The Red Baron

I have been asked about all of the German
planes that I have posted on this blog site...and
I have mentioned how I have an admiration
for the Luftwaffe of the second World War. I
admit to being a German-American.
My grandfather came to America from the
Bavarian section of Germany in 1908 and my
father was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1910.
There was a part of the family that did not
immigrate to the U.S. and my grandfather's
younger sister, Annabelle was part of this
group. She married Lothar, the younger brother of
Manfred von Richthofen. Lothar is almost
overlooked in history, having shot down 40
allied planes and surviving the war. So I also
have a passion about the Richthofen brother's
accomplishments in World War I. Manfred
was the top ace of the war, claiming 80
confirmed victories before being shot down
himself. Almost 100 years later there is still
speculation over who killed the Red Baron.
Most experts give credit to Canadian pilot
Roy Brown, who engaged von Richthofen
in an aerial dogfight, but there is a chance
the Baron was hit by groundfire that caused
him to crash. His crash site was on Allied
land and he was given a state funeral. After
the war his remains were exhumed and
returned to Germany.
The photos are from my office. Just over
this computer space you can see two
replicas of his plane, and on the wall is a
woven tapestry of The Baron in action. The
other is two photos that my wife fixed for
one of my birthdays..