The Red baron
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of that war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot. Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen transferred to the Air Service in 1915; becoming one of the first members of Jasta 2 in 1916. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became leader of Jasta 11 and then the larger unit Jagdgeschwader 1 (better known as the "Flying Circus"). By 1918 he was regarded as a national hero.
Richthofen was shot down and killed near Amiens on 21 April 1918. There has been considerable discussion and debate regarding aspects of his career, especially the circumstances of his death. He remains very possibly the most widely known fighter pilot of all, and has been the subject of many books and films.
Richthofen was a Freiherr (literally "Free Lord"), a title of nobility often translated as Baron. This is not a given name nor strictly a hereditary title - since all male members of the family were entitled to it, even during the lifetime of their father. This title, combined with the fact that he painted his aircraft red, led to Richthofen being called "The Red Baron" both inside and outside Germany. During his lifetime, however, he was more often described in German as Der Rote Kampfflieger (variously translated as The Red Battle Flyer or The Red Fighter Pilot). This name was used as the title of Richthofen's 1917 "autobiography". Richthofen's other nicknames include "Le Diable Rouge" ("Red Devil") or "Le petit Rouge" ("Little Red") in French, and the "Red Knight" in English.
Von Richthofen was born in Kleinburg, near Breslau, Lower Silesia (now part of the city of Wrocław, Poland), into a prominent Prussian aristocratic family. His father was Major Albrecht Phillip Karl Julius Freiherr von Richthofen and his mother was Kunigunde von Schickfuss und Neudorff. He had an elder sister (Ilse) and two younger brothers. When he was four years old, Manfred moved with his family to nearby Schweidnitz (now Świdnica). He enjoyed riding horses and hunting as well as gymnastics at school. He excelled at parallel bars and won a number of awards at school. He and his brothers, Lothar and Bolko, hunted wild boar, elk, birds and deer. After being educated at home he attended a school at Schweidnitz, before beginning military training when he was 11. After completing cadet training in 1911, he joined an Uhlan cavalry unit, the Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander der III. von Russland (1. Westpreußisches) Nr. 1 ("1st Uhlan Regiment 'Emperor Alexander III of Russia (1st West Prussia Regiment)' "), and was assigned to the regiment's 3. Eskadron ("Number 3 Squadron").
When World War I began, Richthofen served as a cavalry reconnaissance officer on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, seeing action in Russia, France, and Belgium. Traditional cavalry operations soon became impossible due to machine guns and barbed wire, and the Uhlans were used as infantry. Disappointed at not being able to participate more often in combat, Richthofen applied for a transfer to Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (Imperial German Army Air Service), later to be known as the Luftstreitkräfte, shortly after viewing a German military aircraft while deployed behind the lines. To his own surprise, his request was granted, and he joined the flying service at the end of May 1915. From June to August 1915, Richthofen was an observer on reconnaissance missions over the Eastern Front with Fliegerabteilung 69 ("No. 69 Flying Squadron"). On being transferred to the Champagne front, he managed to shoot down an attacking French Farman aircraft with his observer's machine gun in a tense battle over French lines; however he was not credited with the kill, since it fell behind Allied lines and therefore could not be confirmed.
After a chance meeting of the German ace fighter pilot Oswald Boelcke, Richthofen entered training as a pilot in October 1915. In March 1916, he joined Kampfgeschwader 2 ("No. 2 Bomber Geschwader") flying a two-seater Albatros C.III. Initially he appeared to be a below average pilot, struggling to control his aircraft, and crashing during his first flight at the controls. Despite this poor start he rapidly became attuned to his aircraft and, as if confirmation, over Verdun on 26 April 1916, he fired on a French Nieuport, downing it over Fort Douaumont, though once again he received no official credit. A week later, he decided to ignore more experienced pilots' advice against flying through a thunderstorm, and later noted that he had been "lucky to get through [the weather]", and vowed never to fly in such conditions unless demanded to.
After another spell flying two-seaters on the Eastern Front, he met Oswald Boelcke again in August 1916. Boelcke, visiting the east in search of candidates for his newly formed fighter unit, selected Richthofen to join Jagdstaffel 2 ("fighter squadron"). Richthofen won his first aerial combat with Jasta 2 over Cambrai, France, on 17 September 1916. Boelcke was killed during a midair collision with a friendly aircraft on 28 October 1916, Richthofen witnessing the event himself.
After his first confirmed victory, Richthofen ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and the type of enemy machine from a jeweller in Berlin. He continued this until he had 60 cups, by which time the dwindling supply of silver in blockaded Germany meant that silver cups like this could no longer be supplied. Richthofen discontinued his orders at this stage, rather than accept cups made in pewter or other base metal.
Instead of using risky, aggressive tactics like those of his brother, Lothar (40 victories), Manfred observed a set of maxims (known as the "Dicta Boelcke") to assure the success for both the squadron and its pilots. He was not a spectacular or acrobatic pilot, like his brother or the renowned Werner Voss. However, he was a fine combat tactician and squadron leader, not to mention a superb marksman, viewing his aircraft as a platform from which to fire his guns in combat. Typically, he would dive from above to attack with the advantage of the sun behind him, and with other Jasta pilots covering his rear and flanks.
On 23 November 1916, Richthofen downed his most famous adversary, British ace Major Lanoe Hawker VC, described by Richthofen himself as "the British Boelcke". The victory came while Richthofen was flying an Albatros D.II and Hawker was flying a D.H.2. Hawker was killed instantly by a spray of bullets fired by Richthofen, one of which struck Hawker in the head as he attempted to escape from over enemy lines. After this combat, Richthofen was convinced he needed a fighter aircraft with more agility, even at a loss of speed. He switched to the Albatros D.III in January 1917, scoring two victories before suffering an inflight crack in the spar of the aircraft's lower wing on 24 January. Richthofen reverted to the Albatros D.II or Halberstadt D.II for the next five weeks. On 6 March, he was shot down without injury by Edwin Benbow. Richthofen then scored a victory in the Albatros D.II on 9 March, but since his Albatros D.III was grounded for the rest of the month, Richthofen switched again to a Halberstadt D.II. He returned to his Albatros D.III on 2 April 1917 and scored 22 victories in it before switching to the Albatros D.V in late June. Following his return from convalescence in October, Richthofen flew the celebrated Fokker Dr.I triplane, the distinctive three-winged aircraft with which he is most commonly associated, although he probably did not use the type exclusively until after it was reissued with strengthened wings in November. Despite the popular link between Richthofen and the Fokker Dr. I, only 19 of his 80 kills were made in this now-famous triplane. It was his Albatros D.III Serial No. 789/16 that was first painted bright red, in late January 1917, and in which he first earned his name and reputation.
Richthofen championed the development of the Fokker D.VII with suggestions to overcome the deficiencies of the then current German fighter aircraft. However, he never had an opportunity to fly it in combat as he was killed just days before it entered service.
In January 1917, after his 16th confirmed kill, Richthofen received the Pour le Mérite ("The Blue Max"), the highest military honour in Germany at the time. That same month, he assumed command of the fighter squadron Jasta 11, which ultimately included some of the elite German pilots, many of whom he trained himself. Several later became leaders of their own squadrons. Ernst Udet (later Colonel-General Udet) was a member of Richthofen's group. At the time he became a squadron commander, Richthofen took the flamboyant step of having his Albatros painted red. Thereafter he usually flew in red painted aircraft, although not all of them were entirely red, nor was the "red" necessarily the brilliant scarlet beloved of model and replica builders. Other members of Jasta 11 soon took to painting parts of their aircraft red - their "official" reason seems to have been to make their leader less conspicuous, and to avoid him being singled out in a fight. In practice red colouration became a unit identification. Other jastas soon adopted their own "squadron colours" and decoration of fighters became general throughout the Luftstreitkräfte. In spite of obvious drawbacks from the point of view of intelligence this practice was permitted by the German high command, and was made much of by German propaganda - Richthofen being identified as Der Rote Kampfflieger - the "Red Battle Flyer".
Richthofen led his new unit to unparalleled success, peaking during "Bloody April" 1917. In that month alone, he downed 22 British aircraft, including 4 in a single day, raising his official tally to 52. By June he was the commander of the first of the new larger Jagdgeschwader (wing) formations, leading Jagdgeschwader 1, composed of Jastas 4, 6, 10 and 11. These were highly mobile, combined tactical units that could be sent at short notice to different parts of the front as required. In this way, JG1 became "The Flying Circus", its name coming both from the unit's mobility (including the use of tents and trains) and its brightly coloured aircraft. By the end of April, the "Flying Circus" also became known as the "Richthofen Circus."
Richthofen was a brilliant tactician, building on Boelcke's tactics. Unlike Boelcke, he led by example and force of will rather than by inspiration. He was often described as distant, unemotional, and rather humourless, though some colleagues contended otherwise. He circulated to his pilots the basic rule which he wanted them to fight by: "Aim for the man and don't miss him. If you are fighting a two-seater, get the observer first; until you have silenced the gun, don't bother about the pilot".
Although he was now performing the duties of a lieutenant colonel (in modern RAF terms, a wing commander), he remained a captain. The system in the British army would have been for him to have held the rank appropriate to his level of command (if only on a temporary basis) even if he had not been formally promoted. In the German army, it was not unusual for a wartime officer to hold a lower rank than his duties implied, German officers being promoted according to a schedule and not by battlefield promotion. For instance, Erwin Rommel commanded an infantry battalion as a captain in 1917 and 1918. It was also not the custom for a son to hold a higher rank than his father, and Richthofen's father was a reserve major.
Wounded in combat On 6 July, during combat with a formation of F.E.2d two seat fighters of No. 20 Squadron RFC, near Wervicq, Richthofen sustained a serious head wound, causing instant disorientation and temporary partial blindness. He regained consciousness in time to ease the aircraft out of a free-falling spin and executed a rough landing in a field within friendly territory. The injury required multiple surgeries to remove bone splinters from the impact area; he was hospitalised and grounded for over a month. The air victory was credited to Captain Donald Cunnell of No. 20, who was killed a few days later.
Although the Red Baron returned to active service in October 1917, his wound is thought to have caused lasting damage, as he later often suffered from post-flight nausea and headaches, as well as a change in temperament. There is even a theory linking this injury with his eventual death.
During his convalescence, Richthofen completed his "autobiography", Der rote Kampfflieger. This was written on the instructions of the "Press and Intelligence" (i.e. propaganda) section of the Luftstreitkräfte, and was heavily censored and edited. A translation by J. Ellis Barker was published in 1918 as The Red Battle Flyer. Although Richthofen died before a revised version could be prepared, he is on record as repudiating the book, stating that it was "too insolent" (or "arrogant") and that he was "no longer that kind of person".
By 1918, Richthofen had become such a legend that it was feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of the German people. Richthofen himself refused to accept a ground job after his wound, stating that the average German soldier had no choice in his duties, and he would therefore continue to fly in combat. Certainly he had become part of a cult of hero-worship, assiduously encouraged by official propaganda. German propaganda circulated various false rumours, including that the British had raised squadrons specially to hunt down Richthofen, and were offering large rewards and an automatic Victoria Cross to any Allied pilot who shot him down. Passages from his correspondence indicate he may have at least half believed some of these stories himself.
Richthofen was fatally wounded just after 11 a.m. on 21 April 1918, while flying over Morlancourt Ridge, near the Somme River. At the time, the Baron had been pursuing (at very low altitude) a Sopwith Camel piloted by a novice Canadian pilot, Lieutenant Wilfrid "Wop" May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. In turn, the Baron was spotted and briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by a school friend (and flight Commander) of May's, Canadian Captain Arthur "Roy" Brown, who had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground. Richthofen turned to avoid this attack, and then resumed his pursuit of May. It was almost certainly during this final stage in his pursuit of May that Richthofen was hit by a single .303 bullet, which caused such severe damage to his heart and lungs that it must have produced a very speedy death. In the last seconds of his life, he managed to make a hasty but controlled landing in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of the village of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the aircraft, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Another eye witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaputt".
His Fokker Dr.I, 425/17, was not badly damaged by the landing, but it was soon taken apart by souvenir hunters. No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, as the nearest Allied air unit, assumed responsibility for the Baron's remains.
In 2009, Richthofen's death certificate was found in the archives in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland. Richthofen was briefly stationed in Ostrów—which was part of Germany until the end of World War I—before going to war. The document, which is a one-page, handwritten form in a 1918 registry book of deaths, misspells Richthofen's name as "Richthoven" and simply states that he has "died 21 April 1918, from wounds sustained in combat".
Controversy and contradictory hypotheses continue to surround the identity of the person who fired the shot that actually killed Richthofen.
The RAF credited Brown with shooting down the Red Baron. However, Richthofen died following an extremely serious and inevitably fatal chest wound from a single bullet, penetrating from the right armpit and resurfacing next to the left nipple. If this had come from Brown's guns, Richthofen could not have continued his pursuit of May for as long as he did. Brown himself never spoke much about what happened that day, claiming "There is no point in me commenting, as the evidence is already out there".
Experts now generally agree that Richthofen was killed by someone on the ground. The wound through his body indicated that it had been caused by a bullet moving in an upward motion, from the right side, and more importantly, that it was probably received some time after Brown's attack.
Many sources, including a 1998 article by Dr. Geoffrey Miller, a physician and historian of military medicine, and a 2003 US Public Broadcasting Service documentary, have suggested that Sergeant Cedric Popkin was the person most likely to have killed Richthofen. Popkin was an anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner with the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, and was using a Vickers gun. He fired at Richthofen's aircraft on two occasions: first as the Baron was heading straight at his position, and then at long range from the right. Given the nature of Richthofen's wounds, Popkin was in a position to fire the fatal shot, when the pilot passed him for a second time, on the right.
Some confusion has been caused by a letter that Popkin wrote, in 1935, to an Australian official historian. It stated Popkin's belief that he had fired the fatal shot as Richthofen flew straight at his position. However, in the latter respect, Popkin was incorrect: the bullet that caused the Baron's death came from the side (see above).
A 2002 Discovery Channel documentary suggests that Gunner W. J. "Snowy" Evans, a Lewis machine gunner with the 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artillery Brigade, Royal Australian Artillery is likely to have killed von Richthofen. However, Dr. Miller and the PBS documentary dismiss this theory, because of the angle from which Evans fired at Richthofen. Other sources have suggested that Gunner Robert Buie (also of the 53rd Battery) may have fired the fatal shot. There is little support for this theory. Nevertheless, in 2007, a municipality in Sydney recognised Buie as the man who shot down Richthofen, placing a plaque near Buie's former home. Buie, who died in 1964, has never been officially recognised in any other way.
The commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron AFC, Major David Blake, initially suggested that Richthofen had been killed by the crew of one of his squadron's R.E.8s, which had also fought Richthofen's unit that afternoon. However, this was quickly disproved, and following an autopsy that he witnessed, Blake became a strong proponent of the view that an AA machine gunner had killed Richthofen.
Theories about last combat. Richthofen was a highly experienced and skilled fighter pilot — fully aware of the risk from ground fire. Furthermore he was fully in accord with his late mentor Boelcke's rules of air fighting, which were strongly against taking foolish risks. In this context, it is universally accepted that Richthofen's judgement during his last combat was uncharacteristically unsound in several respects. Several theories have been proposed to account for his behaviour.
In 1999, a German medical researcher, Dr. Henning Allmers, published an article in British medical journal The Lancet, suggesting it was likely that brain damage from the head wound Richthofen suffered in July 1917 (see above) played a part in the Red Baron's death. This was supported by a 2004 paper by researchers at the University of Texas. Richthofen's behaviour after his injury was noted as consistent with brain-injured patients, and such an injury could account for his perceived lack of judgment on his final flight: flying too low over enemy territory and suffering target fixation. There is also the possibility that Richthofen was suffering from cumulative combat stress, which made him fail to observe some of his usual precautions. It is noteworthy that one of the leading British air aces, Major Edward "Mick" Mannock, was killed by ground fire on 26 July 1918 while crossing the lines at low level, an action he had always cautioned his younger pilots against. One of the most popular of the French air aces, Georges Guynemer, went missing on 11 September 1917, probably while attacking a two-seater without realizing several Fokkers were escorting it.
There is a suggestion in Franks and Bennett's 2007 book, that on the day of Richthofen's death, the prevailing wind was about 25 mph (40 km/h) easterly, rather than the usual 25 mph (40 km/h) westerly. This meant that Richthofen, heading generally westward at an airspeed of about 100 mph (160 km/h), was travelling over the ground at 125 mph (200 km/h) rather than the more typical ground speed of 75 mph (120 km/h). This was 60% faster than normal and he could easily have strayed over enemy lines without realizing it, especially since he was struggling with one jammed gun and another that was firing only short bursts before needing to be re-cocked. An assessment of these factors must include the circumstances of the time. At the time of Richthofen's death the front was in a highly fluid state, following the initial success of the German offensive of March–April 1918. He may have been acutely aware that this was part of Germany's last real chance to win the war — in the face of Allied air superiority, the German air service was having great difficulty in acquiring vital reconnaissance information, and could do little to prevent Allied squadrons from completing very effective reconnaissance and close support of their armies.
In common with most Allied air officers, Major Blake, who was responsible for Richthofen's remains, regarded the Red Baron with great respect, and he organised a full military funeral, to be conducted by the personnel of No. 3 Squadron AFC.
Richthofen was buried in the cemetery at the village of Bertangles, near Amiens, on 22 April 1918. Six airmen with the rank of Captain—the same rank as Richthofen—served as pallbearers, and a guard of honour from the squadron's other ranks fired a salute. Allied squadrons stationed nearby presented memorial wreaths, one of which was inscribed with the words, "To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe."
A speculation that his opponents organised a flypast at his funeral, giving rise to the missing man formation, is most unlikely and totally unsupported by any contemporary evidence.
In the early 1920s the French authorities created a military cemetery at Fricourt, in which a very large number of German war dead, including Richthofen, were reinterred. In 1925, Manfred von Richthofen's youngest brother, Bolko, recovered the body from Fricourt and took the Red Baron home to Germany. The family's intention was for Manfred to rest in the Schweidnitz cemetery, next to the graves of his father and his brother Lothar, who had been killed in a post-war air crash in 1922. The German government requested, however, that the final resting place be the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin, where many German military heroes and past leaders were buried and the family agreed. Later the Nazi regime organised a grandiose memorial ceremony over this grave, erecting a massive new tombstone with the single word: “Richthofen”. During the Cold War the Invalidenfriedhof was on the boundary of the Soviet zone in Berlin, and the tombstone became pockmarked with bullets fired at attempted escapees to the west. In 1975, the remains were moved to the family tomb at the Südfriedhof in Wiesbaden. For decades after World War I, some authors questioned whether Richthofen achieved 80 victories, insisting that his record was exaggerated for propaganda purposes. Some claimed that he took credit for aircraft downed by his squadron or wing.
In fact, Richthofen’s victories are better documented than those of most aces. A full list of the aircraft the Red Baron was credited with shooting down was published as early as 1958 – with documented RFC/RAF squadron details, aircraft serial numbers, and the identities of Allied airmen killed or captured – 73 of the 80 are listed as matching recorded British losses. A study conducted by British historian Norman Franks with two colleagues, published in Under the Guns of the Red Baron in 1998, reached the same conclusion about the high degree of accuracy of Richthofen's claimed victories. There were also unconfirmed victories that would put his actual total as high as 100 or more.
For comparison, the highest scoring Allied ace was Frenchman René Fonck, with 75 confirmed victories and further 52 unconfirmed behind enemy lines. The highest scoring British Empire fighter pilots were Canadian Billy Bishop credited with 72 victories. and Mick Mannock with 50 confirmed kills and a further 11 unconfirmed. It is also significant that while Richthofen's early victories and the establishment of his reputation coincided with a period of German air superiority, many of his successes were achieved against a numerically superior enemy, who were flying fighter aircraft that were on the whole better than his own.
Relics, decorations and awards
Prussian Order Pour le Mérite: 12 January 1917 (in recognition of his 16th aerial victory).
Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords: 6 April 1918 (in recognition of his 70th aerial victory).
Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords: 11 November 1916.
Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914): 12 September 1914.
Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords: 29 April 1917.
Saxon Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross: 16 April 1917.
Württemberg Military Merit Order, Knight's Cross: 13 April 1917.
Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knight 1st Class with Swords (issued by the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha): 9 May 1917.
Hesse General Honour Decoration, "for Bravery"
Lippe War Honour Cross for Heroic Deeds: 13 October 1917.
Schaumburg-Lippe Cross for Faithful Service: 10 October 1917.
Bremen Hanseatic Cross: 25 September 1917.
Lübeck Hanseatic Cross: 22 September 1917.
Austrian Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd Class with War Decoration: 8 August 1917.
Austrian Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration
Bulgarian Order of Bravery, 4th Class (1st Grade): June 1917.
Turkish Imtiaz Medal in Silver with Sabres
Turkish Liakat Medal in Silver with Sabres
Turkish War Medal ("Iron Crescent"): 4 November 1917.
German Army Pilot's Badge
German Army Observer's Badge
Austrian Field Pilot's Badge (Franz Joseph pattern)
Tributes
At various times, several different German military aviation Geschwader (literally "squadrons"; equivalent to Commonwealth air force "groups", French escadrons or USAF "wings") have been named after the Baron:
Jagdgeschwader 132 "Richthofen" (1 April 1936–1 November 1938) — Wehrmacht aviation unit
Jagdgeschwader 131 "Richthofen" (1 November 1938–1 May 1939) — Luftwaffe
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (1 May 1939–7 May 1945) — Luftwaffe
Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen" (from 6 June 1959) — the first jet fighter unit established by the post-World War II German Bundeswehr ("federal defence force"); its founding commander was the most successful air ace in history, Erich Hartmann.
In 1941, a newly launched Kriegsmarine (navy) seaplane tender was also named Richthofen.
The engine of Richthofen's DR.I was donated to the Imperial War Museum in London, where it is still on display. The control column (joystick) of Richthofen's aircraft can be seen at the Australian War Memorial, in Canberra. The Royal Canadian Military Institute, in Toronto, holds two parts of the aircraft: its seat and a side panel signed by the pilots of Brown's squadron.
Il Barone rosso
Manfred von Richthofen, per intero Manfred Albrecht Freiherrè von Richthofen (Breslavia, 2 maggio 1892 – Vaux-sur-Somme, 21 aprile 1918), è stato un aviatore tedesco. Viene ricordato come un asso dell'aviazione: più precisamente, come l'asso degli assi. È una delle principali figure della prima guerra mondiale e l'appellativo che lo ha consegnato alla leggenda è quello di Barone rosso.
Talento puro dell'aviazione, ottenne ottanta vittorie aeree confermate durante il conflitto del 1915-1918 prima di essere abbattuto il 21 aprile 1918 dal capitano Arthur Roy Brown durante l'ennesimo combattimento aereo sulle linee inglesi attestate nel dipartimento francese della Somme (anche se Brown non rivendicò mai ufficialmente la vittoria, sostenendo che l'abbattimento era dovuto al sergente Popkin o all'artigliere Robert Buie della contraerea australiana). Avrebbe compiuto, da lì a un mese, ventisei anni di età.
Quello che per i francesi era le diable rouge e per gli inglesi the red baron, nacque a Breslavia, Germania (ora in Polonia), sotto il regno del Kaiser Guglielmo II, ed ancora bambino si trasferì con la famiglia a Schweidnitz (oggi Swidnica, Polonia).
In gioventù praticò caccia ed equitazione e, completato l'addestramento come cadetto, si arruolò nel reggimento Uhlan, passando poi però alla fanteria. Allo scoppio della Grande guerra, stanco del suo impegno in cavalleria, decise di entrare in aviazione dimostrandosi da subito un abilissimo pilota; all'interno della Luftstreitkräfte fu decisivo il suo incontro con un altro grande aviatore Oswald Boelcke, che molto contribuì al suo futuro successo. Boelcke selezionò von Richthofen per il suo gruppo da combattimento Jagdstaffel, o JASTA 2. Il suo primo combattimento - vittorioso - avvenne sopra Cambrai, Francia, il 17 settembre 1916.
Nel 1917 gli fu affidato il comando della Jasta 11, la squadriglia da caccia che in seguito sarebbe diventata nota come il Circo Volante in virtù dei vivaci colori che decoravano gli apparecchi, ma anche per l'abilità dei piloti, scelti attentamente da Richtofen. L'appellativo di Barone Rosso gli venne appunto dal fatto che molti degli aerei da lui pilotati, a partire dall'Albatros D.III, erano completamente dipinti di rosso.
Il 24 giugno 1917 ricoprì l'incarico di comandante di una nuova unità appena formata, il Primo stormo da caccia che comprendeva la squadriglie (Jasta) 4,6,10,11. Questo Jageschwader (stormo da caccia) doveva essere una unità autosufficiente, con lo scopo di ottenere la superiorità aerea in settori decisivi, per contrastare le sempre più consistenti formazioni del Royal Flying Corps britannico.
L'ultima missione. Il 21 aprile 1918, decollò dal campo di Cappy con altri nove piloti, fra cui suo cugino Wolfram von Richthofen, che era alle sue prime missioni di guerra: insieme incontrarono i Sopwith Camel della 209ª squadriglia della Royal Air Force. Il giovane tenente canadese Wilfrid May vide che Wolfram von Richthofen restava, come lui, ai margini del combattimento aereo, e gli andò in caccia mettendosi in coda. Accorgendosi che suo cugino era in pericolo, il Barone Rosso inseguì Wilfrid May, che cercava di allontanarsi, con la mitragliatrice inceppata. Questa era di solito la sua tecnica abituale, cercare gli aerei in difficoltà e prenderli in caccia. Tuttavia stava sempre attento a non portarsi sulle linee nemiche, ma quel giorno non prese questa precauzione. Forse era molto stanco o forse la battaglia aerea si era piano piano spostata a ovest, sulle linee alleate. Vedendo il triplano di Manfred von Richthofen in procinto d'attaccare May, il capitano Arthur Roy Brown, altro pilota canadese, decise a sua volta di attaccare il Barone Rosso. Ben presto i tre aerei si ritrovarono a bassissima quota sulla terra di nessuno che separava i due fronti. Richthofen desistette dall'inseguimento, ma sembra che avesse calcolato male la sua posizione, per cui quando fece la virata per tornare indietro, sorvolò una delle zone più munite del fronte della Somme. Colpito da proiettili provenienti dalle trincee, il triplano atterrò intatto. Alcuni testimoni raccontarono che Richthofen era già morto, riverso sulla cloche; altri che sopravvisse ancora alcuni minuti prima di emettere un ultimo sospiro, Kaputt, riferito al suo aeroplano. Un caccia inglese lasciò cadere sul campo-base tedesco di Cappy il seguente messaggio: "AL CORPO D'AVIAZIONE TEDESCO. Il capitano barone Manfred von Richtofen è stato ucciso in battaglia il 21 aprile 1918 e seppellito con tutti gli onori militari". Le sue spoglie furono ospitate nel cimitero del villaggio di Bertangles vicino Amiens, finita la guerra, nel 1919 furono trasferite nel Cimitero Militare Tedesco di Fricourt, sulla Somme. Il 16 novembre 1925 il feretro del Barone Rosso attraversò il Reno e fu accolto da una folla raccolta a Kehl, gli furono tributati grandi funerali di stato e fu seppellito insieme ai più grandi eroi tedeschi nell'Invalidenfriedhof a Berlino. Questo cimitero monumentale dopo la seconda guerra mondiale si ritrovò nel settore Est di Berlino, allora la famiglia, temendo che la tomba non venisse più curata chiese e ottenne nel 1976 la traslazione delle spoglie a Wiesbaden nella cappella di famiglia, vicino sua madre e sua nonna.
Quando si recò in Turingia al matrimonio dell'amico capitano Fritz Prestien, la sua presenza confuse un giornalista del quotidiano 'Gothaisches Tageblatt' che scrisse come fosse stato lui, Manfred von Richthofen, a sposarsi. La falsa notizia del matrimonio del Barone Rosso fu ripresa da tutti i quotidiani della Germania, e lui e la sua famiglia furono inondati da migliaia di lettere e biglietti di augurio. Prima che l'interessato smentisse, suo padre, il maggiore Albrecht von Richtofen, commentò l'episodio dicendo che non si sarebbe sorpreso se un uomo così moderno, come era il Barone Rosso, avesse deciso di sposarsi senza prima consultare suo padre.
Dopo essere stato seppellito dagli inglesi con tutti gli onori, la sua tomba fu profanata dai francesi residenti del luogo, erroneamente convinti che fosse lui il responsabile dei bombardamenti.
Barone Rosso è il nemico contro cui combatte Snoopy quando immagina di essere un aviatore della prima guerra mondiale. Queste battaglie immaginarie hanno ispirato la canzone Snoopy contro il Barone Rosso di Giorgio Gaber.
Il famoso geografo e geologo Ferdinand von Richthofen, colui che coniò l'espressione Via della Seta (Seidenstraße), era suo zio.
Una volta scrisse di sè: "Sono un cacciatore: ogniqualvolta riesco ad abbattere un aereo inglese, il mio desiderio di caccia è soddisfatto per un quarto d'ora".
Manfred von Ritchofen è presente in Empire Earth durante la campagna tedesca.
Anche suo fratello Lothar von Richthofen partecipò alla Prima Guerra Mondiale come aviatore; gli stili di combattimento di Manfred e Lothar erano diametralmente opposti: freddo e calcolatore il primo, irruento e spericolato il secondo.
A causa del proprio stile irruento, suo fratello Lothar fu ferito diverse volte in occasione di altrettanti combattimenti; sorprendentemente riuscì a sopravvivere alla fine del conflitto.
