Lothar von Richthofen

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Lothar von Richthofen
September 27, 1894 - July 4, 1922

Lothar von Richthofen with the Pour le Mérite at his neck.
Place of birth Breslau, Silesia
Place of death Fuhlsbuettel
Allegiance German Empire
Service/branch Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service 1914-1918
Rank Oberleutnant
Unit KG 4, Jasta 11
Awards Pour le Mérite

Lothar-Siegfried Freiherr von Richthofen (27 September 1894 – 4 July 1922) was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 40 victories during the war. He was younger brother of top-scoring ace Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) and a cousin of the Luftwaffe field marshal Wolfram von Richthofen.

Starting the war as a cavalry officer, Lothar transferred to the German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) in 1915 and his first posting was to his brother's Jasta 11 on 6 March 1917. Lothar flew during the period of German dominance known as Bloody April and by the start of May had scored 16 victories. When Manfred went on leave, Lothar assumed command of the squadron. Manfred considered his brother rather reckless, describing him as a "shooter" rather than a "hunter".

Lothar von Richthofen (right) with elder brother Manfred
Lothar von Richthofen (right) with elder brother Manfred

Lothar scored three more kills in the first week of May. On the evening of 7 May near Douai, Lothar's Jasta 11 encountered eleven British aircraft from the "elite" No. 56 Squadron RFC, including English ace, Albert Ball. In a running battle fought in deteriorating visibility, the aircraft became scattered until Lothar was engaged in a one-on-one dogfight with Ball which ended with both aircraft crashing behind German lines. Ball was killed, but Lothar survived and was credited with the victory. Lothar's comrades went to great lengths to grant Lothar the honour for this victory, going so far as to fire a revolver at the wreckage of Ball's SE5 plane and then show the bullet holes as evidence. Later research has shown that it was likely Ball had become disoriented during the battle, accidentally entered an inverted dive which choked his plane's carburator and killed the engine.[citation needed]

Lothar resumed flying immediately, raising his tally to 23 by 13 May when, while pursuing a BE.2, he was wounded in the hip by anti-aircraft fire and crash-landed. On 14 May he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, but his injuries kept him out of combat for five months. He was again badly wounded in March 1918 by Capt. Orlebar, RFC.

Lothar scored his final kill on 12 August 1918, flying a Fokker D.VII, just before he was again wounded. Considering the amount of time that he spent on the front and in hospitals, he was one of the most combat efficient flying aces, possibly even more efficient than his famous brother Manfred.

After the war, Lothar flew as a commercial pilot. On July 4, 1922 he died in a crash of passenger aircraft D1481 from Berlin to Hamburg due to an engine failure. Also on board the plane were actress Fern Andra and her director Georg Bluen. Andra spent a year recovering from her injuries; Georg was not as fortunate as her, dying a day later from internal injuries.

[edit] Notes

Regarding personal names: Freiherr is a title, translated as Baron, not a first or middle name. The female forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

  • Lothar and his brother Manfred are featured as WWI German Aces in the popular PC Game Red Baron (in honor of his elder brother famous nickname).

[edit] References

  • Terry C Treadwell & Alan C Wood "German knights of the Air"
  • Norman Franks & Hal Giblin " Under the Guns of the German Aces"

[edit] External links

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Aviation in World War I