Manfred von Richthofen, the highest scoring ace of the First World War, was brought down on April 21, 1918, most likely by Australian gunners. After the crash, MvR's body was removed and his famous all-red triplane, number 425/17, was immediately set upon by souvenir hunters. Many of those souvenirs still exist today.
According to witnesses that morning, MvR was alive when he came down. His landing could actually be described as something between a very rough landing and a crash. Witnesses describe seeing Richthofen putting the aircraft into a sideslip as if to land but then bringing it down very hard at the last moment. It bounced back into the air and climbed a few feet before finally stalling and crashing. The undercarriage was then ripped off and the propeller and port side wings were smashed. According to Ernest Tycross, one of the first people on the scene, Richthofen was alive when he reached the aircraft and muttered something to the effect of "Alles kaput" before breathing his last breath.
After the war,1st Air mechanic Boxall-Chapman later described what he saw:
"The propeller was smashed. So was the three right-hand planes and undercarriage but the three left-hand planes were intact." (sic - Boxall-Chapman was describing the scene as he approached the triplane from the front. Therefore, the smahed right-hand planes that he referred to were actually the port side wings."
Printed on acid free rag paper, the prints measure 25" x 16.75. The edition consists of 425 prints, each of which is signed and numbered by Russell Smith.
Also available are a very limited number of prints on canvas. The canvas edition consists of only 17 prints. Prints on canvas measure 26" x 15".
Details of Feeding On The Legend
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