Rare archive of WW1 pictures uncovered in Sussex car boot sale

Circa 1917,  Portrait of the WW1 flying ace, Baron Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen. Richthofen was only 25 when he was killed in aerial combat, yet in his short 2-year career as a fighter pilot, became the top air ace of World War 1 with 80 confirmed combat victories to his credit.

A unique collection of ‘lost’ World War I negatives depicting the short life of German fighter ace Baron von Richthofen have been uncovered in a job lot of old pictures bought in a Sussex car boot sale.

The 88 strong archive of black and white negatives were discovered at Ford Market near Littlehampton, West Sussex, by Barry Pickthall, owner of the PPL Photo Agency based at Walberton near Arundel. The original negatives record not only Von Richthofen’s flying career, but the planes and portraits of many of his American, British, French and German adversaries and comrades, including Lt. Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of American President Theodore Roosevelt, who was shot down and killed in a dog fight over France on Bastille Day, July 14 1918. (See below)

Circa 1918: The horrors of war. The body of Lt Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt lying beside his wrecked plane after being shot down in a dogfight over France on Bastille Day 1918 - one of many combat images found within the Baron von Richthofen archive of negatives.

Barry Pickthall says of the von Richthofen archive. “This was a very fortunate find. We are always looking out for old pictures for PPL’s ‘Pictures of Yesteryear’  archive. The negatives and contact prints came in a shoebox containing old prints of Sussex scenes.  It was not until we looked at the negatives under a magnifying glass that we began to realise the magnitude of this find.”

Baron Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was only 25 when he was killed in aerial combat, yet in short 2-year career as a fighter pilot, he became the top air ace of that war with 80 air combat victories to his credit. Originally a cavalryman, he transferred to the German Army Air Service in 1915 and became one of the first members of the Jasta 2 fighter squadron in 1916. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and within a year was promoted to lead Jasta II and later the larger Jagdgeschwader I wing – better known as the Flying Circus.

Known as ‘The Red Barron’ for his preference for red painted aircraft, Von Richthofen’s first confirmed victory was scored over Cambrai on 17^th September 1916. He ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and type of enemy machine from a jeweller in Berlin and continued to record each ‘kill’ in the same manner until he had 60 cups. The routine only came to a halt with the dwindling supply of silver in blockaded Germany, and Von Richthofen's refusal to accept cups made from pewter.

Von Richthofen’s best-known victory came in a dogfight against his most famous adversary, British air ace Major Lance Hawker VC. Flying an Albatross D II biplane, the German felt he had met his equal in Hawker and his Sopwith DH2 biplane during an extended joust over France until the British pilot took a bullet through the head as von Richthofen chased him back towards British lines. The closeness of this aerial battle convinced Von Richthofen of the need for a fighter aircraft with more agility, and he went on to champion the development of the Fokker D.VII biplane. He had great influence over the design but never had the opportunity to fly one in combat. Von Richthofen was killed just days before the new plane entered service.

Von Richthofen was awarded the Pour le Mérite medal (the Blue Max), Germany’s highest military honour, in January 1917 following his 16^th confirmed 'kill'. His flying career peaked three months later in what the Allies dubbed ‘Bloody April’. During that month alone, the German ace downed 22 British aircraft, four of them in one day.

His rule to pilots under his command was: “Aim for the man and don’t miss. If you are fighting a two-seater, get the observer first; until you have silenced the gun, don’t bother about the pilot.”

Von Richthofen met his own death on 21^st April 1918 while flying over Morlancourt Ridge near the River Somme. At the time, the German ace was pursuing a Sopwith Camel piloted by novice Canadian pilot Lieutenant Wilfred ‘Wop’ May of 209 Squadron, Royal Air Force. The Baron had to break of briefly to fend off a high-speed dive attack from another Sopwith Camel piloted by fellow Canadian Capt. Arthur ‘Roy’ Brown.

Brown was credited with shooting down the Red Baron, but history shows that a single 303 bullet through the heart, fired almost certainly by Australian forces from the ground, killed him. Von Richthofen managed to land his Fokker Dr 1 triplane but died moments after men from the Australian Imperial Force (AIR) who controlled the sector, had reached his aircraft. His last recorded word was “Kaput” – finished.

No 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps assumed responsibility for the Baron’s remains, but left his plane to be taken apart by souvenir hunters.

This newly found Von Richthofen archive includes rare pictures of British, French and German planes, and other air aces from both sides including, Major Lance George Hawker VC, DSO, American Captain Edward Vernon Rickenbacker  and Frenchman Georges Marie Ludovic Jules Guynemer.

“This collection of negatives almost certainly came from a house clearance where the pictures had been stored away for many years" Says Pickthall, adding. "The find is all the more significant because the 28^th July marks the 100^th anniversary of the start of World War 1”.  These unique negatives have been professionally scanned and restored by ScanCorner UK, (www.scancorner.co.uk) which operates a cost-effective service for museums and libraries like ourselves, and we have spent a lot of time researching detailed captions for each image.”

PPL’s Pictures of Yesteryear archive specialises in historic images. The collection goes back to the 1830s and covers all aspects of business, industry, and historic scenes from the South of England including the first flight pictures from Shoreham airport. It also includes notable collections of sailing images including the America’s Cup back to 1851, and the archives of pioneering yachtsmen Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Chay Blyth and Sir Peter Blake and the first round the world races.

For further information and permission to publish any of these historic pictures, call Barry Pickthall or Mark Barclay at PPL on +44 (0)1243 555561

e.mail: ppl@mistral.co.uk, or visit www.pplmedia.com

Click Here To view the entire Baron von Richthofen archive.

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Full story and pictures of von Richthofen available for publication from PPL