Manfred von Richthofen

Manfred von Richthofen started the war as a cavalryman, transferred to the German Air Service in 1915, and was discovered by Oswald Boelcke. He joined Jagdstaffel 2 in 1916 and climbed fast: by 1917 he led Jasta 11, then took command of Jagdgeschwader I - the "Flying Circus," named for its brightly painted aircraft and its habit of moving by rail like a touring show. A master tactician, he became a national hero in Germany and something close to a phantom for the Allied pilots hunting him. He was shot down and killed near Vaux-sur-Somme on 21 April 1918, at twenty-five. The circumstances of his death remain disputed, but the scarlet Fokker Dr.I is fixed in memory.