Von Richthofen: The Legend Evaluated [Hardcover]

Richard Townshend Bickers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Of all the First World War's fighter aces, the legendary von Richthofen has captured the world's imagination more than any other pilot of that era. But was his reputation inspired by the Kaiser's propaganda machine or was the legend created by Allied pilots who were outfought by Germany's advanced technology rather than the Baron's pure combat skills in the air? In this book the author puts the facts behind the German ace's fighting record into a perspective with other famous fighter pilots of both World Wars. In World War Two the technical balances between the combatants were far more evenly weighted and tests of fighting skills were highly tactical, faster and more frequently lethal.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Military historian and former RAF officer Bickers divides fighter pilots into two groups: hunters and shooters. Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German World War I ace, was a hunter, "totally committed to the stalking and shooting down of an enemy aircraft when he saw one." Thus committed, he shot down 80 Allied planes until he himself was killed in 1918. But was von Richthofen so much better a pilot than the men he fought? Bickers believes that superior German weapons, machines, and tactics had more to do with the Red Baron's successes than his personal skills. In recounting von Richthofen's career, Bickers gives much information on weapons and rules of engagement, and he compares air combat of World War I with the much different aerial warfare that took place over Europe twenty-some years later.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557505713
• ISBN-13: 978-1557505712
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars hypocritical and ethnocentric, December 14, 1999

By 

Jarrod Lawson (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Von Richthofen: The Legend Evaluated (Hardcover)

"The French air force had many gifted fighter pilots, few of whom were outstanding tacticians or formation leaders. The national attitude to life is selfish, so it is logical that there was an abundance of young airmen who wished to make their best possible demonstration of patriotism, and to distinguish themselves most, by individual achievement rather than as part of a team." Boelcke is at various points in the book given conflicting victory tallies and even the date of his death! Richtofen is denounced as a murderer and yet men like Bishop and Mannock are let off the hook essentially because they flew for the RFC (he seems to think they both got 70+ victories--and never mentions Bishops, uh questionable claims. When Richtofen confides that his squadron had lost 6 pilots KIA, 1 wounded, and 2 having breakdowns--that such information "is hardly the information a considerate son would have given either of his parents." Where as when Albert Ball despairs of remaining in the war and mentions of a near death experience to his parents the author conclues: "That he should disturb their peace of mind with such frankness indicates how close he was to them and how ungregarious." yes, that's a quote! The book isn't a complete write-off, but you'd be better off getting Peter Kilduff's "The Red Baron Combat Wing" or some such decidedly more even-handed account. It's fine to say that there were a number of pilots during WWI that were as good, but do we have to spend half the book singing the praises of the RAF?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the Worst, November 22, 2004

By 

Charles Van Wickel "Bulldog90" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Von Richthofen: The Legend Evaluated (Hardcover)

This was simply one of the worst books on WW1 aviation or Von Richthofen I have ever read. Chock full of inaccuracies, inuendo and misinformation. Why the publisher put it out I'll never know.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bickers' Book, June 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Von Richthofen: The Legend Evaluated (Hardcover)

This book is a rather brutal and anti-Richthofen account by a WWII British Airfighter, comparing Richthofen to other aces, generally not in his (Richthofen's) favor, trying to pick him apart at every angle. Very Comprehensive, but...