Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Red Baron

Episode Date: December 2, 2022

The First World War saw many innovations in warfare. Probably the most significant was the introduction of aircraft.  The first military pilots didn’t really know what they were doing. There was no rulebook about how to fight with other aircraft. However, one pilot mastered the art of aerial and terrorized the allies over skies on the western front.  Learn more about Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Barron, the greatest ace of World War I, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://link.chtbl.com/EverythingEverywhere?sid=ShowNotes -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/EverythingEverywhere Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The First World War saw many innovations in warfare. Probably the most significant was the introduction of aircraft. The first military pilots didn't really know what they were doing. There was no rulebook about how to fight with other planes. However, one pilot mastered the art of aerial warfare and terrorized the allies over the skies on the Western Front. Learn more about Manfred von Richtoven, a.k.a. the Red Baron, the greatest ace of World War I,

on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. In 1903, the Wright brothers took their first motorized flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Just 11 years later, the First World War broke out in August of 1914.

In that 11 years, there was an enormous amount of progress made in aviation. When the war started, no one had ever used airplanes in war before. It wasn't just a completely new technology. It was a completely new dimension on the battlefield. Instead of just considering a two-dimensional battle map, you now had to think in three dimensions. When the war began, the first use of aircraft was for reconnaissance. Planes were sent out over enemy lines to see what they were planning and where they would attack. The early planes would usually have two seats with a pilot and an observer.

The use of aircraft was vital in the first days of the war when the French found that the Germans were attempting a flanking maneuver and were able to counter it. Cameras were eventually installed on airplanes, which allowed for detailed maps of the battlefield. Eventually, as each side had reconnaissance aircraft, they would often pass each other in the sky. Unlike the grunts on the ground, the pilots consider themselves gentlemen and often wave to each other as they passed. But eventually, understanding the importance of reconnaissance aircraft, the pilots began to take pot shots at each other. The first aerial flights usually involved pointing a pistol or a rifle at the other plane. Aerial combat, however, quickly evolved. Ground crews figured out ways to install machine guns on

aircraft, but they were very cumbersome. They were extremely hard to aim when mounted on the wings, and the wings were mostly made out of wooden cloth, with many struts that got in the way. The thing which radically changed aerial combat in the First World War was the interrupter gear. or the synchronization gear. This allowed a machine gun to be installed in the front of the cockpit of an airplane so it could be aimed properly. The synchronization gear would only fire the gun when the propeller was in a position where the bullet wouldn't hit the propeller. The first planes with the synchronization gear were introduced by the Dutch engineer Anthony Focker in 1915 in the single-seat Focker E-1. The planes were built for the Germans.

So with that brief introduction to World War I aerial warfare, I now need to introduce the subject of this episode, Manfred von Richthoven. Richthoven was born in 1892 to a wealthy German family. He was destined to be a military officer. He was sent to a military academy at the age of 11, and after eight years in the academy in 1911, he became a cavalry officer in the Prussian army. When war broke out, he served with distinction on the Eastern Front and received the Iron Cross. However, his unit was eventually assigned guard duty for supply trucks, which left him unsatisfied. He wanted to make his mark during the war, but didn't join the military to, quote, collect cheese and eggs. So he put in a transfer request to join the Imperial German Air Service. His request was granted, and he joined in May 1915.

He started out as an observer, not a pilot. On his first flight, he actually was terrified and lost his sense of direction. However, he trained and learned how to draw maps in the air and became comfortable with flying. After his training, he was sent to the Eastern Front where he performed as an observer from May to July. He was then transferred to the Western Front, where he may have shot down his first plane with a machine gun as an observer. It was behind enemy line, so it was never officially recognized. In October, in a chance meeting on a train, Richthoeven met the German fighter ace Oswald Bulki. On the train, he asked Bolki how he managed to shoot down enemies.

planes. And bulky just told him, quote, good heavens, it is indeed quite simple. I fly in as close as I can, take good aim, shoot, and then he falls down, end quote. Riktovin decided to become a pilot. He was trained by the German pilot, Georg Zumer, and took his first solo flight on October 10th. He was given his pilot's license on Christmas Day, 1915. Rectovan got off to a rocky start. He actually crashed his plane the first time he tried to take off. It wasn't until April 1916, when he was credited was shooting down his first fighter, a French airplane over Verdun, although, again, because it was behind enemy lines, it wasn't counted. He still wasn't that experienced of a pilot.

He flew into thunderstorms against the advice of more experienced pilots, something he learned never to do again. He was eventually reassigned to the Eastern Front in the summer where he again flew reconnaissance. But in August of 1916, he again met Oswald Bolke. Bolkei convinced him to join his new elite fighter squadron, Yachtstaffel Zvi, also known in English as Jasta 2. The idea of a squadron of nothing but fighters designed to achieve air supremacy was a new innovation in aerial combat. On September 17, 1916, Rick Tovin shot down officially his first plane, a British fighter over France. After his first

confirmed kill, he contacted a jeweler in Berlin to create a two-inch silver cup with the date and type of aircraft engraved on it. This was something he did for the first 60s. planes that he shot down until the supply of silver and Germany dried up due to the war. Within a few weeks of his first victory, he had shot down four more planes to achieve the title of Ace. On October 28th, his mentor and squadron leader Oswald Bulki was killed in a mid-air collision with another German plane. While Bolki was dead, the rules he created for his pilots, known as Ditka Bulki, remained intact with his squadron. His rules were simple and didn't require fancy aerobatic flying. They were things such as having the sun at your back and never fire

until you were in close range. Richthoven was a disciple of Ditka Bulki and was largely responsible for his success. And here I should note that Manfred von Richtovin's younger brother, Lothar, was also a pilot who had 40 kills during the war. Unlike his brother, Lothar was an acrobatic pilot who relied on piloting skills more than planning and proper tactics. With Bolkey dead, Germany needed a new flying hero,

and Rikdovan thought that he was the man for the job. He kept racking up kills, including his most high-profile one, the British major Leno Hawker. By early 1917, he had 16 kills and was now Germany's most successful living fighter pilot. He was now the leader of his own squadron, Yasta 11, with his brother Lothar. After his 16th confirmed kill in January 1917, he was awarded Germany's highest military honor, the poor le Merit, also known as the Blue Max. The other big thing that happened around this time was that he made the famous decision

to paint his plane red. He is recorded to have said, quote, One day, for no particular reason, I got the idea to paint my crate glaring red. After that, absolutely everyone knew my red bird. In fact, even my opponents were not completely unaware, end quote. This was also when he began to be called the Red Baron, a reference to the color of his plane and a loose translation of his title of nobility.

Other members of Joste 11 began to paint their planes red, at least partially, as so not to make their squadron leaders' plane so conspicuous. The spring of 1917 was the most successful and deadliest phase of his military career. In the month of April, he shot down 22 planes, including four in one day. In June, he was given command of his own fighter wing, consisting of four squadrons known as Yakhter Schweider-Einz, although he was never formally promoted in rank. Yachter Schwatter-Einz was given the nickname, the Flying Circus. In July, he switched to flying the Fokker DR-1 triplane, which is the plane he is most associated.

with. However, only 17 of his kills came with this triplane that he made famous. On July 6th, he was seriously wounded and almost died. He suffered a head wound that caused temporary blindness, which almost caused him not to be able to land his plane. He returned to service two weeks later, but then convalesced in September and October. By this time, he was Germany's greatest war hero. He was dashing and flamboyant and extremely successful. During his time off, he took the time to write a book. By 1918, it had become obvious that his injury had taken a toll on him and diminished his reactions. The German government was starting to worry that if he died, it would be detrimental to morale. Richthoven, however, refused to take a desk job and continued to fly.

The Germans were more than willing to promote stories about Richtovin which weren't true. They claimed that the British had an entire squadron dedicated to hunting him down and that anyone who did shoot him down would be given an automatic Victoria Cross. combat flying is a matter of playing the odds. Even if you're a great pilot, it can all come to an end with a lucky shot. If you fly enough sorties, it might just be a matter of time before your luck runs out. Manfred von Richtovans' luck ran out on April 18, 1918. Flying near the Somme River in France, he was in pursuit of a Canadian pilot by the name of Wilfred May, when he was shot in the chest and crashed.

Who killed Richtovin has been the subject of debate for years. The RAF initially credited a Canadian pilot and ace by the name of Arthur Roy Brown. However, a subsequent forensic evidence has concluded that he was probably killed by anti-aircraft fire coming from the ground. And a subsequent investigation has credited the Australian sergeant, Cedric Popkin, as the anti-aircraft gunner who shot them down. But another investigation gives credit to another Australian by the name of Willie Evans. As he crashed behind enemy lines, his body was retrieved by the Allies, who actually gave Richtovin, a funeral with full military honors. A wreath present at his burial said,

quote, to our gallant and worthy foe. When the war was over, Manfred von Richtover, the Red Baron was credited with 80 confirmed kills and probably another 20 more that were undocumented. He is considered the ace of aces for the entirety of World War I,

having more aerial victories than any other pilot. The next closest is the French aviator, René Frank, who had 75. While there has been some doubt about his numbers, he and his squadron kept meticulous statistics regarding each of their encounters, and the 80 figure is largely considered valid. The Red Baron mythos has only grown since the end of World War I. Snoopy famously had battles with the Red Baron on top of his doghouse, and there's a frozen pizza named after the Red Baron in the United States. There have been

many books, movies, video games, and TV shows that all document the life of Manfred von Richthoven. Rick Tovin, with his mentor Oswald Bolke, revolutionized aerial combat. His success in the air, was something that was only surpassed by three pilots in World War II, a war that had more airplanes and lasted longer. So it's no wonder that Manfred von Brickhoven, aka the Red Baron, became the most legendary figure to ever come out of the First World War. Everything Everywhere Daily is an Airwave Media podcast. The executive producer is Darcy Adams. The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. I just wanted to extend a big thank you to everyone who is supporting the show over at patreon.com. I have showmer.

merchandise available there, including hoodies, t-shirts, and stickers. Plus, it really just helps me get this show out every single day, including, of course, weekends and holidays. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostagram, you too can have it read on the show.