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Karl Goetz Medal - Captain Manfred von Richthofen "The Red Baron"
Zohar
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The most famous air ace of the First World War, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was born on 2 May 1892 in Breslau. The son of Major Albrecht von Richthofen, a Prussian nobleman and his wife, Kunigunde, he enrolled at age 11 at the military school at Wahlstatt, and then attended the Royal Military Academy at Lichterfelde. He was a better athlete than he was a scholar, and applied his horseback riding skills to become a cavalry officer. He was commissioned in April 1911 in the 1st Regiment of Uhlans Kaiser Alexander III, and promoted to Lieutenant in 1912.
Richthofen served briefly in the trenches before transferring to the German Air Force in May 1915. The star pupil of Oswald Boelcke, Richthofen learnt quickly and achieved immediate success. He took his first solo flight after only 24 hours of flight training, on 10 October 1915. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had scored six 'kills' against Allied aircraft. A cool and precise hunter, Richthofen's flamboyance was expressed mainly in his brightly painted aircraft, a Fokker DR-1 Dridecker. His success in the air led to his being named der Rote Kampfflieger by the Germans, le petit rouge by the French, and the Red Baron by the British. Richthofen was appointed commander of the Flying Circus in June 1917. Comprised of Germany's top fighter pilots, the new unit was highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed. Richthofen and his pilots achieved immediate success during the air war over Ypres during August and September.
There was another angle to the Red Baron with a well-maintained von Richthofen myth which propagates the idea that von Richthofen forced pilots to land. He shot down aircraft, but he ensured, if at all possible, that the pilot survived, so that the whole encounter took on the character of a sporting match to determine the better pilot and marksman. This turned out to be an image created by the German propaganda machine in 1917. It needed a young, good-looking radiant hero, a victor who could be served up to a relatively demoralized society. This image of the lonely gentleman of the skies was then taken up in the 1920s and further elaborated upon by the Americans, who wanted to sell a romantic notion of air combat. Recent research indicates he was completely different - extremely courageous and ambitious, yet also cold-blooded. His goal was to shoot down as many aircraft as possible. In his own writings, he writes quite openly: "I never get into an aircraft for fun. I aim first for the head of the pilot, or rather at the head of the observer, if there was one." Red Baron Memoir - Memoir
After scoring 80 confirmed kills, Richthofen was finally shot down as he flew deep into British lines in pursuit of Wilfrid May on 21 April 1918. Although Canadian flyer Arthur 'Roy' Brown - who was flying to May's aid - was officially credited with the victory, controversy remains over who actually shot Richthofen down; other evidence suggests he was hit by a single bullet fired by Australian gunners in the trenches. In any event, Manfred von Richthofen crashed into a field alongside the road from Corbie to Bray. He was 25. He was survived by his brother Lothar, also a noted ace. A British pilot flew over the German aerodrome at Cappy and dropped a note informing the Germans of Richthofen's death. Buried in France by the British with full military honours, Richthofen's body was later exhumed and reburied in the family cemetery at Wiesbaden.
The uniqueness of this medal by Goetz (Kienast 288A) is its size of 92.3mm but more importantly, the documented error evident in the number of kills (89 vs. 80) as well as the date of death (4/12/1918 vs. 4/21/1918). Goetz seemed to have made a few such errors in the various medals.
Richthofen served briefly in the trenches before transferring to the German Air Force in May 1915. The star pupil of Oswald Boelcke, Richthofen learnt quickly and achieved immediate success. He took his first solo flight after only 24 hours of flight training, on 10 October 1915. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had scored six 'kills' against Allied aircraft. A cool and precise hunter, Richthofen's flamboyance was expressed mainly in his brightly painted aircraft, a Fokker DR-1 Dridecker. His success in the air led to his being named der Rote Kampfflieger by the Germans, le petit rouge by the French, and the Red Baron by the British. Richthofen was appointed commander of the Flying Circus in June 1917. Comprised of Germany's top fighter pilots, the new unit was highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed. Richthofen and his pilots achieved immediate success during the air war over Ypres during August and September.
There was another angle to the Red Baron with a well-maintained von Richthofen myth which propagates the idea that von Richthofen forced pilots to land. He shot down aircraft, but he ensured, if at all possible, that the pilot survived, so that the whole encounter took on the character of a sporting match to determine the better pilot and marksman. This turned out to be an image created by the German propaganda machine in 1917. It needed a young, good-looking radiant hero, a victor who could be served up to a relatively demoralized society. This image of the lonely gentleman of the skies was then taken up in the 1920s and further elaborated upon by the Americans, who wanted to sell a romantic notion of air combat. Recent research indicates he was completely different - extremely courageous and ambitious, yet also cold-blooded. His goal was to shoot down as many aircraft as possible. In his own writings, he writes quite openly: "I never get into an aircraft for fun. I aim first for the head of the pilot, or rather at the head of the observer, if there was one." Red Baron Memoir - Memoir
After scoring 80 confirmed kills, Richthofen was finally shot down as he flew deep into British lines in pursuit of Wilfrid May on 21 April 1918. Although Canadian flyer Arthur 'Roy' Brown - who was flying to May's aid - was officially credited with the victory, controversy remains over who actually shot Richthofen down; other evidence suggests he was hit by a single bullet fired by Australian gunners in the trenches. In any event, Manfred von Richthofen crashed into a field alongside the road from Corbie to Bray. He was 25. He was survived by his brother Lothar, also a noted ace. A British pilot flew over the German aerodrome at Cappy and dropped a note informing the Germans of Richthofen's death. Buried in France by the British with full military honours, Richthofen's body was later exhumed and reburied in the family cemetery at Wiesbaden.
The uniqueness of this medal by Goetz (Kienast 288A) is its size of 92.3mm but more importantly, the documented error evident in the number of kills (89 vs. 80) as well as the date of death (4/12/1918 vs. 4/21/1918). Goetz seemed to have made a few such errors in the various medals.
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Must be about 15 years ago I played an old flying game called Red Baron. Today I learned where the name came from
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Zohar - when you jump into something you never "half-ass" it. You are off to an amazing start in the Goetz arena.
I will not get interested in Goetz medals..... I will NOT get interested in Goetz medals.....
<< <i>Great writeup. The portrait comparison to the medal is stunning.
Zohar - when you jump into something you never "half-ass" it. You are off to an amazing start in the Goetz arena. >>
Ditto. I enjoyed reading this article and viewing the incredible medal. Dang, 92mm, I want one. I only have one Goetz piece, a pattern from 1908, so alas I must make amends.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces