Art News

The Return of the Red Baron at Bonhams Oxford

LONDON.- Two wooden photograph cases made from one of the main spars of Baron Manfred Von Reichthofen’s tri-plane after it was brought down in 1918 will be sold in the Antique Arms and Militaria at Bonhams Oxford on 7th December. The cases are estimate to sell for £400-600. Baron Von Reichthofen, widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I. In 1917 Richthofen became a squadron commander and took the flamboyant step of having his Albatros plane painted red and from then always flew in red painted aircraft, receiving his nickname the ‘Red Baron’. To the frustration of the Allies, he was considered top be the ace-of-aces of the war and officially credited with 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot. By 1918, Richthofen had become such a legend that it was feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of t