The Red Baron in Munich

 

Where else would you find something like a 1918 Fokker Triplane, like the one the Red Baron flew in WWI – but in the Deutsches Museum.  Although I wanted so badly for this to be one of the many planes he flew in combat, it appears it is only a similar model.  The Red Baron is so engrained in pop culture, that you see him in everything from famous movies to a Snoopy reference in the Peanuts cartoons.  But he was certainly real.  The Red Baron was a German fighter pilot named Manfred von Richthofen, who has been credited with more than 80 war time victories.  It turns out the baron was not the most acrobatic or spectacular pilot, but rather than using risky or aggressive tactics like other pilots, he strictly observed a set of maxims that assured the success of both squadron and its pilots.  In addition, he was an expert marksman from growing up hunting wild boar, elk, deer and birds.  Combine this with his approach of attacking from above with the sun blinding opposing pilots, and you have one of the most consistent pilots in WWI.