Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (May 2, 1892 – April 21, 1918) also known as "le Baron Rouge",or the "Red Baron" was shot down killed just after 11 a.m. on April 21, 1918, at the height of WWI. He died after being struck by a single .303 bullet, while flying Somme River.

But who fired the fatal shot?

At the time the Baron had been pursuing a young allied pilot ( Lt May ) at very low altitude. They were twisting and turning and even flew so low that one plane almost hit a church steeple. He was spotted and chased by Captain "Roy" Brown who had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground giving him only two or three seconds to aim fire and shoot. The Baron continued to chase Lt May for several more moments. Brown was at the time credited with shooting down the Red Baron - although now it seems unlikely. Richthofen received a single but fatal chest wound - it seems almost impossible that, if this was from Brown's guns, he should then have flown on after May for as long as he did.

Who fired the fatal shot?

The identity of the person who shot the Red Baron remains unknown. The .303 was the standard calibre for all machine guns and rifles used by Allied forces during World War I. There were several ground based gunners also shooting at him.

The most likely theory is that the shot came from Sergeant Cedric Popkin, an anti-aircraft (AA) machine gunner with the Australian 24th Machine Gun Company, however there is evidence W.J. "Snowy" Evans, a Lewis machine gunner with the 53rd Battery, Royal Australian Artillery may have fired the fatal shot.

It was 89 years ago today and has been an enduring mystery. One that has intruged me ( and many others ) for years.

BTW The British Royal Flying Corps rendered full military honours at the von Richthofen's funeral

A movie is due late summer.







Read the book Richthofen's own autobiography is titled Der Rote Kampfflieger ("The Red Battle Flier")..