{"product_id":"9781421899572","title":"Rittmeister: A Biography of Manfred von Richthofen","description":"Barely more than 10 years after the Wright brothers flew at Kittyhawk, North\u003cp\u003eCarolina; World War I thrust aviation into warfare. Aviation was still in its infancyaircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edesigners and pilots were still learning about the most basic aerodynamics: the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehow and why airplanes actually fly!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the start of the war, pilots not only had to worry about the aircraft and if it would\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eactually fly, they had to worry about fighting each other in the sky!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe airmen of World War I flew in open, exposed cockpits; often at altitudes that\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewould cause frostbite on any uncovered portion of the pilot's skin. The pilots flew\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewithout oxygen; the effects of altitude and the danger of narcosis were unknown at\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe time. Aircraft fell apart during combat maneuvers and engines stopped working\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewhile in flight so often that in the First World War, more pilots were killed because\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof accidents than in actual combat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe airman of World War I had no parachute. There was no escape from any malfunction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein his airplane other than trying to control the plane into a crash landing. In addition,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe aircraft these men flew were made of canvas glued onto wood: a virtual fire\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebomb. The airplanes could catch fire as a result of the hot engine, leaked gasoline\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom a fuel line or the fuel tank (which the pilot often sat upon) or the effects of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eenemy bullets.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eManfred von Richthofen faced these perils, as did thousands of other men. Since they\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eall faced the same incredible dangers and shared the same risks: Manfred in some\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eways typifies the airman of World War I.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, von Richthofen has achieved legendary status in the chronicles of aviation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehistory. He achieved this status because he was the most successful fighter pilot in the war. He was a \"good\" pilot, but he was a superb fighter wing leader, a hunter in the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eskies. He also became a first rate aerial tactician and an excellent jagdgeschwader\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ekommodore (squadron leader).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eVon Richthofen helped to organize jagdgeschwader 1: the flying circus of legend. By\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe time of his death: his leadership, organizational and tactical skills had developed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehis squadron into the most effective air group in World War I. He also laid out the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estrategies for air combat so well, that his dicta (along with those of his mentor Oswald\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoelcke) are still used by today's jet fighter pilots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe war that was to end before Christmas1914 actually lasted four years. A blockade\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby the Allied navies resulted in severe shortages of food and other necessities which\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecaused tremendous suffering among the civilian population in Germany. The German\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emilitary needed to bolster the support for the war from the civilian population. War\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eheroes served a very useful purpose in this regard, and the new warfare in the skies\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eprovided plenty of heroes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePropagated by his country's propaganda service, von Richthofen's image as a modern\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeutonic knight of the air propelled him to a legendary hero status in Germany during\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe war.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUltimately, nearly 7,000 German aviators died in the First World War. Manfred von\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRichthofen was one of those airmen, a young man who died at age 25. In the war that\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewas to end all wars von Richthofen paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country: but his\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elegend lives on to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"1st World Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49785829130480,"sku":"9781421899572","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781421899572","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}