What Really Brought Von Richthofen Down? | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-02.03.25

Airborne-NextGen-02.04.25

Airborne-Unlimited-02.05.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-02.06.25

Airborne-Unlimited-02.07.25

Fri, Sep 24, 2004

What Really Brought Von Richthofen Down?

New Evidence Points To Old Injury

Acknowledged as the greatest German ace of World War I, Baron Manfred von Richthofen died April 21, 1918 -- shot down by allied ground fire. But new research indicates it was the baron's bullheaded determination to fly that may have actually killed him.

Two American neuropsychologists, Thomas L. Hyatt and Daniel Orme, suggest von Richthofen's ability to fly was impaired nine months before his death when his skull was grazed by a bullet. The baron reportedly lost control of his arms and legs for a short time and was temporarily blind, after the bullet dug a four-inch gash in his head. Only at the last moment was he able to fly his Fokker into a crash landing. He collapsed immediately afterward.

"Using today's standards, he clearly should have been grounded," says Orme, a clinical associate professor at the University of Missouri at Columbia who used to evaluate pilots for the Air Force. "Perhaps the guy who shot him back in July of 1917 should get credit for the partial downing of the baron, setting the stage for his ultimate demise." Orme spoke in an interview with HealthDay.

Orme says the skull wound might have explained von Richthofen's increasingly strange and petulant behavior between the time he was wounded and his death months later.

The two scientists describe in their report for the periodical "Human Factors and Aerospace Safety." They likened the head wound to a "very severe concussion." They speculate that the baron's brain might have been bruised when he was wounded, leading to an injury of the frontal lobe.

If that was indeed the case, Orme said, "people do things they wouldn't normally do. They can be impulsive, have difficulty monitoring their own behavior, difficulty recognizing if what they're doing is appropriate."

In the weeks and months after he was wounded, von Richthofen changed. Friends -- even his mother -- noticed that he was "much more immature. He was moody and brooding," according to Orme.

Of course, how do you prove something like this? Dr. James Grisolia, a neurologist at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego, tells HealthDay you really can't. "The investigators' idea is plausible, but it's always hard to make definite judgments about historical figures when we can't examine them."

FMI: www.ashgate.com/subject_area/_aviation/aviation_journals.htm

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (02.09.25)

“We are very pleased to enter into this MoU agreement with Gogo, especially as we aim to offer our Airbus ACJ operators and business leaders the highest standard connectivity>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (02.09.25)

Aero Linx: Rhode Island Pilots Association (RIPA) The Rhode Island Pilots Association represents the GA community based at seven airports in the State of Rhode Island. Our mission >[...]

Airborne-Flight Training 02.06.25: AeroEducate, Mil KingAirs, PilotWorkshops

Also: Lufthansa Dreamliner Sim, ATC Can't Quit, NBAA Leadership, Acting FAA Head ierra Space is becoming the newest content provider for EAA’s AeroEducate online resource and>[...]

Airborne 02.05.25: No Outs 4 ATC, Sporty's Acquires, 'Black' Boxes

Also: NOTAM System Restored, Textron Mil Trainers, Axiom Space, Police Rescues Cirrus Pax The Trump administration’s attempt at downsizing the federal workforce has run into >[...]

Airborne 02.03.25: Drone Pilot Bust, New Acting FAA Boss, PNE Lear Accident

Also: 2 Blimps For OSH, USCG-Airbus Deal, Japan Buys T-6s, Starliner Boss Replaced A 56-year-old California man recently pled guilty after he flew his drone into a Super Scooper fi>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC