Published: 5 Dec 09 18:03 CET
Online: Death certificate of WWI ace the Red Baron found in Poland - The Local
The death certificate of German World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen has turned up in western Poland, the daily Gazeta Wyborcza reported on Saturday.
Genealogist Maciej Kowalski came across it in the archives of the town of Ostrow Wielkopolski, which was the base of his regiment and his last official address, the paper said.
Richthofen, a Prussian aristocrat dubbed the Red Baron from the favourite colour of his aircraft, was born in what is now Wroclaw in Poland, formerly Breslau, in 1892.
After scoring victories over 80 allied aircraft during the war, he was finally downed near Vaux-sur-Somme on April 21, 1918, though arguments still rage as to whether he was hit by ground fire or shot down by Canadian pilot Roy Brown.
Richthofen was buried in a local cemetery with full military honours by British and Australian troops, but his body was later moved to the family vault at Wiesbaden in Germany.
AFP (news@thelocal.de)
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.quotemain { margin: 6px 10px; padding: 3px 5px; border: 1px solid #999; font-size: 0.9em; background-color: #f8f8f8; } #1
20:00 December 5, 2009 by Logic Guy
Well, I must say "Sehr Interessant!" Report abuse »
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20:24 December 5, 2009 by Celeon
We will never know for sure who shot him down but its pretty unlikely that it was Roy Brown.
According to the autopsy, the fatal bullet entered the body below the right armpit and went out through the left side of his chest.
According to the eyewitnesses, Roy Brown's plane was at no time in a position that would mad made that shot angle possible. The bullet certainly came from somewhere below.
Problem is that there were two or three ground machine gunners in suitable range who may have been the one that shot the Red Baron down.
But to find out that Brown did not shoot him down was important as this means that the Red Baron stayed undefeated in the air until his death.
He only had 80 confirmed victories but its likely that it were more than 100 in reality. In his book he speaks of a few which did not appear on his tally and also explains the reasons.
After the fatal bullet hit him, he managed to land and was still alive when australian soldiers arrived at the plane.
Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaputt". (broken)
Judging by Richthofen's sense of humour , he was propably referring to himself with that description. Report abuse »
.quotemain { margin: 6px 10px; padding: 3px 5px; border: 1px solid #999; font-size: 0.9em; background-color: #f8f8f8; } #3
13:22 December 6, 2009 by cleavage
If you go to Camberra in Australia to the war museum, you'll see the boots he was wearing when he was killed. They're tall and made of polar bear fur and have pointy curled up toes.
I'd imagine Richthofen would have said "kaputt" if he would hear that Germany is STILL paying for WWI in the year 2010. Report abuse »
.quotemain { margin: 6px 10px; padding: 3px 5px; border: 1px solid #999; font-size: 0.9em; background-color: #f8f8f8; } #4
16:10 December 6, 2009 by Celeon
Yeah ,i have a photo showing two comerades helping Richthofen into his thick winter clothes just before his last flight.
The unusual boots immidiately catch the eye.
There is a good possibility he shot that polar bear by himself as he was a passionate hunter.
When not flying missions, he spent many war nights hunting wild boars all alone in the french forests.
Not a bad life the pilots had compared to the men in the trenches.
The boots perfectly reflect how cold it must have been in those early unheated and completely open airplanes. Especially in the winter ! Report abuse »
.quotemain { margin: 6px 10px; padding: 3px 5px; border: 1px solid #999; font-size: 0.9em; background-color: #f8f8f8; } #5
16:55 December 6, 2009 by Steven192
No arguments required, Snoopy got him. Report abuse »
.quotemain { margin: 6px 10px; padding: 3px 5px; border: 1px solid #999; font-size: 0.9em; background-color: #f8f8f8; } #6
20:51 December 6, 2009 by mossmusic
I have to admit, it is very funny when the comments are longer than the actual story being reported. Steven192 is correct though. Snoopy and his Sopwith Doghouse took him over France. Get your facts straight The Local.... Report abuse