CORGI 1/48 LUFTSTREITKRAFTE- GERMAN AIR FORCE FOKKER DR.I 425/17 “RED BARON” (AA38308)

 The Fokker Dr.I served in the German Air Force (Luftstreitkrafte) during the 1st World War. This tri-plane gave the German Air Force an airplane with great maneuverability and a high rate of climb. This Fokker Dr.I was flown by German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, best known as the “Red Baron.” He was shot down in this aircraft after receiving a fatal wound on 21 April 1918 while flying over Morlancourt Ridge near the Somme River. At the time, he had been pursuing a Sopwith Camel flown by Canadian pilot Wilfrid Reid “Wop” May of No. 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. May had just fired on the Red Baron’s cousin Lt. Wolfram von Richthofen. On seeing his cousin being attacked, Manfred flew to his rescue and fired on May, causing him to pull away. Richthofen pursued May across the Somme. He was briefly attacked by a Camel piloted by May’s flight commander, Canadian Captain Arthur “Roy” Brown. Brown had to dive steeply at very high speed to intervene, and then had to climb steeply to avoid hitting the ground. Richthofen turned to avoid this attack, and then resumed his pursuit of May. It was almost certainly during this final stage in his pursuit of May that a single bullet hit him in the chest, severely damaging his heart and lungs. His aircraft stalled and went into a steep dive, hitting the ground in a field on a hill near of Vaux-sur-Somme, in a sector defended by the Australian (AIF). The aircraft bounced heavily upon hitting the ground wit the undercarriage collapsing Several witnesses reached the crashed plane and found Richthofen dead inside.