“"80 kills. One color. Immortal."”
Manfred von Richthofen was not a natural pilot. He was a cavalryman who transferred to the Air Service in 1915 and crashed his first aircraft. But he studied his craft with Prussian discipline. Under Oswald Boelcke's tutelage, he scored his first kill on September 17, 1916. In January 1917, he painted his Albatros D.III entirely red—a celebration of his new command of Jasta 11, not a tactical choice. The British called him the "Red Devil." In April 1917—"Bloody April"—he shot down 22 British aircraft. He survived a head wound in July 1917 that should have grounded him permanently. By April 20, 1918, his score stood at 80. The next morning, chasing a novice Sopwith Camel over Vaux-sur-Somme, he flew low and slow over Australian machine gun positions. A single bullet struck his torso. He crash-landed in a beet field and died still strapped in his cockpit. The Allies gave him a full military funeral with six RFC pallbearers and a wreath: "To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe."
Richthofen's squadron tactics—coordinated attacks from altitude using sun and cloud cover—were revolutionary and became the foundation of modern fighter combat doctrine.