red baron

             Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron, became one of the world's most well known fighter pilots of World War I. Manfred was born in Breslau, Poland, which is now Germany. As a small child he loved to take risks. Once as a boy Richthofen climbed a church steeple and tied his handkerchief to it for fun. He became a far better athlete than student and loved to ride horses. He dreamed of one day joining the calvary. When war broke out he immediately enlisted and served a short time in the trenches. While scouting for the German army Manfred saw action on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Quickly he asked to be transferred to flying school in 1916. He was a star pupil and a very fast learner. In flight school he achieved immediate success. After just twenty-four hours of flight school Richthofen made his first solo flight and crashed trying to land. He had his first confirmed victory on September 17, 1916. His first plane was an Albatros D III. Within a month of having the plane Richthofen had six victories and officially became an ace. To receive the title of ace a pilot must get at least five confirmed kills. Two months after his first kill Manfred shot down British ace Major Lanoe Hawker, his eleventh kill. His reputation grew quickly. The British called him the jolly "Red Baron," and to the French he was the "Red Devil." To show his expertise in the air Manfred painted his plane. It was also said that he did this because it was the color of his old Uhlan calvary regiment Richthofen received the Orden Pour le Merite after getting his sixteenth kills. This made him the top living German ace at the time. He was showered with the praise of a hero in Germany. Manfred was then put in charge of Jasta 11. As a sign of dedication to Richthofen, the pilots also began to paint parts of their planes red. Richthofen wrote a letter to Ber
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