Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/270 PART 1/1 - 1918 - 1939 - Part 4

Conflict:

First World War, 1914–18

Subject:

Documents and letters

Status:

Awaiting approval

Accession number:

RCDIG1066668

Difficulty:

June 1939

Page 7

The Richthofen Riddle

ON April 21, 1918, Richthofen's

famous flying circus went into

action near Bertangles, on the

Amiens front, against a Canadian

squadron while below Australian

troops did what they could to help

straf the German airmen.

Suddenly, one of these latter dived

out of the conflict and brought his

red Fokker to an uneven landing behind

the Allied lines.

When Australian troops surrounded

the plane, they found sitting bolt

upright in the pilot's seat, his hands

still on the control stick, but very dead,

Germany's outstanding ace, Baron

Manfred von Richthofen himself.

How had he been killed ? By whom,

Canadian fliers or Australian gunners?

For many years following the World

War, the question was discussed and

argued back and forth between Canadians

and Australians but never

definitely settled.

In 1930, Our Empire, official publication

of the British Empire Service

League, investigated the matter and

published three graphic descriptions of

Richthofen's death.

The following are the generally

accepted facts leading up to Richthofen's

last fight:
<At 11:30 a.m., on the morning of

April 21st, 1918, from the aerodrome

just east of the little village of Cappy,

Richthofen's famous <Circus> (Staffel

No. 11, to give it its official title),

rose from the ground to take part in

its daily dog-fight appointments with

Squadron 209 if the R.A.F., which was

located at Bertangles, and was cooperating

with the Fourth Army on

the Amiens front. These daily combats

had been going on for several

weeks and both sides were eager, on

this early spring morning, to get to

grips. They hand not long to wait, for

Richthofen soon spotted his prey. At

about the seven thousand feet altitude

level, two old R.E. 8's, belonging to

No. 3 Australian Squadron, manned by

a daring quartette of young Australians

— Lieutenants S.G. Garrett, A.V. Barrow

(both of Melbourne), T.L. Simpson,

D.F.C. (of Hamilton). and E.C.

Hanks (of Sydney), were flying over

the village of Hamel on photographic

reconnaisance. Richtfohen's Circus

swooped down upon them, and the

<Camels> of Squadron 209 roared to

their relief. So started the last combat

of Baron Manfred von Richthofen>

In 1927 there was published <The

Red Knight of Germany>, by Mr.

Floyd Gibbons, and American writer,

who, to secure information as authentic

as possible for his book, actually

interviewed many of the actors -

Canadian, Australian and German -

who took part in this last great drama

of the air. Mr. Gibbons vividly describes

the last minutes of Richthofen

as follows:

<Richthofen was flying on May's

tail. (May was the junior member

of 209 Squadron engaged in the melee).

He had selected him for his next victim.

The nose of the all-red Fokker

was within thirty yards of the fleeing

<Camel>. May, looking over his

shoulder, saw the approach of death.

He saw the openwork air-cooling casings

of the two Spandau barrels pointing

down on him from above. Between

the butt ends of the machine guns the

top of a leather-helmeted head was

just visible, down as far as a pair of

dark glass goggles. The eyes of Germany's

deadliest marksman in the air

peered through the glasses...

comes within the wire-crossed

circle of Richthofen's sights. The

pressure of a steady finger on the

trigger — two jets of lead spout from

the gun barrels. Bullets snap through

the air close by May's ears. Splinters

fly from the struts before him.

<He is defenceless from the rear.

He can only shoot forward. Richthofen

keeps behind him. The young

Australian resorts to every stunt he

knows to get out of that deadly line

of fire. He darts to one side — darts

back — goes into a zig-zag course, but

his pursuer seems able to foresee his

every manoevre. Richthofen keeps

the nose of the red Fokker trained on

the body of the fuselage. The short

bursts continue to rip out from the

Spandaus.

<The speed of the pair is terrific.

They are going down the wind with

full motors and depressed planes. May

is flying for life against an agent of

death who has seldom failed before.

<Captain Roy Brown (second in

command of 209 Squadron), from the

height of 1,000 feet, has seen the frantic

efforts of his fledgling to extricate himself

from the talons of the pursuing

eagle. He noses the <Camel> down

again at full speed toward the whirling

duellists, who are now not more the

two hundred feet off the ground.

<Directly in front and beneath the

pair are the trench positions and gun

pits of the Fifty-Third Australian Field

Battery of the Fifth Division. They

are located near the crest of the ridge,

and the waiting gunners watch with

bated breath the two whirling, twisting

forms of Richthofen and his harassed

quarry.

<May, still zig-zagging, makes for

the crest of the ridge in a last desperate

effort to land before those two

streams of lead reach him. One bullet

has already traversed his right arm.

The pain is forgotten in the excitement

of the moment.

<The Australian gunners see the

leading machine is British and that the

one behind it is an all-red <Fokker>.

The machine gunner on the nearer

flank of the battery aims forward and

upward at the writhing oncoming pair,

but so close is Richthofen upon May's

tail that the gunner dares not fire.

The two planes are almost in line.

Another Lewis gunner beyond the

ridge sprays a stream of lead upward.

His range is 100 years. He sees splinters

flying from the woodwork of the

German plane.

<But Brown has arrived at the end

of his dive. He comes out of it slightly

above and to the right of the daring

<Fokker>. His last drum of ammunition

is in place. His sights come to

bear on the red machine. He presses

Page 8

FIDAC REVIEW

June 1939

the trigger and the ready Vickers speak

in deadly unison.

<He watches the tracer bullets going

to the red triplane from the right side.

They hit the tail first. A slight pull

on the sitck — a fractional elevation

of the <Camel's> nose, and the Canadian's

line of fire starts to tuck a

seam up the body of the <Fokker>.

<Richthofen, with his spurting Spandaus

still trained on May, is unaware

of this new attack from the rear.

<Brown see his tracers penetrate

the side of the Fokker cockpit.

<The <Fokker> wavers in mid-air

— falters — glides earthward.

<The Red Knight of Germany goes

down...

<The red <Fokker> hits the uneven

ground, but rolls on an even keel.

It loses one undercarriage wheel and

comes to a stop right side up in a shell

hole on the outskirts of the ruined

village of Sailly-le-Sec, not far from

Corbie. The terrain on which the triplane

rests is open and exposed to fire

from the German side. The Australian

in the nearby shell holes and gunpits

wait for the occupant of the plane to

emerge. Telescopes in the German

position a quarter of a mile away are

also trained on the machine for the

same purpose. But the occupant makes

no effort to get out...

<The German pilot is sitting bolt

upright in his seat, strapped to the

back. His hands still hold the control

stick between his knees. There is blood

on that part of the face which shows

below the strapped helmet and the

broken goggles. Blood is coming from

the mouth, and the lower jaw sags.

The man is dead — it is Richthofen.>

The second description is taken

from Vol. 8 of the Australian Official

War History, <Australia in the War>,

by F. M. Cutlack, published in 1923,

and reads as follows:

<Meanwhile, at about 10.45 a.m., the

Red Circus, having passed the lines

after the first escape of the two

R.E. 8's, immediately encountered a

formation of Camels from a British

Naval Air Squadron operating as

fighting scouts in the Amiens sector.

These scouts had witnessed the

approach of the enemy, and it was

evidently their presence which had

saved the Australian photographic

machines in the first attack. The two

formations flew straight at each other,

and in a few seconds the infantry on

the great natural grandstand of the

Morlancourt Ridge were spectators of

a first-class air battle. They could

not see the whole fight, for the mist

hid much of it. But the extent of the

firing told all they could not actually

see... Suddenly the watching gunners

of the 53rd Australian Field Battery,

5th Division, near the crest of the

ridge, saw two whirling and twisting

forms emerge from the haze where the

pipping of the machine guns had been

heaviest. Then one machine dived for

the ground with the other on its tail.

They darted about wildly for a few

seconds. Suddenly the pursued aeroplane,

evidently in desperate straits,

made straight for the crest of the ridge

near the battery. The gunners saw

that it was a British machine and its

pursuer a red triplane. The Lewis

guns on the nearer flank of the battery

made ready to fire, but at first could

not, for the machines were flying so

low and close that the fleeing Camel

blocked the gunners' sight of the German.

The German was firing rapid

short bursts at the Camel just beyond

his nose, and the hunted British

machine was making no attempt to

turn and fire. The pilot afterwards

explained his hopeless position by saying

that he had his guns jammed, had

no room to manoeuvre so near the

ridge, and was making a dash for a

landing as his only hope. The machines

flew in right overhead, careless of

everything except their own duel, and

at this point, at about a hundred yards

range, the artillery Lewis gunners and

a machine gun from another Australian

camp behind the crest of the ridge

opened fire on the German. Splinters

of wood were seen to fly off immediately

from near his engine. The

triplane wobbled, side-banked up,

swerved across to the left of a half-circle,

obviously crippled, then dived

straight into the ground about 400

yards away and was smashed to pieces.

<The Australians into whose territory

it fell discovered from the watch

and papers on the dead pilot that he

was Richthofen. No. 3 Squadron saved

his body and the remains of the

machine that evening, and buried him

a couple of days later...

<The honour of shooting down the

redoubtable German air leader was

much disputed, but the evidence of

the time clearly indicates that it belonged

to Australian Lewis gunners on

the ground, though a British squadron

of Camels has never abandoned its

claim to him as its own victim.>

In an article in the London Evening

Standard Mr. Boyd Cable, the famous

was correspondent, wrote as follows:

<I had good reason for collecting

every possible fact concerning the

death of Baron von Richthofen, because

at that time I was specially

permitted by Air Ministry and R.A.F.

to send home to the aircraft factory

workers any stirring reports of air

fights which would keep their interest

sustained and encourage them to speed

up production. H.Q. of the R.A.F naturally

gave me every facility for

collecting such records.

<As soon as the report of <The

Red Baron> being crashed had been

verified, I telegraphed the factories

engaged in building Sopwith Camel

machines that Richthofen had been

crashed by a pilot flying a machine

of that type.

<Later I sent a full account to the

factories in letters, but before doing

so I had visited the Squadron (No. 209,

previously R.N.A.S., which with R.F.C.

had become R.A.F. a few weeks before);

had heard the fight told in detail

by all the pilots of the squadron in it,

including the two specially concerned;

had read their independent <combat

reports >; had been sent to Headquarters

R.A.F.; had the facts from the doctor

who examined the body; and had done

everything else I could to make sure

of the full details.

<My letters and telegrams to the

factories had to pass the R.A.F. and

Army censors, and naturally the

R.A.F. especially would not pass

anything which was not authentic. I

feel, therefore, that the account I can

give of the fight is as correct as it can

be.

<One of our artillery-observing

machines was working over the enemy

lines a little way when Richthofen and

his <Circus> swept down on them.

The artillery observing plane pluckily

tried to fight off the swarm of fast

fighters, and another of our machines

(I believe of the same Australian

squadron), seeing his plight, flew to

the rescue.

<A flight (six machines) of No. 209

Squadron on fast single-seaters —

Sopwith Camel fighting scouts —

opportunely arrived and flung themselves

on the <Circus> of anything

round 30 enemies. (Accounts vary as

to their number, but the <Circus>

was usually 30 to 40 machines.)

<A hot <dog-fight> followed, with

no attempt at formation fighting or

control by the leader, but on the usual

dog-fight <Donnybrook rules> of

<every man for himself> and <when

ye see a head hit it>.

<One of our pilots, a youngster who

had very shortly before joined the

squadron and was inexperienced in air

fighting, heard bullets smacking about

his machine, looked round, and to his

dismay saw the <Red Baron> dead

astern, <sitting on his tail> and raining

bursts of fire on him. There was

no mistaking Richthofen, the victor of

so many air fights. His machine was

painted a deep blood red from nose

to tail, even to strut, stay and flying

wires. Every other German machine

was painted <dazzle colours>.

<If there was the psychological reason

we suspected in Richthofen being

so plainly marked by his red machine,

it worked well in this case. Our young

pilot admitted that seeing the deadly

Red Baron <on his tail> (a scout

machine like the Camel can only shoot

dead ahead, so that as long as an

(Continued on Page 12.)

Page 12

FIDAC REVIEW

June 1939

the result that these Russian troops

were driven across the upper Dniester

(June 24th). By this success, the army-group

under Pflanzer-Baltin, at

the extreme right wing of the Central

Powers, was relieved of the pressure of

continual attacks by strong Russian

forces.

<After the ejection of the enemy

from West and Central Galicia, Mackensen's

army continued its advance

without a pause, again defeating the

Russians at Grodek (June 20th) and

shortly thereafter occupying Lemberg,

the capital of Galicia (June 22nd).

<While Linsingen's army followed the

rapidly retreating enemy

eastward to the sector of the Zlota-Lipa

and the upper Bug, the greater

part of Mackensen's army turned

northward in order (along with the

army of Archduke Joseph Ferdinand)

to remain on the heels of the main

part of the Russian army, which was

yielding between the Bug and the Vistula.>

<However, before we can follow

the movements of both these armies

further, it will be necessary to turn

to the left wing of the German forces

in the east, which had undertaken an

offensive at the same time - an offensive

that was related to the attack on

the right wing just described in so far

as both had the purpose of embracing

from both sides the so-called <central-position>

of the enemy in Russian

Poland.

<In the winter battle in the Masurian

district (February 7th and 8th),

Field-Marshal von Hindenburg had

again trounced the Russian forces invading

East Prussia so severely that

since that they had taken up a defensive

position, on Russian soil, on the

strongly fortified Niemen-Bobr-Narew

line, venturing only occasionally to

disturb our weak covering forces in

this region. One such aggression was

undertaken against the border-city of

Memel (March 17th), resulting in a

short-lived occupation of this city by

the Russians. In order to punish

them for this attack on an unfortified

city and to prevent a repetition of similar

unamiable behavoir, a special

army was created in the northern part

of East Prussia under the command of

General von Below, which was entrusted

with the task of driving out

the Russian forces that had appeared

north of the Niemen, as well as

occupying Samogitia and Courland.

Despite the obstinate resistance of

Russian forces hurriedly summoned to

this region, Von Below's army accomplished

its task in the course of a few

months; supported by our marines,

it occupied the Baltic ports Libau and

Windau and forced the Russians back

in the direction of Dinaburg, Friedrichstadt

and Riga.

<Eichhorn's army assumed the defense

of East Prussia against the fortress

of Kovno and the Russian troops

still stationed west of the Niemen. In

order effectively to oppose invasion of

the southern boundary of East and

West Prussia from the strongly fortified

river-line Bobr-Narew, and at

the same time to carry out the planned

offensive against the right wing of the

<central position> in Russian Poland,

two new armies were created in North

Poland in the end of June under Generals

von Gallwitz and von Scholtz.

In close cooperation, both these armies

then drove the strong Russian forces

opposing them back upon the Bobr-Narew

line and then advanced to the

attack of this line from Novo-Georgiewsk

to Lomza. After they had

occupied the fortresses of Ostrolenka

and Rozan and Pultusk, they crossed

the Narew at several points; then they

broke the resistance of the strong Russian

troops opposing them on the left

bank, and resumed their advance between

the Narew and the Bug in a

southeasterly direction.>

Everywhere, the Russian armies were

on the retreat.

THE RICHTHOFEN

RIDDLE

(Continued from Page 8.)

enemy can keep dead astern he can

shoot without being shot at) he

thought he was done for, and in a

desperate effort to escape the rain of

bullets, flung his machine forward and

down in a headlong dive. The Red

Baron dived close astern, still on the

tail of the youngster and shooting in

bursts.

<Another Camel pilot, Captain A.R.

Brown, seeing the two flash down past

him, whipped round and followed,

shooting at the red machine.

<The three came within range of

the ground where the trenches were

occupied by Australian troops, and

they also opened fire. As our first

pilot neared the ground he zoomed up

and away, and Richthofen, close behind

him, continued his dive and

struck the ground. His body and

machine were salved by the Australians,

who claimed that their fire

had brought him down.

Diagram - see original document

<On account of this claim and

conflicting reports, and of the fame

of the German Ace, R.A.F. Headquarters

made most exact and exhaustive

inquiry into every circumstance.

It was found that the Baron had been

struck by two bullets - one in the jaw

and one slantingly from back to breast.

Those who examined the wounds said

that it seemed Richthofen must just

have been twisting in his seat and

turning his head to look back at his

pursuer when he was shot by Brown's

two bullets.

<After the fullest investigation, it

was reported in the official R.A.F.

<Communique> that Richthofen had

been shot down by Capt. A. R. Brown,

209 Squadron.>

WITH THE HARWICH

FORCE

(Continued from Page 10.)

had freshened and it was no weather

for boats. Besides, we had no desire

to try our luck too far by offering the

enemy another sitting shot. The King's

Messenger had managed to tell us the

location of his cabin and where the

precious bag was stowed, and with a

young and active sub-lieutenant ready

on the forecastle we went alongside

the Copenhagen. It sounds simple

enough, but in reality it was not; both

vessels were knocking about in a nasty

sea, and the only possible way to go

alongside was forecastle to forecastle—

and trust to the overhang of the bows

to take the bump and save the side

from being holed.

With the sub-lieutenant ready for

his jump, we steamed up alongside,

and when the two vessels rolled

together with a crash the youngster

managed to get on board. We backed

clear, and raced round the sinking

ship at full speed, expecting to see the

track of a torpedo at any minute. But

luck was with us, or perhaps the

enemy had gone off. We were not

fired at. To repeat the evolution and

take off the sub-lieutenant, complete

with bag, was only the work of a few

moments, and, leaving the Copenhagen

to the mercy of the sea, we started off

for home.

The King's Messenger died from his

injuries on the way home, poor chap,

but lived long enough to learn that his

depatches had not fallen into enemy

hands.

The Copenhagen floated for some

days, was picked up by a tug and lost

again, and now is at the bottom of the

North Sea in the Broad Fourteens off

the Dutch coast.

(The Reveille, Australia)

YOUR REFERENCE
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

TELEPHONES:

B404 & 405

CANBERRA.

F.C.T.

"They gave their lives. For that public gift

they received a praise which never ages and a

tomb most glorious—not so much the tomb in

which they lie, but that in which their fame

survives, to be remembered for ever when

occasion comes for word or deed. ...."

4th January, 1936.

Dear Mr. Bezley,

Major Treloar has suggested that the

enclosed photostat copy of an article which

appeared in the Auckland "Herald" of the 21st

November, 1936, may be of interest to you.

Yours sincerely,

T.H.E Heyes

Mr. A. W. Bezley,

C/- Official Historian,

Victoria Barracks,

PADDINGTON, N.S.W

HOW RICHTHOFEN DIED

Germany's Famous "Red Knight" of Great War

WHO FIRED THE SHOT THAT ENDED HIS CAREER?

The manner in which the famous of a good deal of controversy among
historians of the Great War.

One report states that the "Red Knight" was shot down by Captain

A. R. Brown, of Toronto, Canada. Many Australian soldiers are equally

certain that Richthofen was killed by a rifle-shot fired from the ground by

an Australian artilleryman.

From the following article it would appear that the Australian assertion

is correct, although, as the writer says, the point will never be really

settled.

IF the Richthofen Circus, when it

possessed a decided superiority

in equipment, had shown more

of the offensive spirit by attacking

our aerodromes and destroying our

machines in their hangars, as they

easily could have done, they would

have "blinded our Army," and at

the same time have paved the way

for their reconnaissance machines,

and possibly victory for their arms,

writes Squadron-Leader Ira Jones

in the News of the World, London.

As it was, they only achieved the

doubtful satisfaction of seeing some of

our machines tumbling to earth, while

others were carrying out work of vital

importance in co-operating with out

ground forces.

It is an incontrovertible fact that

our aeroplanes aided our Army at all

times of the war, and during even the

dark month of April, 1917, considerably

more than the enemy craft aided

theirs. Indeed, it is now well known

that the German troops were very

bitter in their remarks about the non-efficiency

and non-aggression of their

airmen.

The Battle of Arras

The machines of Richthofen's

Circus were painted all red, with the

exception of the tail-plane, which had

a distinctive marking for each pilot.

Richthofen alone had an entirely all-red

aeroplane. My first meeting with

the circus was by no means a surprise.

The Battle of Arras had opened, and

my squadron, No. 16, now stationed at

Bruay, suffered heavy casualties.

The Richthofen Circus, imbued with

confidence because of their superior

machines coupled with the fact that

they always went about in large numbers,

and fighting on their own side

of the lines, were now in "full cry."

But although casualties in the Royal

Flying Corps grew into ominous figures,

the daily routine of reconnaissance

work went on with the same precision

as the Guards move on parade. Casualties

were quickly replaced; but we all

some of the Red Devils, and was shot

down in flames.

And so the casualty list was increased

by the addition of one machine

and two gallant young souls. Neither

was twenty years of age. An odd game

it seemed, and the price to most was

death.

Each day brought a growing list of

additions to what is now known as the

Roll of Honour. Airmen looked at each

other wondering what the morrow

would bring. But if there were fears,

they were secret fears. The morale of

the Royal Flying Corps was never

affected.

Orders were issued each night for

the usual reconnaissance work, as if

our supremacy were still unchallenged,

and never once did I hear a complaint.

I do not want to begrudge any of

the credit due to Richthofen, who

claims to have shot down over 80

machines—a figure which has been

challenged in many quarters—but in

comparing him with our own aces—

men like Mannock, Ball and Barker,

to quote just a few—his record shows

that he secured only a few victims

over enemy lines.

British Audacity

He was content, to quote his own

words, "to wait until the English come

to us," rather than go in pursuit of

his enemy. On the other hand, our

pilots sought out the Germans miles

over their lines.

It is on record that a number of

B.E.'s actually had the audacity to go

and bomb the aerodrome of the Richthofen

Circus at Douai.

Richthofen also took great care that

he did not fight a machine of the

calibre of his own, unlike the redoubtable

German-Jew, Werner Voss, who

literally tackled anything under the

sun.

The only time Richthofen appears to

have come any great distance over our

lines was the day he met his doom.

In April, 1918, our machines had

been so active over the German lines

that Richthofen had been asked by the

High Command to keep our craft more

under control on the Somme area. On

April 21, soon after breakfast, he and

his merry men patrolled the locality

of Vaux-sur-Somme.

On reaching the front, Richthofen

immediately attacked a two-seater of

the R.E.S type, flown by an Australian.

knew that this could not go on indefinitely.

During the early part of the battle

I had been engaged on some ground

work connected with wireless, but on

April 12 I was permitted to fly as

observer with a new pilot, Lieutenant

Crow, on the following day, to take

photographs east of Lens, an area

which was being jealously protected by

members of the circus.

Soon after the dawn of April 13,

1917, I clambered into the observer's

cockpit of a B.E., which was in front of

the pilot's seat.

Crow, a brave, but not very experienced

pilot, smiled knowingly.

"Jones!" he shouted, as the

mechanics were getting ready to pull

the propeller round to start the engine,

"any Huns you see knock hell out of

them!"

I smiled, perhaps a somewhat forced

smile, back.

So off we went.

Touch and Go for Life

Richthofen's Circus did not disappoint

us. As soon as we crossed the

lines opposite Lens there was the telltale

crackle of machine-guns. Underneath,

diving up at the tail, were

three red Halberstadt and Albatross

machines.

It was impossible to return the fire,

as they were within our blind spot, and

I remembered an unfortunate mishap

with O'Hara Wood, so did not try any

clever stunts with the Lewish gun.

Overhead were two more Germans

preparing to dive. Holes were beginning
to appear in the wings, and as

even more opponents appeared on the

scene, it looked as if we were soon

to be wiped off the active list.

Crow did his best. He swung the

craft round with a quick turn, and then

put her nose down in an attempt to get

to our lines as quickly as possible.

But the enemy were determined to

get us. We felt very much like the lone

settler on the prairie suddenly surrounded

by a tribe of wild, bloodthirsty

Indians encircling him and

firing away frantically, inspired by the

knowledge that even though their

marksmanship was bad, it was only

a matter of time before they must

succeed.

Pretty Hopeless

It all seemed pretty hopeless - for

us. The moment we approached our

lines, the machine flying rather low,

the German air attack became less

intensive. It was another example of

their reluctance to cross over to our

side.

However we had lost much height,

and with the engine missing badly,

Crow decided - quite wisely in the

circumstances -to land as quickly as

possible.

We touched earth near the reserve

trenches. The craft turned a somersault,

and we extricated ourselves from

the machine before a small bunch of

Tommies, one of whom exclaimed,

"Blimey, what would your muvvers

say if they saw yer naw!"

A few days later, Crow, with a

Canadian observer, again encountered

At the same time a patrol of our

Sopwith Camels, under the command

of a Canadian, Captain A.R. Brown,

of 209 Squadron, reached the same

point of the front, and, seeing the plight

of the R.E.8., went to its rescue.

There followed for several minutes

the most breathlessly exciting do-or-die

air battle of the war. It was a

desperate dog fight, but Richthofen

picked out his opponent, Lieutenant

May, who was a raw beginner, and

forced him to land.

The German ace came down to

about a hundred feet, and was fired at

by machine-gun and rifle from the

ground, while simultaneously attacked

from above by Captain Brown.

Thumb on Trigger

Suddenly his machine was seen to

half turn and then glide for the

ground. It made a satisfactory landing

on our side of the lines, and ended

upon its nose.

When the "Red Knight's" triplane

was reached by our troops, Richthofen,

with his thumb still on the

trigger of his gun, was dead. When

examined it was found that one bullet

only had pierced his body, and that

from right to left near the region of

his heart.

Whether Richthofen was shot down

from the air or from the ground is a

problem that will never be satisfactorily

cleared up, but it is my belief

that the fatal shot was from a rifle.

In his death Richthofen was

honoured by our Flying Service as

they would have honoured one of

their own gallant airmen. The "Red

Knight of Germany" was laid to rest

with full military honours, and the

small mound of earth which marked

his resting place covered with floral

tributes from his former enemy, who

admired his great work for the Fatherland.

Memorials to his memory are scattered

over Germany, but where are our

memorials to Mannock, McCuddern,

Barker and Beauchamp-Proctor—all

V.C.'s and greater air fighters than

the "Red Knight"?