by Tucker Koch, Contributing Writer

World War 1 was a messy time in history. It was, as the name implies, one of the first wars to occur across much of the world. You know, after Genghis Khan, but who’s counting?  As such, millions of lives were lost during this war. A common type of soldier to die during WW1 would be the aircraft pilots, having an average life expectancy of about 6 weeks before kicking the bucket. One of these pilots is the topic of today’s article: Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, otherwise known as the Red Baron. 

When he was young, he grew up in an aristocratic family in East Prussia (The part of it that is now in modern day Poland). He enjoyed hunting and gymnastics in his youth before enlisting in Wahlstatt Military School. Here is where I should mention that he was 11 when he enlisted. Insert any form of a child soldier joke here. War crimes weren’t a thing yet, so everything was on the table.

When the war first started, he was actually an officer of a cavalry corps. He was swapped back and forth between the Russian and Belgian fronts during the early years of the war before being reassigned to telephone duty as trench warfare made cavalry irrelevant. As a proud officer, he got extremely bored in his position. So, he applied for a transfer to the Air Force. In 1915, he transferred to the air force division, and this is where his story truly gets interesting. 

He originally was not the best pilot, being incredibly shaky behind the yoke (Basically a steering wheel for planes), but he soon got the hang of it and shot down a French aircraft over the city of Verdun. However, he did not receive credit for this kill because the plane fell behind enemy lines and couldn’t be verified. He then got transferred back to the eastern front (Can you tell that Germany wasn’t the most organized at the time) and fought over there; Watching the guy who trained him to fly got shot down and died. He got his first confirmed kill in September of 1915 over Cambrai, France. He even stated in his autobiography that he made a gravestone for the fallen pilot on his wrecked vehicle. 

He did something truly marvelous in November of 1916, however. He shot down and killed one of Britain’s ace pilots and the (used to be) bane of the German Air Force, Lanoe Hawker. Afterwards, the first thought that Manfred over here had was that he needed a plane with more agility to suit the dogfights better (For those unaware, think of the 2-player mode of the air sports mode in Wii Sports Resort; Is the Wii too old to reference?) that were happening in the air. He then proceeds to get a handful of kills after this, almost having his plane blow up from a critical shot received to his plane’s gas can.

In January of 1917, he received the highest military honor the German government could bestow, informally known at the time as the Blue Max. Additionally, he also became the leader of the Jagdgeschwader I (Don’t feel bad if you can’t pronounce it, I can’t either), otherwise known as Richthofen’s Circus by most of the German army. It was known as such because his aircraft, and sometimes his colleague’s aircraft, were bright red. His chief mechanic at the time asked him why he wanted his plane to be red in the first place, since a glowing red object approaching you isn’t very stealthy and thus loses the element of surprise. Manfred responded with one of the best historical quotes I have ever heard: “I don’t want them to be surprised, I want them to be scared.” Heck, the man even taught his troops to aim for the pilot and not the ship or the guy in the passenger’s boat, to ensure the kill. 

In July of 1918, he was finally shot down and nearly dodged, dying in a plane crash in enemy territory. He was actually respected enough by the enemy to be given medical assistance before dying from his wounds in March of 1918 at 25 years old. During his time recovering from his wounds, he wrote an autobiography, although there is plenty of evidence that the German Air Force edited it before publication. You got to make even a dying man’s autobiography a political stunt, huh?

His death was not the last we’ll see of him, though, as he is shockingly prominent in pop culture. Here are a couple of examples of how he continues to impact culture to this day. 

  • He was a villain in the Peanuts comic strips (yes, the Snoopy ones)
  • A 2008 movie was made about him called ‘The Red Baron.’
  • He had a board game made in his honor called ‘Richthofen’s War.’ 
  • He inspired the protagonist of the anime ‘The Saga of Tanya the Evil.’
  • The novel ‘Back in the USSA’ has him fighting alongside Mexican forces during an invasion of Texas.
  • He had a vampire story written about him called ‘The Bloody Red Baron.’
  • The protagonist in the DC comic series’ Enemy Ace’ was directly inspired by him.
  • He was one of the main characters in the book ‘To the Last Man’
  • The Swedish metal band Sabaton wrote a song about him called ‘The Red Baron’
  • The Belgian metal band Iron Mask released an album based on the man known as ‘Shadow of the Red Baron.’
  • The German metal band Masterplan made a song about him called ‘Crimson Rider.’
  • The American power pop band Game Theory (Not the YouTube Channel, there is no MatPat here) made a song about him called “The Red Baron’
  • He had a 1971 movie about him called ‘The Red Baron.’
  • The the movie “The Rocketeer”, a veteran pilot mentions being shot down by the Red Baron
  • He was a character in the show “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles”
  • The character ‘Red Max’ from the TV show Wacky Races was a parody of him
  • The New Scooby Doo Movies (The Scooby Doo series, not actually the new releases) had an episode based on him called ‘The Ghost of the Red Barn.’
  • SpongeBob mistakes the Flying Dutchman for the Red Baron in the season 2 episode ‘Shanghaied.’
  • There is a League of Legends skin for the character called ‘Corki’, named after him.
  • An achievement name in Left 4 Dead is a parody of the Red Baron, called ‘Dead Baron.’
  • The Black Baron from Sly Cooper 3 is directly inspired by him.
  • He inspires two cosmetics in the game Team Fortress 2
  • Had a 1981 arcade game made about his feats called (You guessed it) ‘The Red Baron
  • Had a 1980 arcade game made about him by a completely separate company also titled “The Red Baron’
  • He had a 1927 movie about him called “The Red Baron’ (Yes, all three of these are different movies)

This is just a handful of the references he has earned in today’s pop culture; if I listed all of them, this article would take a millenia to finish. Safe to say, he made a legacy for himself. At this point, whether people remember his name or not, he went down in history as one of the most legendary pilots. This has been Tucker Koch, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this.es he has earned in today’s pop culture; if I listed all of them, this article would never appear. Safe to say, he made a legacy for himself. At this point, whether people remember his name or not, he went down in history as one of the most legendary pilots. This has been Tucker Koch, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this.