Red Baron Panorama - Lord of the Skies - Lomo Version is a photograph by Weston Westmoreland which was uploaded on May 9th, 2014.
Red Baron Panorama - Lord of the Skies - Lomo Version
Manfred von Richthofen (2 May 1892 - 21 April 1918), the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot during World War I. He is considered the top ace of... more
Title
Red Baron Panorama - Lord of the Skies - Lomo Version
Artist
Weston Westmoreland
Medium
Photograph
Description
Manfred von Richthofen (2 May 1892 - 21 April 1918), the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot during World War I. He is considered the top ace of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.
Richthofen was wounded twice during the war, but never shot down. It is believed he was killed by a single bullet shot from a Vickers machine gun on the ground. Richthofen managed to land his airplane behind the enemy lines and was still alive when they got to him. His final word is said to be "Kaputt", broken.
Richthofen was buried near Amiens. Six enemy officers served as pallbearers, and a guard of honour fired a salute.
Allied squadrons stationed nearby presented memorial wreaths, one of which was inscribed with the words, "To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe".
He died at the age of 26.
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Uploaded
May 9th, 2014
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Comments (4)
Douglas Castleman
Wow! Really, 20,000 feet? I'm amazed, but I know they didn't get that high in practice, how could they breathe really? Thanks for the info, though, learn something everyday. I'm sure you're right about him probably returning to fight too soon...It is interesting how this man remains the famous fighter pilot of all time. Again, it is a well made piece of art, and I like it a lot.
Weston Westmoreland replied:
I really do not know much about these planes. After your commentary, I just checked the service ceiling data in a couple of places, Wikipedia and another. Both said the same. Then I checked commercial flights to see how far off from reality the image might be.
Douglas Castleman
Interesting picture and well done....it is worth noting that Richthofen, although killed by the machine gunners on the ground, was forced low during a dogfight with Capt. Brown in his Sopwith Camel. Brown was behind him when he was hit, and would have most likely have got him if Richthofen wasn't hit by ground fire first. No way to know for sure, of course. This image shows the triplane at very high altitude...not sure if they ever got that high...as it is extremely thin air up that high and there were no oxygen systems yet. Also, the great war planes were certainly limited to around 10,000 feet at the most, and that was really pushing it.
Weston Westmoreland replied:
Who knows what might have happened, right? I dare suppose it was not the first time the Red Baron had enemy aircraft at his tail, so with all due respect I take that "most likely" as wishful thinking... Not an expert on the subject but I have read Richthofen returned too soon to the fight and his head wound was not yet cured so he probably got disoriented and flew where he shouldn't. Who knows. All we know for certain is that speculation about who shot him and how he got to be shot that way has gone uninterrupted for almost a century now. Myself, I care more about how he lived, how he fought and how he was considered and honored by his enemies. As for the height... service ceiling for Fokker DR-I was actually 20,000 feet. The clouds were shot from a commercial flight, Barcelona- Rome, I think. Those short flights do not get quite as high as inter-continentals so height would be between 20,000 and 30,000 at top altitude. However, we do not know how high the clouds are above the ground and how high the shot was taken above them. It might be technically inaccurate, I cannot tell, but it is allegorically right : )
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