Though several other flyers had painted different sections of their planes special colors, Richthofen noticed that it was difficult to see these during a battle. To get noticed, from the ground and from the air, Richthofen decided to paint his plane bright red. Ever since Boelcke had painted the nose of his plane red, the color had been associated with his squadron. However, no one had yet been so ostentatious as to paint their entire plane such a bright color.
One day, for no particular reason, I got the idea to paint my crate glaring red. After that, absolutely everyone knew my red bird. If fact, even my opponents were not completely unaware.7
Richthofen understated the colo's affect on his enemies. To many, the bright red plane seemed to make a good target. It was rumored that the British had put a price on the head of the red plane's pilot. Yet when the plane and pilot continued to shoot down airplanes and continued itself to stay in the air, the bright red plane caused respect and fear.
The enemy created nicknames for Richthofen: Le Petit Rouge, the Red Devil, the Red Falcon, Le Diable Rouge, the Jolly Red Baron, the Bloody Baron, and the Red Baron. However, the Germans never called Richthofen the Red Baron; instead, they called him der röte Kampfflieger ("The Red Battle Flier").
Though Richthofen had become a great hunter on the ground, he was constantly perfecting his game in the air. After achieving sixteen victories, Richthofen was awarded the Pour le Mérite on January 12, 1917. Two days later, Richthofen was given command of Jagdstaffel 11. Now he was not only to fly and fight, but to train others to do so.
The Flying Circus
April 1917 was "Bloody April." After several months of rain and cold, the weather changed and pilots from both sides again went up into the air. The Germans had the advantage in both location and aircraft; the British had the disadvantage and lost many, many men. In April, Richthofen, shot down 21 enemy aircraft bringing his total up to 52. He had finally broken Boelcke's record (40 victories), making Richthofen the new ace of aces.
Richthofen was a hero. Postcards were printed with his image and stories of his prowess abounded. Yet heroes in war don't necessarily last long. Any day, the hero might not come home. The war planners wanted to protect the German hero; thus ordered a rest for Richthofen.
Leaving his brother Lothar in charge of Jasta 11 (Lothar had also proven himself a great fighter pilot), Richthofen left May 1, 1917 to visit Kaiser Wilhelm II. He talked to many of the top generals, spoke to youth groups, and socialized with others. Though he was a hero and received a hero's welcome, Richthofen just wanted to spend time at home. On May 19, 1917, he was again home.
During this time off, the war planners and propagandists had asked Richthofen to write his memoirs, later published as Der rote Kampfflieger ("The Red Battle-Flyer"). By mid June, Richthofen was back with Jasta 11.
The structure of the air squadrons changed in June 1917. On June 24, 1917, it was announced that Jastas 4, 6, 10, and 11 were to join together into a large formation called Jagdgeschwader I ("Fighter Wing 1") and Richthofen was to be the commander. J.G. 1 came to be known as "The Flying Circus."
Things were going magnificently for Richthofen until a serious accident in early July. While attacking several pusher planes, Richthofen was shot.
Suddenly there was a blow to my head! I was hit! For a moment I was completely paralized [sic] . . . My hands dropped to the side, my legs dangled inside the fuselage. The worst part was that the blow on the head had affected my optic nerve and I was completely blinded. The machine dived down.8
Richthofen regained part of his eyesight around 2600 feet (800 meters). Though he was able to land his plane, Richthofen had a bullet wound in the head. The wound kept Richthofen away from the front until mid August and left him with frequent severe headaches.
