''The Red Fighter Pilot'' (German: ''Der rote Kampfflieger'') is a book written by

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

, a famous

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

fighter pilot who is considered the top scoring ace of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, being officially credited with 80

air combat ''Air Combat'' is a 1995 combat flight simulator developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enemie ...

victories. Richthofen's most common German nickname was "Der Rote Kampfflieger," which roughly translates to "The Red Battle Flyer" or "The Red Fighter Pilot." Today he is better known as the Red Baron. The book details some of Richthofen's experiences during World War I. He finished the book in 1917, and as it was written during World War I, it was subjected to war-time

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. Richthofen was killed in combat in 1918. ''The Red Fighter Pilot'' was the only book he authored. Written on the instructions of the "Press and Intelligence" (propaganda) section of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', it shows evidence of having been censored and edited.Burrows 1970, pp. 162–163. An English translation by J. Ellis Barker was published in 1918 as ''The Red Battle Flyer''. In 1920, Germany republished the book in a volume called ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life'').von Richthofen, Manfred. "Ein Heldenleben." Deutscher Verlag (Ullstein), 1920. ''Ein Heldenleben'' included additional materials written by von Richthofen, including parts of his correspondence. The book also contained materials written by family members and friends about him. In 1933, Manfred von Richthofen's autobiography was published for the third time in Germany, this time in a volume again titled ''Der Rote Kampfflieger''.von Richthofen, Manfred et al
"Der Rote Kampfflieger."
Deutscher Verlag (Ullstein), 1933. Like ''Ein Heldenleben,'' this volume includes some writings by others about von Richthofen, the full text of ''Der Rote Kampfflieger'', some of von Richthofen's correspondences, and some autobiographical passages he wrote after the original publication of ''Der Rote Kampfflieger'' and before his death. The text of ''Der Rote Kampfflieger'' itself contains several inclusions that were censored from the original publication. In 1969, historian Peter Kilduff published an English translation of the 1933 book titled ''The Red Baron''.von Richthofen, Manfred. "The Red Baron." Translated by Peter Kilduff, Doubleday, 1969. The 1933 edition of ''Der Rote Kampfflieger'' appears to paint a much more accurate portrait of von Richthofen than the 1917 edition. It contains passages most unlikely to have been inserted by an official editor: "I am in wretched spirits after every aerial combat. I believe that

he war He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

is not as the people at home imagine it, with a hurrah and a roar; it is very serious, very grim." In this edition von Richthofen also goes on record as repudiating ''Der Rote Kampfflieger'', stating that it was too insolent and that he was no longer that kind of person.Johnson, Karl (Contributing Editor for WTJ)
"'The Red Fighter Pilot' by Manfred von Richthofen (online edition)."
''The War Times Journal''. Retrieved: 27 May 2007.

References

External links

The Red Fighter Pilot on-line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Fighter Pilot History books about World War I Personal accounts of World War I Aviation books German biographies Manfred von Richthofen