Baron Manfred von Richthofen was born on May 2, 1892, into an affluent family of Prussian nobles in what is now Poland.
The Red Baron was the name applied to von Richthofen, a German fighter pilot who was the deadliest flying ace of World War I. He recorded his first confirmed aerial victory on September 17, 1916, by shooting down a British aircraft over France, and soon racked up four more kills to earn the title of âflying ace.â During a 19-month period between 1916 and 1918, the Prussian aristocrat shot down 80 Allied aircraft and won widespread fame for his scarlet-colored airplanes and ruthlessly effective flying style. Richthofenâs legend only grew after he took command of a German fighter wing known as the Flying Circus, but his career in the cockpit was cut short on 21 April 1918, when he was killed in a dogfight over France.
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