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We were all beginners; none of us had previously been credited with a success. Whatever Boelcke told us was taken as gospel. We knew that in the last few days he had shot down at least one Englishman a day, and many times two every morning. . . . We approached the enemy squadron slowly, but it could no longer escape us. We were between the Front and the enemy. If he wanted to go back, he would have to go by us. We counted seven enemy airplanes, and opposed them with only five. . . . The Englishman near me was a big, dark-colored barge. I did not ponder long and took aim at him. He shot and I shot, but we both missed. The fight then began. I tried to get behind him because I could only shoot in the direction I was flying. This was not necessary for him, as his observer's rotating machine gun could reach all sides. But this fellow was no beginner, for he knew very well that the moment I succeeded in getting behind him, his last hour would be sounded. At the time I did not have the conviction I have now that "he must fall," but, rather, I was much more anxious to see if he would fall, and that is a significant difference. . . .
Then, suddenly, his propeller turned no more. Hit! The engine was probably shot to pieces, and he would have to land near our lines. Reaching his own positions was out of the question. I noticed the machine swaying from side to side; something was not quite right with the pilot. Also, the observer was not to be seen, his machine gun pointed unattended up in the air. I had no doubt hit him also, and he must have been lying on the floor of the fuselage.6
The enemy airplane landed in German territory and Richthofen, extremely excited about his first kill, landed his airplane next to his enemy's. The observer, Lieutenant T. Rees, was already dead and the pilot, L. B. F. Morris died on the way to the hospital.
It was Richthofen's first credited victory. It had become customary to present engraved beer mugs to pilots after their first kill. This gave Richthofen an idea. To celebrate each of his victories, he would order himself a two-inch-high silver trophy from a jeweler in Berlin. On his first cup was engraved, "1 VICKERS 2 17.9.16." The first number reflected what number kill; the word represented what kind of airplane; the third item represented the number of crew on board; and the fourth was the date of the victory (day, month, year).
Later, Richthofen decided to make every tenth victory cup twice as large as the others. As with many pilots, to remember his kills, Richthofen became an avid souvenir collector. After shooting down an enemy aircraft, Richthofen would land near it or drive to find the wreckage after the battle and take something from the plane.
A few of his souvenirs included a machine gun, bits of propeller, even an engine. But most popularly, Richthofen removed the fabric serial numbers from the aircraft. He would carefully pack these souvenirs up and send them home to be placed in his room.
In the beginning, each new kill held a thrill. Later in the war, however, Richthofen's number of kills had a sombering affect. When it was time to order his 61st silver trophy, the jeweler in Berlin informed him that because of the scarcity of metal, he would have to make it out of ersatz (substitute) metal. At that time, Richthofen decided to end his trophy collecting. His last trophy was for his 60th victory.
The Color Red
On October 28, 1916, Boelcke, Richthofen's mentor, went into the air as he had on most other days. However, during an aerial battle, a horrible accident occurred. While trying to evade an enemy, Boelcke and Lieutenant Erwin Böhme's plane grazed each other. Though it was only a touch, Boelcke's plane was damaged. While his plane was rushing toward the ground, Boelcke tried to keep control. Then one of his wings snapped off. Boelcke was killed on impact.
The news that this famous flyer had died affected the morale of Germany. Boelcke had been their hero and now he was gone. Germany was saddened but wanted a new hero.
Richthofen continued to make kills, making his seventh and eighth kill in early November. After his ninth kill, Richthofen expected to receive Germany's highest award for bravery, the Pour le Mérite. Unfortunately, the criteria had recently changed, and instead of nine downed enemy aircraft, a fighter pilot would receive the honor after sixteen victories.
Richthofen's continued kills were drawing attention to him. Though he was now considered a flying ace, he was still among several who had comparable kill records. Richthofen wanted to distinguish himself.
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