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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendously interesting, but still questionable.,
By P. Bjel (Richmond Hill, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Who killed the Red Baron? (Paperback)
P.J. Carisella and James W. Ryan attempt, as the title so hints, to solve one of the most controversial mysteries of World War I. The death of Manfred von Richthofen, the so-called 'Red Baron,' is a tale that still is shrowded in mystery and uncertainty. Carisella and Ryan's efforts (more so the former than the latter) are commendable and certainly laudable for their exhaustive research and correspondence with eyewitnesses to the event (mainly Australian ground gunners), but the arguments to be found within the book's contents are, despite the work surrounding the endeavour, still questionable.The events of the morning of April 21, 1918, are the central theme to the book, although Carisella devotes a lengthy chapter to the life of Richthofen prior to the fateful day in which the flyer (who shot down 80 confirmed victories, thus establishing himself as the leading ace of World War I) met his end. While pursuing a novice flyer in a Sopwith Camel, Richthofen broke his own cardinal rules of flying by pursuing the novice low to the ground and well behind enemy lines. Captain A.R. Brown, a Canadian from Carleton Place, Ontario, managed to get behind Richthofen's distinguishable all-red Fokker Dr.I (triplane) and fire a number of bursts into the plane. Richthofen's closeness to the ground made his crate susceptible to anti-aircraft fire from Australian infantry, of which a substantial number of Aussies managed a few pot-shots at Richthofen. When the Baron finally did crash, having sustained a single bullet that passed through his chest that drowned his lungs from mass internal bleeding, a major controversy erupted over who was to bear the title of victor. The newly-formed R.A.F. pointed the finger towards Captain Brown, while the Australians pointed it towards their own comrades. Carisella recounts the events of that day meticulously and with painstaking detail that merit the meaning of history and research. His conclusion, however, bears question. His final argument, is that the credit to shooting down the Baron is to go to Sgt. C.B. Popkin and Gunner R.F. Weston, two Australian groundsmen. It is here in that the reviewer disagrees. The evidence provided by Carisella must be examined in light of more recent material unearthed by aviation historians and buffs alike (Carisella's book first appeared in 1969). Upon reading the substantial accounts of Australians that witnessed the event, faults begin to creep up. The accounts wildly contradict each other, and a number of "witnesses" even went so far as to claim that there were only two planes involved in the incident, when in fact there were three! Accounts of post-mortem examinations of Richthofen's shattered body also conflict. Some claim that evidence points toward Brown, seeming that the point of entry was almost in line with the point of exit. Others contradict this, claiming that the point of entry was below the exit wound (pointing to the Aussies). It is useless (and because of space limitations) to point out all the conflicting explanations. In is in this reviewer's opinion (who himself recently completed extensive research for a term paper on the topic) that the fateful shot was fired by the Canadian, Capt. Brown, although the theory of Australian ground gunners should not be ruled out entirely. Carisella and Ryan's book offers tremendous perspective into the controversy, among others, but sadly, it is currently out-of-print. These two historians deserve the credit for ambitiously and ruthlessly pursuing such a controversial subject that inevitably contributed to the ever-growing legend of Manfred von Richthofen and his exploits. Who precisely killed him is for the reader to decide for themselves. Most probably Brown, but until the unlikely event in which physical evidence will somehow be acquired (unlikely in that Richthofen's Fokker was literally taken apart by souvenir hunters and the skeletal remains tossed into a shell-crater where it was inevitably left to disintegrate), only then will the dusts of controversy finally settle over the death of the greatest fighter pilot of that war. Edition which was reviewed: P.J. Carisella and James W. Ryan, "Who Killed the Red Baron?" (New York: Avon Books, 1979).
5.0 out of 5 stars
Propaganda of the Great War,
By Ron Braithwaite "Hummingbird God" (El Indio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Who killed the Red Baron? (Paperback)
Hitler, writing in 'Mein Kampf', describes his admiration for the British propaganda of WW I, and goes on to state that, in the event of hostilities, Germany should duplicate it.
Carisella and Ryan, in 'Who Killed the Red Baron', describe a small fragment of British propaganda that Hitler so admired. Even if your [the British] service doesn't have the highest scoring ace [von Richthofen], you can claim that your [British] guys are better than the best of the Germans, if one of yours [Roy Brown] kills Germany's best in combat--which is precisely what the British claimed. On the last day of Richthofen's death, Brown did pursue [briefly] and fire at Richthofen's red triplane. Richthofen's plane did go down with Richthofen dead at the stick, but Brown never claimed to have seen the 'kill.' Suffering from severe GI discomfort, he turned off from the fight. Still, it's not impossible that he hit Richthofen first. Problem is that there are problems. In close pursuit of another British plane that Richthofen had become overly fixated on, he disobeyed his own cardinal rule of not flying deep into British territory at low altitude. He flew over an Australian machine gun battery that, recognizing the red triplane, opened up on it with everything they had. Richthofen--recognizing his error and possibly hit--put his airplane into a turn, exposing himself even further to the Australian fire. His plane LANDED with Richthofen dead at the controls. Australian machine gunners immediately claimed the kill and Richthofen's chest wound is compatible with a round coming from below him. So Richthofen was dead and odds are that he was hit from the ground. It makes no real difference, of course, unless you are a propagandist.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who Killed The Red Baron,
By
This review is from: Who killed the Red Baron? (Paperback)
The book gives an excellent background as to who actually shot down Baron Manfred Von Richthofen. It examines all of the possibilities including a description of the autopsy findings which in the end militates strongly against the notion that Captain Roy Brown was the one who shot him down. Ironically, the NOVA forensics program shown a few years ago strongly supports the findings of this book. I read the book in only two sittings as I found it extremely interesting. If you are a Red Baron fan and enthusiast as I am, you must read this book.
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