Funeral of the Red Baron

Incidents in connection with the funeral of Captain Baron von Ritchofen, Germany's leading airman.

At the time of his death, Baron von Richthofen was the greatest air ace of the First World War. He had shot down 80 opponents. As such his passing was treated with great respect and he was accorded a full military funeral. The funeral was conducted by the personnel of No. 3 Squadron Australian Flying Corps in the cemetery at Bertangles, a village near the city of Amiens. Six flying officers with the rank of captain, the same rank as Richthofen, served as pallbearers and other ranks from the squadron provided a guard of honour. A number of memorial wreaths were sent, including one from 5th Australian Division Headquarters and one from the Royal Air Force. Each wreath bore the German colours.

This footage is believed to have been shot by an official cinematographer from the War Records Department. A number of official reporters and photographers were also present to record such an historic event.

After his death Richthofen's Fokker Triplane was taken apart by souvenir hunters. At the beginning of the film you can see members of No. 3 Squadron AFC, picking over the remnants of his aircraft.

In 1925 Richthofen's body was recovered and buried in the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin. In 1975 his body was exhumed again and buried in his family's tomb in Wiesbaden.

[F00032]

Category:

Education

Tags:

• WW1
• Royal
• Air
• Force
• Fokker
• Triplane
• Australian
• Flying
• Corps

[AustWarMemorial]

@flika1996, yes thumbs up for the French, however the majority of soldiers in the film conducting the ceremony, are Australian soldiers, easily identifible by the slouch hat.

[Johnzoil]

He was shot and mortally wounded by an Australian army machine gun team, not an American. That's why his funeral guard of honour are Australian.

[spartancamo]

@Johnzoil actually no one knows for sure how he died. There are many theories like, he got shot from a gunner in the trenches and stuff like that so you don't know for sure about that.

[McLarenMercedes]

@DavBlc7

According to several respected historians the recent movie about him is mostly fictionalized.They did the mistake of trying to make him out to be some modern day pacifist who didn't want nothing to do with the war. In reality he was loyal to the Kaiser and the German Empire,and as a nobleman how could he possibly been have against it? These people took their oath very seriously indeed and doubting the war or Germany was a serious no-no

He collected silver cups for his confirmed kills

[Dolphindream15]

I think the red baron was exhumed 3 different times I think that when the berlin wall was built they had to move him because his grave was in the way of the wall,,and I think his coffin was opened up some where they were looking for some kind of plaque he was sosposed to have been burried with but when they opened up his coffin they found no plaque,,but his remains were well preserved,,except for his skull,,,the last time he was exhumed I do believe it was in 1976..

[Highice007]

@itsmister2u I don't know. It might depend on whom you're fighting.

[mmmail1969]

@Manongjojo - downed by a US Army rifle - what the.....but then Jesus was also an American wasn't he!

[DavBlc7]

He was also a humane person as according to a recent film and a story about him. If he was still alive at end of WWI, he would have seen the horrors of Hitler and the second World War.

He would much like Field Marshal Rommel, also a humane person and well respected by the Allies.

Both men were very much in common too.

[frenchycanada]

billy bishop top cdn ace with 74 kills was straffing the baron down to the ground when the aussie was shooting up.

[frenchycanada]

@kilomeister Canadian ace billy bishop was straffing the baron down to the ground when the aussie foot soldier started shooting up......prob a combination of both.

[itsmister2u]

giving honor to a fallen soldier of the enemy would never happen in todays mindset. the gentlemens war ended with WW1

[Boelcke1916]

Around 1925, the body was with the consent of the French government, exhumed and taken to Germany. When it crossed into Germany aboard a special train, working men on both sides of the tracks stopped to salute him as a hero.