- Snoopy's imaginary World War I antics and pursuit of von Richthofen in his Sopwith Camel (actually, on top of his dog house) inspired the 1966 hit song "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen.
- He was called the Red Baron or "Le Petit Rouge" for his practice of painting his aircraft red, for the pragmatic purpose of maximum visibility to his squadronmates.
- Commanded Jagdgescwader (Air Wing) no. 2, known as "The Flying Circus" for the colorful paint jobs of the planes. Richthofen's personal squadron in JG2, Jasta 11, all painted their craft in red with different colored highlights, in emulation of Richthofen.
- During combat in late 1917, he was hit in the back of the head by fire from another aircraft: he survived (the bullet did not penetrate his skull) and he returned to combat in January 1918.
- There were false rumors that the RFC (Royal Flying Corps--the forerunner to the RAF) had formed a special squadron with the express purpose of killing Richthofen.
- He was most famous for flying a Fokker Dr.1 tri-plane, although he flew the craft only for the last three months of his life.
- The famous Nazi officer Hermann Göring flew in his squadron during World War I.
- Richthofen was the highest-scoring pilot in the First World War with 80 confirmed kills (and quite possibly as many as 100 when unconfirmed kills are counted).
- Commanded Jagdgeschwader (Air Wing) no. 2, known as "The Flying Circus" for the colorful paint jobs of the planes. Richthofen's personal squadron in Jagdgeschwader 2, Jagdstaffel 11, all painted their craft in red with different colored highlights, in emulation of Richthofen.
- Was killed by Canadian RFC pilot Arthur Roy Brown and the plane was shot down by a trench machine gun just seconds after the blow.
- His memoirs were published right after the war ended and have since gone through several editions. The first American edition was released in 1969 and has gone through 2-3 editions here since.
- After von Richthofen was shot down and killed, he was buried with full military honors by his enemies. A metal plate was placed on his casket that read in English and German "Here rests Captain Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, fallen on the field of honor at twenty-five years, in an aerial combat on 21 April 1918.".
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