Who Killed the Red Baron: The Final Answer

292 Pages·1969·51.233 MB·English

by  P. J. Carisella, James W. Ryan

by P. J. Carisella and James W. Ryan^
The final answer to the half-century-
f
old controversy concerning the death
^
of the top flying ace of World War I, >
Baron Manfred Von Richthofen
FullyIllustrated

^ THREE planes roared away from a dogfight, headed
west along the Somme River. In the lead was a Sopwith
Camel flown by a green pilot named Wilfred May. He
was maneuvering wildly to evade the twin streams of
death from the Spandau machine guns of the red triplane
on his tail.
The German so intent on destroying the young
Canadian was the apparently invincible Richthofen, the
Red Baron.
Pursuing Richthofen was Captain Roy Brown,
May's superior, desperately trying to save his fledgling.
Brown got the triplane in his sights, got in a sustained
burst of fire before overtaking his target and losing
sight of it behind some trees. He was sure he had scored.
But Richthofen continued his chase through a hail
of ground fire after Brown was gone. Then suddenly
his guns were silenced and he banked hard to the east,
banked sharply again, sideslipped, then glided to earth.
He had been killed by a single bullet through heart and
lungs.
The Red Baron was downed. His age was twenty-
—
five, his air victories were eighty two numbers to be
associated with his name for all time.
Had Richthofen flown on after receiving his death
wound from Brown? Had some unknown Australian
gunner killed the Prussian aristocrat? Could the ques-
tions about his death ever be convincingly answered?
The great Richthofen controversy had begun.
f. 4^ 4.
I
t^^^^^>i^^^
^
*i* *h
Who
Killed
Red Baron
the ?
THE FINAL ANSWER
by P. J. Carisella and James W. Ryan
A FAWCETT GOLD MEDAL BOOK
Fawcett Publications, Inc., Greenwich, Conn.
Member of American Book Publishers Council, Inc.
Thephotographs usedinthis bookarefrom
theprivatecollectionofP. J. Carisella.
A
Fawcett Gold Medal Book published by arrangement with
Daedalus Publishing Co.
©
Copyright 1969 by P. J. Carisella andJames W. Ryan
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book
orportionsthereof
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
DEDICATION
To the Australian "Diggers" of the First World
War, everpeerlessfighters, andmorespecifically
to those of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Divisions,
Australian Imperial Forces.
A special word of gratitude is due to Congress-
man Torbert H. Macdonald of the Massachu-
setts 7th Congressional EHstrict for the generous
services he provided so graciously in obtaining
material for this work, especially in Australia.

1
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments 9
Preface 1
1 / Birth of Death in the Air 15
2 / Life of the Red Baron 37
3 / Death of the Flying Uhlan 97
4 / The Controversy 121
5 / The Crash Scene 161
6 / Autopsy and Funeral 185
7 / The German Version 217
8 / The Final Answer 231
9 / Epilogue 255
Appendixes
Facts and Myths of the Richthofen Legend 271
List of Richthofen's Victories 279
List of Richthofen's J.G. 1 Pilots 281
Leading Air Aces of World War I 285