The Red Baron dies at 25

Manfred von Richthofen, 25, the deadliest fighter pilot of World War 1, is killed near Vaux-sur-Somme, France, on April 21 1918. The Prussian aristocrat served as a cavalry officer at the start of the war in 1914. After a chance meeting with Oswald Boelcke, Germany’s first fighter ace and father of air combat (credited with 40 victories), he entered training as a pilot in October 1915 and joined No 2 Bomber Squadron in March 1916. Boelcke visited the Eastern Front, where Von Richthofen was flying two-seaters, in August 1916 and selected him for his newly formed Jasta 2, one of the first German fighter squadrons. Boelcke died, also aged 25, on October 28 1916 near Douai after a midair collision with a friendly aircraft during a British attack. Von Richthofen scored his first confirmed victory over Cambrai on September 17 1916. Over the next 19 months, he notched up 80 victories and earned the title ace-ofaces. He painted his planes scarlet red and became known as the Red Baron. On that fateful day over the Somme Valley, Von Richthofen pursues a Canadian pilot in his Fokker triplane when he comes under fire from another Canadian pilot and Australian ground troops. A single .303 bullet hits him, damaging his heart and lungs. In the last seconds of his life, he makes a rough landing in a sector defended by the Australian Imperial Force. The following day, the Red Baron is buried by his enemies with full military honours. The message on one wreath reads: “To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe.”