Some of the great heroes of World War I were the “aces” – pilots who were credited with bringing down large numbers of enemy planes. These dashing young pilots captured the imagination of the public and imbued the war with a sense of romanticism. Their celebrity came from the fact that they fought a war of individual heroism in the blue skies – far from the anonymity of the muddy trenches. In terms of casualty rates however, they were just as doomed as the troops in the trenches.
One of the most legendary “aces” of the war was Germany’s Baron Manfred von Richthofen – a man more commonly known as “The Red Baron.” Flying a plane painted bright red, Richthofen stood out to friend and foe alike. Killed at the age of 25, he left behind a record of 80 kills.
