Lothar von Richthofen

Infobox Military Person
name= Lothar von Richthofen
lived= September 27, 1894 - July 4, 1922
placeofbirth= Breslau, Silesia
placeofdeath= Fuhlsbuettel


caption= Lothar von Richthofen with the Pour le Mérite at his neck.
allegiance= German Empire
serviceyears= 1914-1918
rank= Oberleutnant
branch= Luftstreitkräfte
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.

Early Career and Jasta 11

Lothar started the war as a cavalry officer with the 4th Dragoon Rgt. In October, while stationed at Attigny, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. In November 1914, his regiment transferred to the Eastern Front.

Lothar transferred to the German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) in late 1915. He served as an Observer with "Kasta" 23 for a year from January 1916 and saw action during the Battle of Verdun, before he trained for his pilot's license. Lothar was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class in December 1916.

His first posting as a pilot was to his brother's "Jasta 11" on 6 March 1917. Lothar's first victory claim was a FE 2b of No. 25 Squadron on 28 March 1917.

Flying during the period of German dominance known by the Royal Flying Corps as Bloody April, by the start of May Lothar had scored some 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 and Albert Ball

Lothar scored three further kills in the first week of May. On the evening of 7 May near Douai, a flight of 5 Albatros DIII's from "Jasta 11" led by Lothar, encountered 11 SE 5's from the "elite" No. 56 Squadron RFC, including the leading English ace of the time, Captain Albert Ball, a SPAD from No. 19 Squadron, and a Sopwith Triplane of No 8 (Naval) Squadron. In a running battle fought in deteriorating visibility and a thunderstorm over Bourlon Wood, the opposing aircraft became scattered until Lothar was engaged in a one-on-one dogfight with an enemy aircraft. Lothar was credited with a victory, a Sopwith Triplane, though he was forced to land his damaged aircraft, unhurt.At some time during the dogfight Ball crashed and was killed.

The exact details of who shot down who will probably never be known for certain. Testimony from pilots of No. 56 Squadron do mention seeing Ball chasing an all-red Albatros. As for Lothar's victory claim, the sole Sopwith Triplane involved was piloted by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Rhys Soar, who returned to base unharmed.

However, The potential propoganda value of this combat was not lost on the German High Command, and they 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 SE 5 and then show the bullet holes as evidence. No bullet wounds were found on his body, and later research seems to suggest that it was likely Ball had become disoriented with vertigo during the battle, accidentally entered an inverted dive which choked his plane's carburator and killed the engine. Fact|date=February 2007

Wounded

Lothar resumed flying immediately, raising his tally to 23 by 13 May when, after shooting down 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 resumed command of Jasta 11 in September 1917. In early 1918 Lothar suffered a severe ear infection and was hospitalised in Berlin.

Returning to his unit in February 1918, Lothar claimed 3 Bristol Figther F2.B's on 11 and 12 March, before he was again shot down on 13 March by a Sopwith Camel flown by the 'ace' Capt. Orlebar, RFC(7 claims) of No. 73 Squadron. Nursing his crippled Fokker Dr1 Triplane to land, Lothar hit a high-tension wire and crashed heavily, suffering serious head injuries. He was still in hospital when he heard of his brother's death. He returned to service with Jasta 11 in July 1918.

Lothar scored his final kill (a DH-9a) on 12 August 1918, flying a Fokker D.VII, just before he was again wounded in combat with Sopwith Camels, this time probably by Captain Field E. Kindley of the 148th Aero Squadron USAS.. [ Richtofen; Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron, Peter Kilduff, 1993] He did not see action again, although at this time he was promoted to Oberleutnant.

Considering the amount of time that he spent on the front and in hospitals, he was one of the most combat efficient and prolific flying aces, possibly even more efficient than his famous brother Manfred. Of his total of 40, Lothar claimed 33 in just 3 months; 15 kills in April 1917, 8 in May 1917, and 10 in August 1918.

Post War and Death

After the war, he worked for a while on a farm before taking an industrial appointment. He married Doris, Countess Keyserlingk in Cammau in June 1919, eventually fathering two children before the marriage was dissolved. He then accepted a position as a commercial pilot, conveying passengers and mail between Berlin and Hamburg. On July 4, 1922 he died in a crash of his LVG C VI at Fuhlsbuettel 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.

Notes

*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).
*He and his brothers also appeared in the 2006 video game "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron".

References

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

External links

* [http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_lothar.html Lothar von Richthofen: 40 Aerial victories]
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/richthofen_lothar.htm firstworldwar.com] biography
* [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/richthofen1.php Lothar von Richthofen's page on theaerodrome.com]
* [http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37499&archive=true Stars & Stripes article "von Richthofen's mother, actress Fern Andra meet"]