"Manfred Von Richthofen: His Life and Times in Pictures" - "" ("Hillier-Graves Tim")(Pevná vazba)

It is more than a hundred years since the First World War fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen was killed in combat on the Western Front. By then, due to a strange twist of fate, his name was becoming as well known in Britain, France and the USA as it was in Germany. Following the outbreak of war in 1914, von Richthofen initially served as a calvary reconnaissance officer. Such a role was soon diminished by the stagnation of trench warfare, and so von Richthofen volunteered for aircrew duties. From June to August 1915 he flew as an observer over the Eastern Front, before transferring to the Western Front. From there he progressed to pilot training. Von Richthofen’s first confirmed victory occurred on 17 September 1916, by which time he had transferred from two-seater reconnaissance aircraft to single-seater fighters. After achieving his sixteenth ‘kill’, the up and coming fighter ace was awarded the Pour le Mérite in January 1917, this being highest military honour in Germany at the time and informally known as ‘The Blue Max’. That same month, he assumed command of Jasta 11, by which time a legend surrounding his name was becoming firmly established. His life and deeds as a fighter pilot were so convincingly sold by a highly polished and quite ruthless propaganda machine that it created an image of knightly virtue and courage that has fame has lasted to this day and, indeed, shows no sign of lessening. And yet this phenomenon owes much
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