Rise of Flight "The Death of the Red Baron"

Gisbod - Please see my other films in the series (Voss & Mannock)*
Richthofen's last flight - Cinematic Historical documentary (In game footage from the flight sim "Rise of Flight").
The story is as factual as I can make it. The only known historical inaccuracies are:
1. Mellersh does claim a Triplane shot down that day, but it was in fact Wolff, and he didn't "explode", but returned home and landed safely after spinning towards the ground under Mellersh's fire.
2. The two seaters depicted in game are not Albatros (as they should be) But DFW's, not represented in game (yet!) The story should really have RE8's too...
3. A few of the Jasta colours are incorrectly shown - they are "mixed and matched" to a degree to represent the "Flying Circus".
The rest is, as it should be, as far as possible, but comments, suggestions towards the much disputed legend of Richthofen's death are welcome! He was reported to have been pulled alive from the aircraft saying "Kaput".. But this seems unlikely due to the nature of his wound.

[@therealaim-9xmissile]

Australians helped take red out but in respect the Aussies buried him and gave him a memorial

[@nikanaroditsky4282]

Legend27 Yes and they did a right thing. He deserved that.

[@aussieboi2955]

Thank ya for blessing my country!

[@evisualz]

Aussie Aussie Aussie OI OI OI

[@baba9665]

VIZE chxie not funny didnt laugh

[@benschuster9792]

Shame it wasn't the only time he was buried kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5TReGqlr82Hgrc

[@theirondukew.8522]

Ground fire killed him. The only reason Brown was credited with the kill is because it served as a great propaganda victory, not to mention a much more fitting end for a pilot. To have been killed by a simple infantryman firing a machine gun seemed like an ironic death for the greatest ace of the war. Nonetheless it's most likely what happened.

[@Cybermat47]

TheIronDuke W. the funny thing is that many WWI pilots had "unfitting" deaths. Albert Ball crashed his plane after being confused in cloud cover, Lothar von Richthofen and Godwin von Brumowski died as passengers in civil aviation crashes, Oswald Boelcke collided with a squadronmate, Max Immelmann's interrupter gear failed, and Mick Mannock and Francesco Barraca were shot down by ground fire like the Baron.

[@hodaka1000]

The front was fluid, moving and the Australian were also on the move and this caused delays in the reports of the various claims and in the meantime credit was given to Brown before all the reports arriving from the battlefield were taken into account.

[@HROM1908]

Please provide proof that Brown was credited with the kill.

TheIronDuke W. Nice quote. You got that word for word from another video, I just watched it before clicking on this one.

[@anthonydesroches785]

His enemy's had to give him his honour!

[@StyrenePanzer]

I think it's pretty ironic that the Red Baron's downfall was due to him disobeying his own rule... Rest in Peace, one of the greatest aces in the history of flight.

[@marcusporter3336]

+Styrene Panzer And what was his rule?

[@aerobetamax6022]

+marcus porter Not to dive after stalled or damaged enemies. I would guess, I have no source.

[@Wykletypl]

+Styrene Panzer Common for quite a lot of Aces both in WW1 and WW2.

[@GavinTheFifer]

+Charlieignatious Wow, That's Interesting And To Me Sad.

[@drakewilson3668]

It wasn't in the Dicta Bolcka so I'm sure it wasn't one of his rules.

[@Elaine11160]

Wonderful recreation of last fatal flight of the red baron. Hard to believe he was only 25 years old at his death. Many of the aerial tactics and maneuvers he invented are still used today. R.I.P. Manfred.

[@prestonb.5998]

i love The Red Baron and i honor him for his amazing work of airial combat

[@victoreduardo4891]

Manfred really was the best fighter pilot of WW1. And Germany seemed to be the country with the best fighter pilots that ever existed. During world war 2, even though Germany was under Hitler's control and German lost at the end again, their pilots achieved a lot of victories on aerial combat.

[@theirondukew.8522]

That's mostly due to the fact the pilots had to serve throughout the war and fight until their last breath. Germany's claims in WWII were also exaggerated in the name of morale - something the nazis excelled at. As for Richthofen being the best pilot of WWI. He had the highest number of downed aircraft but other pilots were rapidly catching up when the armistice was signed. The bottom line is he didn't survive the war whereas other aces did.

[@theirondukew.8522]

elaine evans "Many of the aerial tactics and maneuvers he invented are still used today." False. Actually it was his mentor Oswald Boelcke who laid the foundation for aerial tactics and fighting. The Immelmann turn is named after Max Immelmann. What maneuver is named after Richthofen? Please do tell.

[@MrAlepedroza]

TheIronDuke W. Him "not surviving the war" it's not an argument to discredit him. On the contrary, him managing to fight for so long despite being on the losing side, flyinng against a numerically superior enemy that increasingly better aircraft, being wounded in the head yet continuing flying missions till his last breath makes him even more remarkable than the pilots who were on the winning side and didn't had to endure as many hardships as him. No other pilot was as feared and respected as him back then.

[@13aceofspades13]

Many believe Manfred recklessly pursued his attempted last kill at low level like he did because he wasn't thinking clearly, I like to look at it like this, Manfred lost all of his friends he flew with in the beginning, he was really the only original pilot left at Jasta 11, and after watching friend after friend go down, and probably knowing at that time Germany was losing the war, he probably didn't care to live much longer, Richthofen probably wanted to go out like the rest of his buddies, fighting. I have done a little Research, and it seems more towards the end of the war Manfred became somewhat depressed and secluded himself from everyone else, and chose to hunt or do other things and be by himself, if I where a fighter pilot, and I had lost all my friends and i was sad about it, i might just go off and do things by myself too and want to be left alone. I don't think Manfred Von Richthofen purely lost situational awareness just because of his injury, i think he sort of planned to die, as dark as it sounds, and i am not trying to belittle him, but sometimes i think he just didn't want to deal with some of it anymore...

[@Yuki_Ika7]

that and 80 is a nice number to end off on, it was the most amazing thing at the time, and i agree with your theory

[@13aceofspades13]

+Stevonnie Jenkins actually if memory serves correctly Manfred was keeping count of how many kills he achieved by having silver cups made as well as collecting the serial numbers of the aircraft he shot down as well as other parts, he had a light shandolear in his quarters that was made from a rotary engine, put light bulbs in each of the open cylinders, he had some 60 cups made, i think around 63 if memory serves correct but i could be wrong, then they ran out of silver to make the cups for him, so i think after that he stopped counting, not sure... It is vary likely after so long Manfred had shot down so many, and was so far in the lead that he didn't even care to count anymore, it is possible that he shot down more than 80, and his squad mates may have likely went with 80 because that is at least what he shot down. he could have shot down over 100 if he had survived, he died in April of 1918, the war continued on for roughly 6-7 months later. Rene Fonck was next after him a french with 75 victories, but not much is know about him, he is sort of over shadowed by Georges Guynemer despite the fact Guynemer had less victories he was more respected as Fonck was arrogant and not very much liked.

[@wariswrong4920]

Agreed. He was horrified by the slaughter on the ground as well and chose to maybe die fighting down there.

[@xdenricoudx]

In his bio, he mentions his hatred towards the war and regrets joining.

[@JamesKing-gu7ho]

Why do you got to be such a windbag?

[@ACE1918]

Watching this on the 100 year anniversary. May he never be forgotten. "Fight on and fly onto the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart." -Baron Manfred von Richthofen

[@carpediem6568]

For what? Fighting for the wrong cause. Germany started the War. And they died along with the rest of Europe. The Kaiser wanted a war long before the assassination. Lived a long, peaceful life. He had a withered arm from birth. Stalin did too. A mixed up world we die in.

[@1zc5]

carpe diem i really hate ignorants like you, “oH hE wAs FiGhTiNg FoR tHe WrOnG cAuSe” He was clearly serving his country.

[@carpediem6568]

@@1zc5 Yeah, but what a dumb cause it was. They all died young, while the Kaiser, who started the damn war, lived a long and healthy life.

[@1zc5]

carpe diem true many died young, sad reality of wars

[@carpediem6568]

@@1zc5 At the very least, the Kaiser should have been executed. The Tsar of Russia was executed for his bungling incompetence, and rightly so. There is a difference between a Just war and how it is proceeded.

[@manfromnantucket9544]

Even with a .303 through his chest, he still landed the damn plane in one piece. Impressive.

[@chrishansen456]

Man from Nantucket Reports also say he spoke 2 German words before dying. No one knows what they were, since no one spoke German.

[@nickbryan6861]

Chris Hansen they say he muttered "I am broken" but his last words that are known for sure is before he left on that mission "What's wrong do you think I'm not coming back"

[@chrishansen456]

Nicholas Bryan Deep. Thanks for that info

[@ArtyEffem]

It's possible people are looking at this all wrong. His reason for landing may not have been because of the hit to his body, which could have happened at any point after he committed to landing.

[@Tellgryn]

@@chrishansen456 One word and they knew, Kaput. As he landed he throw his goggles off as the plane bounced to a stop, a soldier ran up and picked up the goggles and then ran on to the plane. The goggles came into the collection of the best writer on the subject and were sold at auction after the authors death, along with all the other objects he had of the Red Baron's from that last flight. It was about 30 objects from the plane to items the Baron had on him, including a large mark bill; this was sold around 2004 at auction. I wish he would have given them to the museum on aviation in Washington DC. That author tracked down all the living witnesses and items in the 40s-50s and 60s and got most of the ground accounts together from that day.

[@pugslifegaming6881]

Snoopy didn't shoot him down? My life is a lie.

[@SamuelHarrison]

haha i get that

[@googlecromeball4285]

Why would think snoopy will him down?

[@ok-rf6qy]

Sparks Sparks production there was a psp game featuring snoopy shooting manfred

[@googlecromeball4285]

I don't what game it was, but now it was a game.

[@boxman9033]

irk..........

[@neanderpaul14]

I've seen a recreation of events done by The Military Channel with forensic evidence, including angle of the entry wound, combined with eyewitness accounts as to when his flying became erratic, also they had lasers to simulate the gunfire from each source, it was pretty conclusive that an Australian machine gunner fired the fatal shot. Although some controversy still remains as to which one. The evidence is conclusive that his fatal wound came from the ground.

[@geyotepilkington2892]

@moggykirby yeah

[@nemoanon5615]

Another version is that the hit by ground fire idea was resisted to maintain his image.

[@ArtyEffem]

@moggykirby The bullet exited through the left nipple, making it unlikely to have hit his upper right arm.

[@cavu22]

@moggykirby se my opinion above. Shot while unconsious in his cockpit .

[@edf203]

In fact, here is a quote from the wikipedia article: "In the last seconds of his life, he managed to make a hasty but controlled landing... in a sector controlled by the Australian Imperial Force. One witness, Gunner George Ridgway, stated that when he and other Australian soldiers reached the aircraft, Richthofen was still alive but died moments later. Another eye witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen's last word was "kaputt"."

[@pimpompoom93726]

Almost certainly he was killed by ground fire, Brown was quite distant when he let loose with his one discharge.

[@cesararredondo7774]

Fuck.

[@alexanderseldes1069]

Well said. Bravo Herr Richtofen.

[@nikanaroditsky4282]

Alexander Seldes Your reaction to his comment just made me cry out of laughter😂😂

[@rogermunoz8901]

tu avioneta es estupida

[@mrj4990]

One of the best comments in KZbin history.

[@B_B463]

Jonathan Thorsen Since when are Germans a ''jerry''?

[@karlk6860]

Towards his last year or so in combat Manfred had become very reclusive and yes some say he hated the war inspite of just that turning into his personal identity, his killing of the enemy became his overwhelming goal in life, he being one of the few who would shoot the enemy plane down then strafe the wreckage after they crash landed in case they lived through the crash. In my research the Red Baron was a very different man from when the war started and when he was killed. Very efficient and successful hunter/pilot/ruthless! In the end seemed to be a man searching for his own end to the war!

[@juanibanez4439]

I love how even though he knew he was dying be still managed to keep his plane in tact. He must've had a passion for this.

[@Boredout454]

It should be noted that at this time pilots where almost like the Knights of Old, one reason many of them where made up of European Nobility. So when the Red Baron was killed he was buried with full military honors and many from warring nations attended.

[@ChimeraAZ]

Yuri DeKhed: They were actually considered Knights of the Sky,and the Germans held onto that idea all the way. They had serious rules of engagement and adhered to them.

[@ChimeraAZ]

Did I say anything about where on his targets Manfred von Richthofen aimed? I never even mentioned him. I merely spoke of how their country viewed them. As Knights of the Sky. Von Richthofen didnt only aim for the pilot's heads,he also said he aimed for the observer's as well. I am well versed on his life and career,thank you. Though I do know more about WWII Germany and it's military. (Oh,..I just realized,your a troll)

[@ChimeraAZ]

Yuri DeKhed: Somme sort of Chivalry isnt the only type of Chivalry. When he had downed a plane,if the pilot were alive,he didnt kill them then. Which is why,as I mentioned,he was angry with his brother for doing so. If you dont care for my reply,just ignore it. And,..no,I'm not a bit slow on the uptake.I'm just never on the lookout for trolls.They have no knowledge,they just annoy.

[@ChimeraAZ]

Yuri DeKhed: Umm,..I havent seen it and really have no plan to. Obviously you have. From it's trailers,it seemed a bit to,..to,..like something out of a comic book for my taste. Although when I was in Germany four years ago,I heard that "Der Rote Baron" got good reviews there. They seemed to stand behind it. Personally,I tend not to watch movies about Historical figures.They are mostly for entertainment,and rarely accurate. As to Chivalry,that's relative.Each person's perception of it can differ greatly.It would seem ours differ quite a bit. The fact that Manfred had problem with his brother is recorded in his mother's memoirs. You might want to read that for more information on Manfred. Now,..if you plan to keep trying to get a rise out of me,it wont do you any good. I have dealt with much worse than you can deal out on tumblr. And I won all my battles there. This is just amusement for me.

[@ChimeraAZ]

Yuri DeKhed: Oh,..you again. My perception of Chivalry is different than yours. Period. I,..oh,..wait. I forgot I was talking to a bored poor old troll. ZZzzzzz,..snore,...

[@jkorshak]

Nice video. Several things are known which hugely suggest Popkin's ground fire got him. 1) Brown's single pass on Richthofen was in a dive from behind before the Morlancort Ridge. After that he pulled up to avoid hitting the ground and lost range. Both Richthofen and May continued on towards the Morlancourt Ridge, up its slope, over the ridge, and beyond. 2) Richthofen was autopsied and the bullet path began several inches below the right armpit, upwards, and then out just below the left nipple with minimal hydrostatic shock damage - they were able to follow the path of the bullet thru the body indicating a low velocity penetration. 3) The bullet was found intact inside Richthofen's clothing. 4) Pathology suggests the wound/trauma would have killed Richthofen in 10-20 seconds. 5) An eye witness observed all 3 planes as they came over the Morlancourt ridge, first Richthofen and May's, heard ground fire, saw Richthofen's plane veer up in a half loop then pancake in, and then Brown, still approaching the ridge - Richthofen had already crashed. 6) Almost a minute had passed since Brown's initial diving pass. 7) Popkin, an experienced gunner, was roughly 600 yards to Richthofen and May's right and had been following the fight. Obviously, we can never know for sure but a lot of evidence points to Popkin.

[@troy9477]

A few yrs ago there was an Unsolved History episode, or something similar, that pretty well proved that it had to be ground fire that got him. Capt Brown was a skilled pilot though. Much of aerial combat doctrine is still built on the foundation laid out by vonR, Oswald Volcke, Immelman, and others (beware the Hun in the sun!). Great video

[@No.10_SopwithMan]

It's boelcke not "volecke"

[@raptin1595]

I always knew he died from some chap shooting at him from the ground but I never knew that he basically broke his own rule on being reckless. Still hard to believe that’s how he met his fate. RIP

[@NapoIeoneBuonaparte]

People found the excuse of his head wound, he got some 20 more kills before his ultimate demise, more than likely, he knew exactly where he was, and he knew exactly what he was doing, he just wanted to die in combat, and it didn’t matter to him anymore, his writings from the time just before his death basically displays this, he was just depressed and couldn’t have a normal life afterwards, his head wound hadn’t healed, and he felt he was a murderer, plain and simple.

[@KaiTakApproach]

These films are fantastic. Thank you for making them!

[@Tornadoblue947]

It's very damn impressive how he was able to land his plane after he got shot.

[@Pat2296]

Your vids are just outstanding. It's like actually being there and able to see what happened.

[@andrewgraves9375]

He still makes great pizza

[@miket156]

I do not believe for one moment that Roy Brown "shot down" Von Richthofen. Brown dived on him and fired a "long burst", he was too far away to know if he hit his plane. He flew away to help other pilots in his flight. Von Richthofen continued to tail May attempting to fire on him and shoot him down. He flew about two more minutes after Brown flew away. Austrialian troops that saw May and the Baron fly over them never saw a third plane. Australian infantry shot down the Baron, not Brown.

[@Velciraptor12]

I almost cried...

[@basicmodelling8871]

i did it is no shame

[@scottmurphy4183]

I think he finally believed they hype that he WAS invincible. He found out too late that he was not.

[@194853DodgeTrucks]

My son seems to think that the Red Baron may have been shot in the sky....knew he was going to die.....so he uncharacteristicly persuded his target over enemy lines trying to get his last kill. I've never heard this before and thought it was an interesting observation on my son's part. It would certainly explain the Baron's motives.

[@ChannelNotFound]

Nope. The bullet killed him in less than half a minute.

[@194853DodgeTrucks]

ChannelNotFound How was that determined?

[@WarhammerWings]

Interesting. I think it was the gunner's SHARED kill.

[@hoodoo2001]

Not likely with a rifle bullet in your body. You are going into shock very fast and not thinking much. George Orwell of 1984 fame described being shot in the Spanish Civil War, he was sniped in the neck...it ain't Hollywood.

[@anthonyfitzgerald4551]

194853DodgeTrucks that is an interesting thought but cannot be considered as realistic because the medical experts have determined that the injury he sustained could not possibly have allowed him to live any longer than 20 seconds, just barely enough time for him to land the plane. Eyewitnesses have confirmed he was still alive when he landed, although only for a few seconds.

[@josephgadaleto3211]

browns tesimony was he fired at 800 yards at the triplane, most probably ground fire killed him. he survived the landing to utter his last word to someone on the ground. he said kaputt and died.

[@RobHealey]

Extremely well crafted doco - thanks

[@shantelmcreavy527]

With all due respect to the Baron, many pilots firmly believed that he would often stay above a fight and observe, once his circus had nearly finished off an enemy, the Baron would swoop down and go for the kill. This was noted by many pilots on both sides.

[@rodblievers620]

From his wounds it’s apparent (and accepted by most) that Richthofen was killed by the Australian gunners.

[@DutchManticore]

Wow amazing video and story. Really amazing. I've always been intrigued by the Red Baron.

[@susantaggart2959]

The respect he got from his enemies was great, they knew he was a worthy opponent.

[@MR_SKITTLEMAN65]

the one thing us Australians have a piece of the red baron

[@nerfshooter4216]

XD

[@hodaka1000]

I think we have his boots too, or anyway the boots he took off some pommie he shot down.

[@HiroTheJapaneseTrain]

I saw this almost 8 years ago when it was released, and I'm watching it again exactly 100 years on from the death of the Red Baron himself. Such a nostalgic trip. Thanks for keeping this up all these years! :)

[@adamabishek3861]

I miss him, one day I will for sure, will see his grave and touch it 💜 Ace of the aces

[@kasper7574]

he was still alive after the plane landed when the first man to arrive at the plane said he tryed to say something in German to him, then he sighed and died.

[@madsmohnen]

Today, it is 100 years ago that Richthofen crashed his plane.

[@twangyorpheus7891]

James Kidd 100 years ago, so long but feels so short

[@kilogram064]

He landed it intact. There was no crash.

[@drewske1984]

Well Done! Using video game footage to tell a historical event, I almost wasn't sure whether this was a video game or not but then I read the description. I give you an 11!

[@KEM451]

Richthofen spoke a word or two to the ground troops that approached his plane after he landed, then he died. The troops didn't understand German, so no one knows what his last words were; but he survived to both land his plane and shut the engine off before succumbing to his fatal wound. From a review of the field hospital's postmortem report, the bullet that struck Richthofen came from below, a shot from the ground.

[@alexanderseldes1069]

He said something like "kaput"

[@KEM451]

Alexander Seldes Have to admit that's pretty funny

[@synthwavecat96]

Or it could've struck something on his Dr.1 and ricocheted back towards him.

[@KEM451]

The bullet came up from below, his Dr.1 was made almost entirely of wood and fabric so there's little if anything to ricochet off of.

[@GavinTheFifer]

+Reet Haar Maybe He Was Saying He Broke Something Like A Bone From The Hard Landing

[@XTRMNTR2K]

Outstanding video, Gisbod! It is at least on par with your Voss movie, if not even better. I have to admit I was thinking about doing at least one of those two movies as well, but that was long, long before you made these fantastic videos. The way I see it, you did both justice. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your fine work in the future!

[@thefallenC073]

As my dad said last night: “We all know the name “The Red Baron” by heart but we don’t know the name of the pilot who was better than him”

[@fearlessfosdick160]

That is because there was no pilot who was better then him.

[@geegeetwo1]

An Aussie machine gunner brought him down. That's pretty well accepted.

[@doughaak7407]

You are right. Von Richthofen flew a considerable distance after Brown gave up the chase.

[@TheAlchemisification]

They do care actually.

[@TheEmeraldMenOfficial]

It was Brown... it’s all over both my books and the Internet, if you’ll do your research.

[@samphillips2360]

Sorry but even the Canadian Govt has conceded that Von Richtofen has killed by ground fire and Sgt Popkin has been officially credited with downing Von Richofen.

[@blacbraun]

That's bullshit Sam. The Canadian government would never concede he was killed by ground fire when the question will probably never be known for certain.

[@Kaffyboy]

As you should be. He's a hero of mine, even though he fought my country in the War. It was my country, Australia, who gave him the honourable funeral he richly deserved! The Aussies were his enemies, but the Aussies also fully respected him!

[@edwardsomething.2317]

May the ace of the aces rest in peace.

[@caorusso4926]

He last effort has to stop him triplane, he love with the machine and when stop, he too stop. Rest in piece a legend

[@jaminben3274]

Actually the red baron does not see his brother in trouble and kill him

[@JumpingTuna]

The men who flew these machines were absolute mad lads. They flew rickety flammable wood and fabric flying machines with machine guns strapped to them powered with engines that barely made 50 horse power. They had a life expectancy of less than a year, and they all knew it. Crazy dudes, the whole lot of them.

[@Uhlankadett1]

For years I read anything I could get my hands on about The Red Baron. I have all the really good books written about him, even the one written by his Mother after The Great War. I too was interested in the last day and wanted to publish an article on the forensics of his death. But a number of good articles came out and a well written book was published. As for me Residency training, marriage and 5 kids have kept me bust where I would never have e the time. Not to mention the books are very well done and the authors did a most excellent job. What has come to light by the diaries of some of the Australian soldiers who were first to get to Von Richthofen's a/c , The Red Baron when pulled from his cockpit said something in German and then died !! This is very remarkable as it further points to Popkin being the one. I say that because in "Cardiac Tamponade" one has but a short amount of time before the heart stops and the person becomes unconscious. Add in the adrenaline and it is quite believeable that the Red Baron did glide his a/c and lived long enough to say some final words. All Wars are tragic. The Flower of the youth of ALL the great nations of Europe were decimated by that war.

[@6147tacticalcontrol]

I thought Snoopy got him.

[@ACE1918]

Snoopy was a nickname for Roy Brown.

[@milliondollarsooner]

Ya

[@fruitwagon9275]

I really wish he had survived the war so we could get some interviews sometime in maybe the 20s or 30s

[@scottpedroley5851]

Nice video.......thanks. The Red Baron was a great known and victorious pilot......that known in all countries (80 kills is a phenomenal feat) his legend still continues or we wouldnt even be talking about it here now. I have read quite a bit about him.....he was amazing. But.......the pizza isnt so great......lol.

[@sopwithpuppy]

+Scott Pedroley "phenomenal feat" indeed...for WW1. Did you know the highest scoring fighter pilot of all time shot down 352 aircraft"? That's more than 4 times MvR's feat. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking him, I am an amateur WW1 aviation historian, and just pointing out a fact. The fact he did that in such flimsy aircraft with no parachute is quite a feat indeed.

[@dayrahldayrahl9167]

+sopwithpuppy but did they do it in the ww1 planes which are just dangerr=ous to fly in let alone high g spins

[@sopwithpuppy]

dayal Williams I mentioned that it was a phenomenal feat FOR WW1. Didn't you read that bit? I am an amateur WW1 aviation historian, and I got "into it" through the feats of Luftwaffe pilots of WW2, thinking about how incredible their feats were, and my friend suggested I look at WW1 for the very reason you suggested. It's difficult enough merely FLYING the wood, string and canvas "crates" of WW1, let alone stunting in one, or twisting and turning to avoid being shot out of the sky.

[@el-rufio2464]

That was really well acted and edited

[@tomtodd7744]

Nobody will know for certain who killed the Red Baron. End of Story.

[@WR3ND]

Is that the only point that matters to you? It's an interesting story none the less.

[@gramioerie_xi133]

+TomTodd 774 "I don't trust CNN because LITERALLY NOBODY knows what CNN stands for." "It stands for Cable News Network." "Could be. Literally nobody knows." "It IS true, though? CNN has said so many times." "They may have. But it's so scary how NOBODY knows." Saying 'nobody knows' despite several tons of evidence and pretending the evidence is only 'hypothetical' doesn't make it true that nobody knows.

[@Gromit801]

Evidence pretty well proves it was Popkin. Established as far back as 1968.

[@tomtodd7744]

We do know that the most likely candidate is Australian machine gunner, Cedric Pompkin. But even Pompkin said the world would likely never know for certain.

[@SirCabooseCCCP]

@@gramioerie_xi133 ok

[@photoanalyst]

The ground machine gun fire brought the Red Baron down most likely since the pilot officers stole the kill from a lowly soldier for their own glory. The bullet hit him under the arm due to ground fire not from pursuing aircraft.

[@vadymdubinskyi4347]

F*ck Red Baron is dead?!

[@HROM1908]

Thank you for your impressive animation. Thanks also for your objectivity and impartiality. It will forever remain a mystery. From a good friend of Roy Brown's brother Howard.

[@HROM1908]

@Yuri DeKhed So, no proof then.

[@HROM1908]

@Yuri DeKhed Please do,I would very much appreciate it.

[@maxwellharris507]

it was Pvt Snowy Evans who fired that fatal shot from the ground

[@shipwreckchannel9368]

true

[@Cybermat47]

Maxwell Harris he was Gunner Snowy Evans, not Private. Besides, it's most likely that it was Sergeant Popkin who fired the fatal round.

[@hexit7777]

Maxwell Harris no

[@Alantheleopard]

Eeerr... and how can you be so sure, may I ask? If these images are loyal to what really happened, in every single small detail, then Manfred climbing to the right by 4:53 might have been the right position for Brown´s bullets to hit the German ace, according to the description at the very end, so that gives credence to the British pilot as well. After all, the Camel pilot was flying a bit lower than the German at that moment- at least in these images. Still, this will remain a mystery forever... Let´s say that it´s a "shared kill".

[@ALA-uv7jq]

Alan you think this cartoon video is accurate. Get a grip.

[@Oops-All-Ghosts]

"Possibly still under the control of Richtofen." The kill wasn't confirmed until he touched down, so it's possible that he didn't die until he was already on the ground.

[@cavu22]

Please ,do a version of where Brown and the ground fire were shooting and either of them disabled the Triplane and the Baron pulled up to gain a bit of altitude he needed to do a low level force landing. The Triplane is notoriously hard to fly let alone force land. He used all his skill to get it down in one piece ,but like many other DR1 force landing, ( including a previous one of his) the airplane ended up on its nose and main wheels with the tail pointed up at 45 degrees with him unconscious from smashing his head into the twin gun butts. Some one arrived very soon and shot a 30 bullet up thru his fuselage, seat ,and into his body, exiting under his armpit and out the other side of the fuselage. Brown shot him down. He was killed by a shot to his back while unconscious by a soldier on the ground.

[@lukegalvin3294]

Manfred was a very good pilot but why does everyone forget Erich Hartmann?

[@Birdy34]

Not the same war :/

[@RocknRoll7736]

I've read it wasn't his flying abilities, but his shooting that was so gifted (obviously they play hand in hand)

[@RevBoose]

Hartmann himself didn't feel he was as good a pilot as others. He simply had a tactic that worked, and he repeated it 352 times against bombers and other Russian aircraft usually flown with little creativity. He felt that Marseille, flying in the West against Brits and Americans, was a much better pilot, and that his personally higher score was against an inferior enemy. Also, he didn't die, adding that tragic/romantic element to the story.

[@christinefury7839]

Steve Boose The source of this claim?? Any links you can provide or are you just asserting something out of the blue? No pilot worth his name would ever say something so ridiculous so I'm going to call BS on that one. Hartmann shot down IL-2 attack planes and said: "a Shturmovik IL-2, which was the toughest aircraft to bring down because of the heavy armor plate. You had to shoot out the oil cooler underneath, otherwise it would not go down." As for "little creativity". Not what Hartmann himself said: "One situation comes to mind. I was in a duel with a Red Banner flown Yak-9, and this guy was good, and absolutely insane. He tried and tried to get in behind me, and every time he went to open fire I would jerk out of the way of his rounds. Then he pulled up and rolled, and we approached each other head on, firing, with no hits either way. This happened two times. Finally I rolled into a negative G dive, out of his line of sight, and rolled out to chase him at full throttle. I came in from below in a shallow climb and flamed him. The pilot bailed out and was later captured. I met and spoke with this man, a captain, who was a likeable guy." Interesting. Now you provide links to your dubious claims or be quiet. You'd make a more valid comparison comparing Hartmann with the French WWI ace René Fonck - both of which understood what aerial warfare really came down to and both of which had a no-nonsense approach to war.

[@RevBoose]

Any excuse to read through "The Blond Knight of Germany" again! I'll get the quote and get back to you on that. ;-)

[@kyarmentari]

Just watched two of your films in the series... and I have to say... very well done. Excellent work. (I should be getting ROF today or tomorrow in the mail, can't wait!)

[@MistaAbYsSs]

He never wanted to kill anyone, just fly. He even told his squadron not too kill but to cripple and force them to land. He was good friends with Roy Brown before he was killed. Roy Brown was the person who was credited for the kill of the Manfred Von Richthofen. But who killed the "Red Baron" is still unsure.

[@bakters]

He wasn't dead when the aircraft stopped. There is an account of an eye witness that he said something in German when soldiers on the ground reached his plane. It was not known until relatively recently, as far as I recall.

[@Anshelm44]

Awesome mate, you can show those choreographers (sp?) at History Channel how to make a sensefull, emotional and interesting piece of CGI documentary! Good show mate, And respect to aviation legends Brown and Freiherr Manfred von Richthofen!

[@zachariah74]

Very well made video, I have to say. You got a like from me 🤙

[@tootired76]

Thank you! Very well put together! And only the facts were applied!

[@Gringostar87]

Phenomenal, brilliant, I absolute love it. Thank you and please make more!

[@saltycanadian6190]

Best pilot and most honourable of all time.

[@NickVennlig]

I literally finished the famous movie of the Red Baron starring Mathias Schweighofer, and looked Red Baron up on youtube. Cool video.

[@Zebred2001]

The fact is that no proper autopsy was done so no one will ever know beyond the statement that allied forces killed the Red Baron.

[@Reichthoff]

Amazing video, can't figure out how much effort it to you to make this! Thanks.

[@tobiasbourne9073]

Wow that was a brilliant video! You can clearly see that you put a lot of effort into it, well done mate👍🏻👌🏻

[@timothyboles6457]

Well done, recent re-examination of evidence suggests that the Baron was killed by ground-fire rather that from one of the other aircraft. But as you state, we will never truely know The Allies showed great respect to him by giving the full honors funeral. And as others have stated, this would never happen today

[@mikes9224]

Excellent representation, given your game options / limitations. From what I've read, your representation of 425/17 is excellent, especially the markings and baccepted shade of red (not a bright red) based on existing pieces of the plane. More than likely killed by ground fire. Many discount Brown' being placed for a shot through right side of fuselage (but who? Can never be totally verified). Well done.

[@valekhawke]

@sirgisbod I saw a show on Unsolved History on the Discovery Channel back in 2002 about this, "Death of the Red Baron", and one witness, Sgt Ted Smout of the Australian Medical Corps, reported that Richthofen was in fact still alive and I BELIEVE had managed to crawl out of the plane (not too sure about that), and that his last word right before he died was "kaputt". Smout was still alive when they filmed the show and they showed their interview with him. He was still mentally sharp as a tack.

[@MrBobinAZ]

Although my Dad (RCAF, WWI) who knew Roy Brown always supported the notion that he shot down the Baron, I thought it was finally decided that his death was the result of ground fire from Australian gunners. Poor guys never seem to get the credit even through forensic proof after the fact. True or not; Richthofen was never given credit for being a great pilot - just a great hunter and killer. Can't take that away from him.

[@Pip8429]

Awesome video! Very historical and promotes ROF. Will there be a new one with the Bristol, now that it's out?

[@gordonroberts2933]

In fact he was still alive when a soldier ran up to take the pilot prisoner, he mumbled something including the word 'kaput' just before he died, it was probably "I'm finished" or something to that effect.

[@killaoflimmus]

MvR was still alive when the Soldiers got to him, and his last word was, "Kaput", which in German means, "Finished" or broken.

[@mikeyoung9810]

I remember reading that they figured out that it was a ground gunner who got him based on the angle of the wound and the location of the ground gunners. But, who really knows. Great video but a sad and mostly inevitable ending for those who take part in war. He was a courageous fighter but so were most that flew and those fought on the ground in a terrible loss of humanity fighting the wars thrust upon them.

[@Alantheleopard]

Isn´t it a bit ironical that, knowing how many bullets a machine gun can fire, it was just one of them which hit Manfred? Also, considering that he was previously wounded on his head in another dogfight, I find it so hard to believe that, so badly wounded as he was, he managed to take his aircraft down. In fact, I remember having seen a photograph from the period showing the triplane crash destroyed, and some books stating as well that he crashed, and not that he made it in one piece...

[@TheRealHawkeye]

I like Dan Hampton's hypothesis of the Baron's death in his book "Lords of the Sky." It is his opinion, mine as well, that he wasn't fatally wounded while aloft. Instead, a damaged engine from the ground fire brought him down, and soldiers shooting at him once on the ground delivered the fatal bullet. This explains him being able to land the plane, because as inherently unstable as the Dr.I is, it would be impossible for it to land on its own without power, and improbable with a fatally wounded pilot at the controls.

[@jgrepshire]

Very well done short documentary with machinima!

[@MurderCrowAwdio]

one of the best such videos i have ever seen! if i could i'd give you five stars :P

[@andrewmaning9522]

him and mannock and many other ace pilots are remembered rip aces

[@CYON4D]

Again another great video. It was very fun to watch it.

[@Themakeshiftman-zu2ck]

the music and the effects makes it cool

[@pc4x4]

This man gave his life so we peasants could enjoy a $3 frozen pizza with his name on it.

[@starguard4122]

...and here I was all this time thinking Snoopy Killed him

[@504smudge]

Fantastic, really well made and a good tribute to a great pilot and a real legend

[@Stukadriver]

Really enjoyed your work. Very clever.

[@askcitizenfitz]

Whoever got him it wasn't Roy Brown. But Cedric Popkin fits all the necessary requirements.

[@alexanderseldes1069]

Popkin was firing at the RB from the front. It was clearly stated in a letter he wrote.

[@askcitizenfitz]

Maybe. He was also firing at the RB from the side.

[@thesnjopirata1333]

rip red baron...you will forever be missed

[@2948guy]

wow this is a really nice animation. what did you use? blender?

[@straighttailpilot]

great video! historically accurate too. I do remember that they knew ground fire had brought down the red baron but brittain in an act of Chivalry credited Brown as the one who brought the Baron down. It was a more honorable way of dying. its sad how wars waste such good talent. again great video.

[@gerard2603]

Extremeley well made video. I would say this is beyond 'hobby' : this is Art ! Congrats & Many thanks. G

[@buck1936]

War in the air was more honourable in those days A great video

[@TheNavyman53]

@BarryAir The triplane landed rightside up alright. It is said to have bounced a few times by Australian troops who were nearby, landing in a beet "pie" or mound. A soldier named Twycross was man who saw him die. von Richtofen's last words were "alles kaput." Meaning I am finished.

[@Fred_the_1996]

Poor Manfred he nearly survived but died while stopping the plane We will miss you Manfred

[@Fred_the_1996]

Yuri DeKhed Look I know he could not be saved but... What I was saying is that he nearly landed and stoped the plane while he was still alive

[@Fred_the_1996]

Yuri DeKhed Ok ok I got it aaah...

[@Gromit801]

Brown never got behind VonR. He dove, fired a burst, and kept diving downwards and out of the fight.