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#1
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Red Baron vs. Rickenbacker?
Did the Red Baron ever engage in battle with Eddie Rickenbacker? I
have seen conflicting stories on various websites. Some say Rickenbacker shot the Baron down, ... some say the Baron died before Rickenbacker saw action. Also, is it true that Rickenbacker's parents (or one of them) were German? Thanks, Greg |
#2
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Did the Red Baron ever engage in battle with Eddie Rickenbacker?
When I was a kid, I read Fighting the Flying Circus, by Eddie Rickenbacker. I can't recall any of the details, but you might try reading it. You'll enjoy it. Also, is it true that Rickenbacker's parents (or one of them) were German? Swiss, I believe he said. vince norris |
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#4
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"Gregorso" Did the Red Baron ever engage in battle with Eddie Rickenbacker? I have seen conflicting stories on various websites. Some say Rickenbacker shot the Baron down, ... some say the Baron died before Rickenbacker saw action. There is quite a controversy as to who brought down Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is generally given credit for bringing him down on April 21,1918 over allied territory. Further investigation points to Australian machine gun ground fire. Both aircraft and land based machine guns used 303 ammunition and he was hit by this type of bullet. Apparently he lived long enough to land the aircraft. There was a special program on NOVA about this controversy. I guess no one will ever know for sure. It definitely was not Rickenbacker that brought him down. I don't know if the Americans ever tangled with the Red Barons so called Flying Circus group commanded by Richthofen. Ed Majden |
#5
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It definitely was not Rickenbacker that brought
him down. I don't know if the Americans ever tangled with the Red Barons so called Flying Circus group commanded by Richthofen. I recall that Rickenbacker once tangled with a German aircraft that was painted largely in red and he attributed the aircraft to von Richthofen's unit. This was the signature color of von Richthofen's unit though only his personal aircraft was ever painted in over all red. It is unlikely that Rickenbacker fought von Richthofen but he might have fought one of the other von Richthofen's or someone else in that unit. John Dupre' |
#6
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After an exhausting session with Victoria's Secret Police, Ed Majden
blurted out: There is quite a controversy as to who brought down Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is generally given credit for bringing him down on April 21,1918 over allied territory. Further investigation points to Australian machine gun ground fire. Norman Franks wrote a fairly detailed explanation. I don't think he has much doubt, except that there's no way Brown could have fired the bullet that killed MvR. And the Final Jeopardy answer is "Popkin" Juvat |
#7
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"Juvat" wrote: Norman Franks wrote a fairly detailed explanation. I don't think he has much doubt, except that there's no way Brown could have fired the bullet that killed MvR. Does it really matter who brought the Red Baron down? It's more of a case of being at the right place at the wrong time! The NOVA program brought out the fact that Richthofen broke his own rules following a single aircraft back across enemy lines and not concentrating on what was going on around him. Whether the bullet was from Popkin's machine gun or Brown's is of little consequence. He is dead in either case. Ed |
#8
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Does it really matter who brought the Red Baron down?
It mattered to Popkin and Brown. The controversy was rather heated back then, because many felt that no pilot was good enough to kill MvR - while Allied pilots felt that no denizen of the mud could have possibly done it. The wounds show upward travel, which mades the mystery somewhat less mysterious... G |
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I heard once that Rickenbacker was really of German descent, although
he said at the time that his father was Swiss, because he was probably ashamed of his heritage. This is pretty ironic, if true. Does anyone have more recent documentation on this? |
#10
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Also, is it true that Rickenbacker's parents (or one of them) were German? Rickenbaker was a fascinating case. A 7th-grade dropout from the sticks, he had to make his way in a group dominated by Yalies, and this at a time when class was much more important in the U.S. than any of us remember. His father was a construction worker; he started out in life as a teen-aged automobile mechanic, and by 1916 was an auto-racing superstar. At 25 he was regarded as too old to become a pilot, so he enlisted in the army and became a chauffeur on Pershing's staff. You'll have to ask somebody else about his parentage, but the spelling of his name suggests that his father wasn't an immigrant. More likely it was a couple generations back. (During World War II, we used to hear the same thing about Eisenhower. The Germans, meanwhile, wondered if he wasn't a Jew.) all the best -- Dan Ford email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9 see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com |
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