much part in any offensive action. However, this did not stop early recon pilots from taking pistols, carbines, shotguns, and metal flechettes into the air and using them against both aerial and land-bound opponents. Cockpit-mounted machine guns had not yet come into operation, as neither side had figured out a way to avoid shooting their own propeller-blades when attacking an enemy plane.
That all changed in April 1915 when Roland Garros, a French aviator, approached a German two-seater reconnaissance plane from the front. The German crew had little to fear and most likely thought Garros was just curious but, when a hail of machine-gun fire ripped through the German aircraft, sending it spiralling to the ground, this signalled that the age of the fighter plane had begun.
GARROS FITTED HIS L-type monoplane with Saulnier deflector plates, a crude but game-changing system. Simple, wedgeshaped, metal plates deflected rounds that would normally hit the propeller, allowing Garros to spray opponents with bursts of machine-gun fire, without shooting himself down. What made the system even more revolutionary was that the device allowed the pilot to aim his whole aircraft and open fire when in the perfect position. The fastest and most manoeuvrable aircraft could now use their superior performance, coupled with an accurate machine gun, to clear the skies. Garros shot down three German aircraft in three weeks, sending shock waves reverberating through the German Air Command. But his luck was soon to run out. On April 19th, the Frenchman was shot down by ground fire and both he, and his aeroplane were captured.
The fastest and most manoeuvrable aircraft could now use their superior performance, coupled with an accurate machine gun
When the Germans saw the simplicity of the Saulnier device they quickly developed an even better system. Anton Fokker devised an interrupting gear that would stop the machine gun from firing whenever the propeller was in front of the barrel. German pilots could now carry Maxim machine guns fitted over the engine and centre of gravity, giving them unrivalled agility and fire power.
German pilots in their Fokker EIIIS thus cut a bloody swathe through the ranks of the Allied airmen, and in a few short weeks, a period known as the Fokker Scourge, established air superiority on the Western Front.
THE MOST FAMOUS of the German fighter aces was Manfred von Richthoven, the son of a prominent Prussian aristocrat. From an early age, the young nobleman was a keen hunter and stalker, perfecting skills he would later put to good use in the skies over France. He was the poster boy for the Knights of the Air.
The total number of victories scored by each pilot became a major source of competition, and the press and public, weary of images and tales of the horrors of trench battles, seized onto this new form of combat. Overnight, fighter pilots became celebrities, respected and admired round the world.
In a way, it was a return to an era of chivalry and honour: noble knights pitting their skills and courage against each other, unlike the commoners grovelling in muddy holes below. And even in death, enemies were respected and honoured. A good example of this was when German Ace, Oswald Boelcke was killed in a flying accident on 27 October 1916. Condolences poured in from royalty worldwide and even his enemies, the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) dropped a wreath over his airfield with the note: To the memory of Captain Boelcke, our brave and chivalrous opponent.
Von Richthoven celebrated every victory he achieved by having a silver mug made, on which the date and details of the incident were recorded. The 24-year-old scored his most famous win on 23rd November 1916, when he clashed with his British counterpart, Lanoe Walker VC, a pioneer pilot and victor in seven aerial battles. In a lengthy dogfight, the Red Baron finally put a bullet into Walker’s head after firing over 900 rounds. For this he was rewarded by being given command of a squadron in January 1917.
The young aristocrat painted his aircraft bright red, as he wanted his enemy to have no doubts about whom they faced, and the sight of the crimson Fokker Tri-plane struck terror into the hearts of Allied aviators.
IN APRIL 1917, Von Richt-hoven earned his reputation as World War I’s Ace of Aces when he mowed through the Allied ranks in what became known as ‘Bloody April’. At the time, the British had begun a huge offensive on the German lines, known as the Battle of Arras. In order to give British artillery up-to-date information, dozens of British reconnaissance aircraft were sent aloft, many with inexperienced crews. To the Red Baron, this was like shooting ducks in a barrel. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, Von Richthoven and his squadron
decimated the RFC, inflicting a loss ratio of 4:1 and establishing air superiority over the battlefield.
By 1918, Manfred von Richthoven was so famous that it was feared his death would cause an irretrievable blow to the morale of the German army, and the powers-that-be did all they could to ground him. But he would have none of it and declared, “Every poor fellow in the trenches must do his duty, and so must I,” as he continued to personally lead his wing into battle, a wing that now included his brother Lothar, and cousin Wolfram, both aces in their own right.
And so, as the most famous aeroplane in the world came in low over the trenches on 21st April 1918 for the last time, it was engaged by .303 Vickers machine-gun fire from both land and air.
Australian ground troops buried the Red Baron with full military honours. Allied squadrons donated memorial
Canadian No 209 Squadron officially claimed the Red Baron was shot down by their pilot, Arthur ‘Roy’ Brown. So adamant were they, that 209 Squadron adopted the fallen red eagle as their official insignia for the rest of the wing’s existence
wreaths, one of which had the message: To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe.
With 80 confirmed kills, Manfred von Richthoven was the highest-scoring World War I fighter ace, and as such, the laurels awarded for being the unit responsible for his demise were highly sought after. Canadian No 209 Squadron officially claimed the Red Baron was shot down by their pilot, Arthur ‘Roy’ Brown. So adamant were they, that 209 Squadron adopted the fallen red eagle as their official insignia for the rest of the wing’s existence.
Modern scientific evidence seems to point to the Australian soldier, Cedric Popkin, as being the man responsible for the death of the Red Baron. But whatever the case, that single .303 British bullet ended the life, but not the legend, of the most famous fighter pilot who ever lived.