22 February

(UTC+1)

Events on this day in the life of Manfred von Richthofen

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Lothar in Schweidnitz

Die Erinnerungen der Mutter des roten Kampffliegers Kunigunde Freifrau von Richthofen. Im Verlag Ullstein - Berlin, 1937.?p. ?

21 February 1917
La Brayelle

…Es wurden dann doch noch gemütliche Stunden. Lothar fühlt sich zu Hause so wohl; er ist ein “Familienmensch”. Am n¨chsten Tag lud ich ihm einige Säfte zum Kaffee ein. Es wurde viel von Manfred gesprochen. Er ist ihm Vorbild, Ansporen. Von seinen eigenen Plänen sprach er wenig. Aber ich kenne ihn: wenn von Luftkämpfen die Rede war, dann blitzte oft etwas in seinen seltsamen Augen auf, wie damals am Vorabend der Kriegserklärung, als wir in Zoppot saßen. Er sah sich wohl schon im Jagdflugzeug, Auge in Auge mit dem Gegner. Ich dachte daran, was Manfred schrieb: “Lothar hat sich als Flugzeugführer glänzend entwickelt…” Und seinen Schneid kenne ich, er steht dem Manfreds in nichts nach; vielleicht ist er impulsiver, plötztlicher…

Lothar recalls how MvR handled new recruits

Richthofen, Beyond the legend of the Red Baron, Peter Kilduff, Arms and Armour, 1993?p. 77?

21 February 1917
La Brayelle

“Lothar von Richthofen recalled his brother’s early combat missions with Karl Allmenröder and Kurt Wolff:

“At the time both had no experience at all and in aerial combat beginners have more fear than love of the Fatherland. In the first days, my brother flew out with them, attacked numerous British, and his machine received an enormous number of hits, without successes to make up for it, and both of them did not help. Of course my brother came back somewhat annoyed, but did not reproach them; on the contrary, he did not say a word about it. As Wolff and Allmenröder…told me, that influenced them more than the harshest dressing-down.”

In preparing his pilots for battle, Richthofen set an example of personal conduct that also contributed to their future success as fighters and leaders in their own right. He had a good sense of awareness of his role as Staffelführer; he did not attempt to be ‘one of the boys’, indulging in much singing and carousing in off-duty hours, but he enjoyed a good joke and some moderate drinking. He smoked an occasional cigarette, but otherwise looked after his personal health. As there were no night-fighter operations at that time, Manfred von Richthofen went to bed early – usually before 2200 – to ensure that he was rested and in top form the following morning. He was cordial to officers and enlisted men alike; indeed, he urged his pilots to remain on good terms with the mechanics who maintained their aircraft.”

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