Cavalry commander Manfred von Richthofen visits his wounded son, the more famous Manfred von Richthofen, wounded by gunner second Lieutenant A.E. Woodbridge on July 6, 1917 in a fight with an FE2b of 20 Squadron.

Der Vater besucht den verwundeten Sohn.

The father visits the wounded son.

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Greatest of all aces in the war with 80 victories, Baron Manfred von Richthofen was an son of a cavalry officer who had fought on the Marne.

Richthofen, both alive and dead, did much to foster the myth of the Knight of the Air, and the chivalrous gestures some of the fighter pilots engaged in.

The Red Baron or Red Fighter Pilot, as his autobiography is called, flew a red Albatros, and later a red Fokker Dr.I triplane.

Richthofen flew reconnaisance on the Eastern Front, in Belgium, and over the battlefield of Verdun before becoming a fighter pilot in August 1916, joining Oswald Bölcke's Jadgstaffel or hunter squadron.

Bölcke died in a collision on October 28, 1916. By January 1917 Richthofen have 15 kills and was given command of the squadron. By the end of April, he had 52 victories.

The Jadgstaffel was a hunter squadron attached to an army unit. In June 1917, Richthofen created the Jagdgeschwader, a mobile fighter squadron the could be assigned where needed. The allies nicknamed the Jagdgeschwader 'the Flying Circus,' in part because of the elaborate paint work on the German planes.

After scoring 80 victories, von Richthofen was killed on April 21, 1918, most likely by ground fire, while fighting Sopwith Camels. His death was reported first by the British, and then in a German army report on April 24.

Date of Death: April 21, 1918

National Affiliation: Germany