A wingman, Bigglesdownunder, loaned me Issue 8 of Iron Cross magazine. It is special issue on Manfred von Richthofen. I found it a good read.
As well as articles you would expect about MvR as a person and his victories as a pilot, there was an article on the development of the Fokker Dr.I, and an interview with a Swede who has built a reproduction of a Dr.I, who was able to describe what it was like to fly.
There is also an article about MvR’s philosophy and approach to conducting air warfare. It is like a training manual for all those who served under him. It is consistent with what is said elsewhere about him both leading his men by example, but also watching out for, and watching over, his men. I thought it gave a good insight into the man, and his success.
Another article I enjoyed was the one about the influence of Oswald Boelcke on MvR’s career, and more importantly, on MvR’s approach to leading men. Without Boelcke, there may have been no famous pilot, MvR. He might have remained an observer.
There is much more, but these were the highlights for me.
Lastly, in the table listing all MvR’s victories, only the last 17 of which were in a Fokker Dr.I, there is a footnote saying that only the last two victories were in an all red Dr.I.
[Saunders, A. (ed), Iron Cross, Issue 8, Warners Group Publications, Bourne (Lincolnshire, UK), 2021.]
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