Who Killed The Red Baron? (WW1 Documentary) 

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I live in Wiesbaden and have passed his grave several times. He's buried not far from my mother. At first, I didn't know I was passing THE Red Baron. But my Dad told me at some point. Such a fascinating story.

A very interesting footnote: Wop May, the pilot the Baron was chasing when shot down, survived the war, and later moved to the Yukon, the arctic region of Canada, and become a bush pilot. Here, May become part of one of the greatest RCMP manhunts in history, the famous hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River", Albert Johnson. Johnson, who was an arctic survivalist of almost supernatural skill, and a crack shot with the rifle, had shot one Mountie, and killed another in firefights with the RCMP. Making his escape in the middle of the arctic winter, Johnson, using only snowshoes, managed to elude a huge posse of Mounties and native trackers on dogsleds for weeks, even crossing a mountain range in the middle of an arctic blizzard, to the disbelief of those chasing him. Desperate for more help, the RCMP hired Wop May to hunt for Johnson from the air. Eventually, May found him, and guided the RCMP to him, where in a major firefight on a frozen river, Johnson was killed. So if the Baron had killed May in WWI, Johnson probably would have escaped the RCMP, and the legendary Mad Trapper manhunt would have failed.

The fact that the Allies had a full military funeral for the guy, speaks volumes.

We’ve come so far in warfare over the past 100 years, but if you ever want to see how far we’ve regressed as human beings, watch the video of the Australians’ funeral for von Richthofen. This amount of respect for an enemy could never happen today.

Snoppy killed the red baron 😂😂😂

I think it most refreshing to be reminded of days gone by, the honor and respect held among men. Even extended to his enemy in the most trying of times. The loss of such character far greater than the fate of any war.

That was an absolutely incredible video!!! You did an amazing job presenting and keeping it real. I believe the ground gunner to the bottom right was the one who made the fatal shot.

So my grandpa actually met the the cousin of the Red Baron, My grandpa flew on the German side. He had so many great stories. He met the desert fox, before he was a general

The fatal shot was almost certainly taken by Snowy Evans. Cedric Popkin was closer and had the proper angle just before Richtoffen flipped that 180 around the factory, but according to his own after-action report, he was reloading at that time. Evans, although shooting from a far greater range than Popkin, was the only one with a functioning weapon at that key moment when the Baron exposed his right flank. Sadly, the story of Snowy Evans took a turn for the worse following the Great War. Haunted by his experiences in the trenches, he returned to his native Australia, became an alcoholic and ultimately died destitute, never knowing that he was the man who shot down a legend.

One of the best Red Baron documentaries I've watched ! Well done mate 👏

Loved the detail of research and all the lesser known facts mentioned. Keep it up!

Congrats on a very well done video! A lot of fascinating detail is provided, including a good analysis of the shot that took the Red Baron's life. I read Manfred von Richthofen's book years ago, so the subject was not totally new, but I really enjoyed watching the video that brought not only his career, but the history of aviation, to life. Thank you for the excellent video.

A fantastic video! My story will add nothing to the 'who shot the Red Baron' debate. But here it is anyway. In about 1988 I visited an old man in a nursing hospital here in Melbourne, Australia. His name was Fred Woolley (40th Battalion, AIF). He was 94 at the time and witnessed the death of the Red Baron (although he referred to him as the 'Red Devil'.) Mr Woolley was one of the first to the plane and 'souvenired' Richthofen's field glasses (binoculars). Australians like to claim that it was an Aussie Lewis Gunner who shot the Red Baron down. Interestingly, Mr Woolley, who viewed the entire events, thought that 'it was the airman' who shot him down. What happened to the Red Baron's field glasses? Mr Woolley had almost reached his home state of Tasmania when the troop ship stopped at Adelaide to drop off South Australian troops. The troops going on to Tasmania were allow ashore to shower. When Mr Woolley returned to the ship his kit bag had been rifled. The glasses were stolen! So somewhere around Adelaide the Red Baron's binoculars are lying around!

An excellent account! I was fortunate enough to know one of those Australian Infantry men, Sargent Ted (Edward) Smout, one of the first on the scene, who "guarded" the Baron and his downed plane. I'll have to check his memoirs, but I think he heard the Barons final word "Kaput", and while he publicly denied taking a souvenir, I remember him saying something about his boots. Australian 60 Minutes did a piece on him before he passed in the early 2000's.

Brilliant video - throughly enjoyed this! 😊

Beautifully done . Thank you

Great video! I want to learn more about World War I and I found this video to be well made and informative. I'm also interested to learn about aviation and the usage of aircraft in war, so this intrigued me. Keep up the nice work.

Good stuff Dan and team!

I’ve read a lot about the Red Baron, fantastic video my man!! Job well done!

Excellent video, i enjoyed it and learned some new details. Thank you

The seat from the Red Baron's plane sits at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto, Canada, University Avenue.

This may sound strange but as a child he was my childhood hero. I knew everything about him. He made WW1 become alive.

Excellent video. Thanks!

Amazing video! Great job

It was almost certainly Sergeant Cedric Popkin. Richthofen was not shot from behind but rather through his side. Out of all the different angles that have been worked out that people were shooting from, Popkin was the only one who could have made that shot at that 800-yard distance.

My fathers best friend was gunner Buie's son. He had pieces of the crashed plane and interestingly he gave a piece of it to Roy Orbison while he was touring Australia. Apparently Orbison was fascinated by the red baron story.

A fantastic vid. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you.

Congratulations on this excellent, objective and respectful production.

I'm quite pleased to have discovered this channel (Thanks to Epic History TV), and am excited to watch more of your documentaries!

And all this time I thought Snoopy shot down the Red Baron. LOL

Brilliant documentary, very well researched.

I came across "The Red Baron" via the video game, Wings of Fire: the battles of red baron. Since as an Indian my ancestor participated in the second world war I had limited exposure to the First. From this game onwards I started studying First world war aviation and learning about Werner Voss, Rickenbacker etc. I think video games based on a historical theme give ideas to youngsters like us.

Well done and researched video. I knew and spoke several times with Captain Roy Brown’s younger brother Howard Brown . I also met and spoke with Roy Brown’s daughter Margret Brown. The members of the Brown family all acknowledged that Captain Brown like many veterans was reluctant to talk about the war. The seat from the Baron’s plane can be seen today in the Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.

great video man , subbed

Just heard about your work from Vlogging Through History. Amazing video!

I never knew I live less than 10km from his tomb. I have always been flabbergasted by the skill of controlling those planes. While I am no fan in any way of the aerial combat part, the flight controls of those planes have always fascinated me.

In the small town of Cobalt Ontario there is a war museum full of memorabilia from WWI and II vets that lived in there area. Including an extensive library where you can find hand written “cheat sheets” within the pages of officer manuals from WWI. In that library is a book about The Baron. If the author is to be believed, he toured the pubs Britain and France bought drinks and take to people who survived flying against the Flying Circus. You can read The Barons flight reports, written by him, and then read the same event from the pilot who survived. If the author is believed. According to that book, written guy who interviewed people who were there, there was a dog fight, The Baron landed in no man’s land. The Aussies saw the downed plane and towed it back to their lines. Snoopy was Brown’s nickname, Charlie Brown and Snoopy fought the Red Baron many times. And who’s gonna argue with Charlie Brown?? Besides, Snoopy still flies in Markstay, where Brown was born.

Outstanding video and outstanding channel.

Excellent video, thank you

A wonderful video. As an RAAF Pilot who served in the Middle East, I truly appreciate what these early Pilots endured. May they rest in peace.

More maps/aerials with the towns and roads marked please. Having visited the area I found the aerial shots confusing without reference points clearly marked.

Great video!

Wow Amazing little Doco!

The bullet a .303 was fired by an Australian soldier as the entry/ exit wound came from below at ground level.

My buddy got lucky with a rifle shot. He circled around us he previously go a squad that was manning a machine gun. We noticed something wrong when he circled after the shot. he was herky-jerky. So as he went down we saluted him. No response. There was still gas in his plane cause he was on fire after he crashed. I still cry when I see the Snoopy vs Red.

Well done video.

What a great little history of the evolution of fighter planes at the start. Great video!

HIGHER HIGHER HIGHER the King of the sky

Very good. Hit all the high points. I have read his book and other books. By the time the red Barron was shot down he was suffering from battle fatigue and recurring headaches and exhaustion . I’m fairly sure that was true for all combatants .

Absolutely brilliant good job team

Thanks for the interesting video. I visited the memorial near the crash site in the 1990s.

By chance in the late 1970's I met the nco in charge of the Australian Lewis gun crew he had a mounmd of folders with diagrams of bullet angles through the side of the Dr1 and the Barons body that they were the ones that shot him down I believe that the folders are now in the Australian war memorial along with the piece of fabric from the side of the aircraft.

Beautiful story telling skills.

This video is so awesome !

The red baron didn’t have regrets when he went to visit the crash sights of his fallen enemy, he went to experience the battle rash .. and victory from up close. All those Canadian poems and gentleness shows that some breeds of human are not produced equally!! Some like to cut fingers so they can keep rings as souvenirs of war, some will collect ears or scalps.. others will just stand there with a broken heart for being forced to take life so they can protect their country and loved ones. I was at war, I know..

Good video. I believe we will never know who fired the fatal shot. There are too many factors at play to determine the reality of the situation. I have one small critique of the video. When Brown's passage is read it is done with the wrong accent. While many Canadians who served in the war were in fact born and raised in Britain, Brown was not one of them. He was born and raised in Carleton Place, Ontario, not far from Ottawa. The town has a statue of him and other monuments and it is a well known fact he was born and raised in Canada. I only raise this issue because issues of identity are a large part of the historiography of Canada's war so getting these small details right is important. The rest of the video is so well done and researched so some viewers may think Brown was born and raised in Britain, like so many others who served, just from the accent.

great video

Went looking for something educational and boy I found it !! Awesome Tube !!!

And all this time I thought Snoopy did it. Curse you Red Baron!

Man and machine and nothing there in between The flying circus and a man from Prussia The sky and a plane, this man commands his domain The western front and all the way to Russia Death from above, you're under fire Stained red as blood, he's roaming higher Born a soldier from the horseback to the skies That's where the legend will arise And he's flying Higher, the king of the sky He's flying too fast and he's flying too high Higher, an eye for an eye The legend will never die First to the scene, he is a lethal machine It's bloody April and the tide is turning Fire at will, it is the thrill of the kill Four in a day shot down with engines burning Embrace the fame, red squadron leader Call out his name: "ROTE KAMPFFLIGER" In the game to win, a gambler rolls the dice Eighty allies paid the price And he's flying Higher, the king of the sky He's flying too fast and he's flying too high Higher, an eye for an eye The legend will never die Higher Higher, the king of the sky He's flying too fast, again, he's flying too high He's flying higher, an eye for an eye The legend will never die Higher Born a soldier from the horseback to the skies And the legend never dies And he's flying And he's flying And he's flying Higher, the king of the sky He's flying too fast and he's flying too high Higher, an eye for an eye The legend will never die Higher, the king of the sky He's flying too fast and he's flying too high Higher, an eye for an eye The legend will never die

Excellent Documentary...

Listen to Wop May by Stompin' Tom Connors and Roy Brown and Wop May by John Spearn. Both mention the final flight of the Red Baron.

Great video! Here from Epic History TV

Fascinating. Thank you.

I very much appreciate this video, Battle Guide. I grew up with the stories about Von Richthofen, both written and on TV (mostly British) What strikes me as phenomenal and stunning is how several nations opposite of Manfred's side showed him proper honor and respect. War is war. It's terrible humans need to go this far. But human don't need to always act as savages while on war. That's what the death of the Red Barron showed us, from the military honours to the testimony of the British ace that supposedly shot him down. Thank you for your observations.

Richthofen painted his plane Red so that his men could find him. We have to remember that they did not have Radios.

The WW2 aircrew were also incredibly brave. Even though the bomber crews all had parachutes, not all could wear them during a mission and would have to Don them before escaping. Also the chance of escaping was often slim, due to forces when spinning out of control. Damn the British Govt, for waiting so long before any honour for them.

Great stuff guys

Top video 👍

Wielki lotnik rycerz przestworzy urodzony na dolnym Śląsku w mieście swidnica Manfred von richtofen zawsze honorowy jako Polak jestem dumny z tego że.taki wielki Pilot jak on urodziłem się też blisko niego został pochowany z wszystkimi honorami przez aliantów za swoją rycerskość niech spoczywa w pokoju szacun

Well one things for certain, Roy brow didn’t shoot down the Red Baron.

There is an RAAF base a few kms (Point Cook, Australia) from me and contained in that base is a very well presented museum. There is a small part of the Red Barons aircraft on display in there, from memory a small tubular metal part.

Excellent !!

A superbly well detailed account of the Red Baron's history and demise, thank you. It is amazing the fatal bullets tragectory entering lower right and exiting top left through the heart did not cause his instant death. To land, switch off the ignition and fuel supply must have taken at least one or two minutes, which raises a bigger question for me as to how the hell did he manage to survive so long. The diagram of the combatants flight paths indicates that at no time Roy Brown was low enough below Richthofens aircraft and conclusively places Seargeant Cedric Popkin in the correct place. For those interested, the nurse Kate Otersdorf was also his close girlfriend. His best friend Werner Voss died before him in his Fokker with a Bentley engine he acquired. There are few accounts of his heroic fight to the death with three Sopwith Camels for nearly 50 minutes, although praised for his skills by his victors. Herman Goering sadly assumed command of Von Richthofen's squadron following his death.

Born a soldier from the horseback to the skies - the legend never dies

Sent here from Vlogging through History channel. Brilliant.

Amazing and very interesting video! The angle of the hit, would make me believe it was ground fire.

Yes . Looked like teamwork.

How about crediting the Australian infantry with this victory! The only time you mention "Australians", is in regards to taking souvenirs from the downed aircraft. This is quite an oversight. The evidence shows it was ground fire from Australian troops. The calibre of bullets used was the same, but there is no way the Canadian pilot could have made that shot. The war memorial in Canberra still has part of his aircraft cockpit on display, even now. It was an Australian victory.

Very well done, thank you for taking the time to make this shirt but very educational video. Well educational for myself! Semper Fi from an old Marine

This man deserves more subscribers!!

The Red Baron might might be dead but his pizza will live on

I’ve always heard that is was ground fire and Popkin that killed him. This video has taught me much more about what happened. Hermann Göring flew with Manfred Von Richthofen and was part of the combat groupJagdgeschwader. Göring also received numerous awards including the Pour Le Mérite. I believe he always stated that it was ground fire but obviously you done a lot of research which showed that it’s possible Brown shot him. Which ever may be the case this was an awesome video. Thank you for sharing.

Great video. I went to the German cemetery where he was first buried. Although his body was moved afterwards. Between theres and the allies graveyards from both world wars it's hard to envisage such repeated bloodshed for such a beautiful area. Profoundly moving to see. 👍💛👊

I heard that story just a little bit different. When he realized where he was at, he turned for home. Red Baron was right handed, that is why he flew the Australian position. It is easier to move the control stick with your arm away from your body instead crossing your body. If he was left handed, he would have turn away from the Australian position. The part was that Brown was diving at the Red Baron and was only able two get two rounds off before he flew past him. So I kind of doubt that Brown shot him down, my opinion.

He is like a hero to me a legend who lives on an honorable man with the finesse and tact of a gentlemen. His legend will never die.

Thank you !

Such a well done video, thank you. I do have a question though and I suppose I'm just not great at facial recognition but during the Roy Brown account is the picture displayed that of Roy Brown or of Richthofen?

Snoopy Here.....With My Sopwith Camel... It Is ready. My mechanic Woodstock ... Will go back to the 94th aero sq , where I am assigned as a instructor pilot Now let's make it clear that I've enough firepower with my pair of lewis machine guns. The 94th Was in the area, It was I The Ace / First American Dog Aerial combat flying Dog Col. Snoopy*Ace / 94th aero squadron AEF/USAS IT WAS I WHOM BROUGHT HIM ( Red Barron ) DOWN../SNOOPY "

This is reminiscent of Achilles and his cousin Patroclus - Achilles knew he wouldn’t be able to perform to his best abilities if he had to worry about his inexperienced cousin engaging in the same battle. The Red Baron should have learned from the great tragedies and kept his family grounded. Love has always been the achilles heel of war.

In Australia I've heard most say Popkin was the man who finished the fight that day. Whoever it was, along with far too many other young men they saw and experienced a life and war that changed everyone and everything from then forward. The world was different and it never went back.

Great video, mate. Just make sure to credit SLO-MO guys for their footage of the interrupter gear in slow motion

Shot in the lower body as he flew low over Australian trenches. He landed and bled out so was not shot down.

Well I can't say for sure my idea for the reasoning behind the red paint. By being highly visible and well-known he made himself a bigger Target there for protecting the people he was flying and fighting with. He could use is amazing skills to draw aggro away from the other soldiers and pilots. Enemy soldiers are going to be able to easily pick him out of a group and they're all going to be gunning for him because they all want the fame and recognition of taking down the enemy hero. Him being easily recognizable means his troops also can see him giving them a morale boost

I really enjoyed this as I love to study WW1. The music is beautiful, however hon, at times it's too loud for your voice over. It's a good podcast.

Brilliant!

I met his daughter in the mid 60s in Frankfurt. Also his two grandkids. One was a high fashion model, and a young boy also named Manfred, like his granpa. his daughter was very well off and aristocratic. had some connection to General Motors

Excellent

New subscriber. Think it's what you said teamwork