Authentic footage of the Red Baron C1917

[B@tfinkV]

this was a moving film clip for me.

somewhere in a previous life my heart was lost in the bi-plane dogfights over the trenches.

http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/entry/kratzer_am_mythos_des_roten_barons/1418/jagdflieger_manfred_von_richthofen.html?f=POSITION&o=ASCENDING&s=0&r=1&a=274&c=1

mind numbing to see how cool headed these guys were just before facing death in a piece of fabric covered history.

[OOZ662]

Believe it or not, I saw that footage on a late-night History Channel show a little while ago.

[B@tfinkV]

cool!
my mistake if this has been seen before by alot of people.... but for me it was something a little bit special i stumbled over at 5am.

those Dr trips are just so mean looking. the great grandfather of the FW190s no doubt.

[TEShaw]

Ricthofen took a bullet through the lining of his heart; yet, he shut down his fuel petcock and landed in the beet field.

I've visited that place, just above the Somme, just below the old brick factory.

[Bruv119]

I've always been interested in the feats of Mick Mannock.

What a character.

[Kuhn]

That reminded me that the Dr1 powerplant had spinning cylinders. Fuel was either on or off. Can you imagine the problems they had balancing that engine?

[FiLtH]

  I have wondered what position the Red Baron would have held in WW2 if he had survived WW1.

[Puck]

  I have wondered what position the Red Baron would have held in WW2 if he had survived WW1.

Udet and Goring both served under Richthofen; both ended up in posts to which they were ill-suited.  One was driven to suicide, the other was the punch line of a joke (THEN killed himself far too late)

[MachNum]

There's relatively little film that survived from WWI. At the time, the emulsion was coated onto a relatively unstable (and dangerously flammable) nitrate-based cellulose film base that did not weather the effects of time well. As a result, the same footage tends to get used over and over again for various historically based shows. The shot of "the Baron" with the dog is nearly a classic. Considering that this well could have been shot by a hand cranked camera, it's slightly amazing that it exists at all.

[Baine]

Cool film.
I thought VR was wearing the chinstrap from his cap until he took the cap off to put on his flying helmet. He still had the chin strap on. Anyone have any idea what he was wearing on his head under the cap?

[FTDEEP]

anyone notice who the very last pilot was that they showed?

[Pawz]

Hitlers second in command. Hermann goring

During ww1 he racked up 22 aerial kills, earning the coveted Blue Max and a promotion to commanding officer of Manfred von Richthofen's "Flying Circus"

[Guppy35]

Cool film.
I thought VR was wearing the chinstrap from his cap until he took the cap off to put on his flying helmet. He still had the chin strap on. Anyone have any idea what he was wearing on his head under the cap?

July 6, 1917 Richtofen took a glancing shot to the top of his head.  He was back in action less then three weeks later.  I'm guessing that it's some sort of bandage tied on to protect that wound.  You can see it in photos taken after that date.

[Platano]

I had always heard how Goring flew in WW1. Before today i had never seen him Young as a Fighter Pilot. Nice Find.

[Treize69]

I've personally always wondered how much higher von Richtofens score would have been if he had survived the war- especially considering he probably would have faced the ill-trained USAS and been present for the (relative) armadas that were sent over the front in the last few weeks of the war. If he'd managed to stay alive through it all and continue fighting, having the century mark topped in 1918 instead of 1941 might not have been all that implausible.

And imagine if the Luftwaffe had been led (or at least had in its higher ranks, maybe he wasn't as good at politics as Goering) by him, instead of a drug addict egotist trying to be him.