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Manfred von Richthofen (Hardback)

His Life and Times in Pictures

Aviation > Aircraft Aviation > Pilots

By Tim Hillier-Graves
Imprint: Air World
Pages: 176
Illustrations: 16 colour illustrations, 285 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781036100315
Published: 13th December 2024

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It is more than a hundred years since the First World War fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen was killed in combat on the Western Front. By then, due to a strange twist of fate, his name was becoming as well known in Britain, France and the USA as it was in Germany.

Following the outbreak of war in 1914, von Richthofen initially served as a calvary reconnaissance officer. Such a role was soon diminished by the stagnation of trench warfare, and so von Richthofen volunteered for aircrew duties. From June to August 1915 he flew as an observer over the Eastern Front, before transferring to the Western Front. From there he progressed to pilot training.

Von Richthofen’s first confirmed victory occurred on 17 September 1916, by which time he had transferred from two-seater reconnaissance aircraft to single-seater fighters. After achieving his sixteenth ‘kill’, the up and coming fighter ace was awarded the Pour le Mérite in January 1917, this being highest military honour in Germany at the time and informally known as ‘The Blue Max’. That same month, he assumed command of Jasta 11, by which time a legend surrounding his name was becoming firmly established.

His life and deeds as a fighter pilot were so convincingly sold by a highly polished and quite ruthless propaganda machine that it created an image of knightly virtue and courage that has fame has lasted to this day and, indeed, shows no sign of lessening. And yet this phenomenon owes much to the fact that he was a highly successful killer of Allied airmen in a war of extreme violence where gallantry, if practised at all, was rarely done so. Kill or be killed became their mantra for survival.

Beginning in late 1916, when his lethal skills were first realised, his carefully nurtured image proved a godsend to a war weary nation soon to face defeat and ignominy. Far above the misery of life in the trenches was created a shooting star of unimaginable potency which was then exploited with little regard of the personal cost to this increasingly war weary young man.

This unique photographic record not only charts his life in great detail, but also places it in a much wider historical context, so giving it greater meaning and potency. He didn’t live or fight his battles in a small exclusive bubble, but in the full glare of military and public scrutiny both of which, although essential to the German cause, allowed him no rest or privacy as he struggled to survive.

The Red Baron’s life was one of great endeavour and sacrifice which broke down national and political barriers so allowing us to consider the achievements of an undoubted hero and the period in which he lived. This fresh photographic assessment of von Richthofen’s life and times offers us a rare view of all that made him famous and the events that surrounded his rise to fame.

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About Tim Hillier-Graves

TIM HILLIER-GRAVES was born in North London during 1951. On leaving university he served as an officer with the Royal Navy, seeing wide service on land and sea. For much of this time he specialised in weapon development projects, specifically missiles and heavyweight torpedoes, and worked alongside BAe, Marconi Space and Defence Systems and McDonnell Douglas in the process. In support of this work, he undertook prolonged periods of study and research at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. Late in his career he changed specialisms to become Head of Investigations for the MoD’s Estates Organisation. From this he moved on to become Head of Finance and Planning and then into Human Resource Management where he specialised in outsourcing to industry. Then as an Assistant Director he took on responsibility of housing for military personnel. He retired in 2011 to focus more fully on writing biographies and books related to military, aviation and engineering matters.

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Manfred von Richthofen The High Price of Glory (Hardback)

It is more than a hundred years since Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’, was killed in combat on the Western Front. Yet this gallant fighter pilot is probably as well known today as he was his lifetime. Beginning in 1916, when his lethal skills were first realised, his image proved a godsend to his country’s propaganda machine. There, far above the misery of life in the trenches, was a shooting star of unimaginable potency to help pacify a weary nation that was now beginning to believe that the war was no longer necessary or the losses justified. And so, an image of chivalry was conjured…

By Tim Hillier-Graves

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