Aussie gunner Cedric Popkin shot down German flying ace Red Baron

AUSTRALIAN gunner Cedric Popkin is credited with shooting down Germany’s Red Baron flying ace, after 80 kills.

Sgt Cedric Popkin, the Tyalgum man who shot down World War 1 German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen.

THERE was one man who put the fear of god into First World War pilots more than anyone else.

Standing little over 5ft 7in and with boyish features, he was hardly an imposing figure.

But 25-year-old Manfred von Richthofen, with 80 confirmed kills, was the grim reaper of the skies above northern France.

Among his countrymen he was known as Der Rote Baron. To the Allies he was the Red Baron.

He was considered unbeatable in the air. If an Allied pilot caught sight of his scarlet wing tips they knew they were as good as dead.

But Richthofen was eventually killed, on April 21, 1918. Not by a pilot but by an eagle-eyed Australian gunner on the ground.

One hundred years ago today Cedric Popkin, from Tyalgum, tracked the red fuselage through the sight of his Vicker’s gun as the Baron chased his 81st kill. With a squeeze of the trigger, he brought down the most feared pilot of the war, and his name, as well as the Baron’s, went down in history.

German World War I pilot Rittmeister Baron Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen aka the Red Baron.

Born in May 1892 into a prominent Prussian aristocratic family in Kleinburg, in what is now Poland, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen flew a bright red aircraft and referred to himself as “der rote Kampfflieger” (“the red fighter pilot”).

Men of his standing were expected to serve and so, aged just 11, he was enrolled at a military school.

At the outbreak of war he was a cavalry reconnaissance officer and served with distinction on both the eastern and western fronts. But with horses gradually phased out of frontline duties he found himself increasingly behind the lines.

Most men, especially those who had experienced the horrors of the front, would have been more than happy with this, but not Richthofen.

“I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs,” the headstrong youngster told his commanding officer as he requested a transfer.

To his surprise, his request was granted, and in mid 1915, he was moved to the air force. He learnt the ropes as an observer on reconnaissance missions before coming into contact with German ace Oswald Boelcke.

An undated picture of the Red Baron in his distinctive Fokker plane during World War 1. The Baron was shot down by the Allies in 1918.

German World War I ace fighter pilot The Red Baron.

Richthofen idolised him and hung off his every word. Boelcke was a master tactician and was the man behind the Baron’s flying style.

Most aces of the time were known for their risky, white-knuckled aerobatics. Richthofen was the opposite. He was a conservative and calculated fighter. Unless he could help it, he would fly in formation and take the enemy by surprise by diving out from the sun while his wingman covered his rear.

It certainly worked for him and by the start of 1917 his kill count was starting to build. In the April alone he took down nearly two dozen Allied planes to move his tally to 52. Anything above 15 was considered exceptional — and so those in charge of German propaganda took notice.

In a war fought with gas and heavy artillery in the mud-soaked, disease ridden trenches, the battle in the sky was considered more traditional, noble warfare undertaken by skilled warriors.

Before long Richthofen was the subject of countless column inches and his face was plastered across stamps and postcards. He was the talk of the trenches, and when in early 1917 he decided to paint his aircraft red, his legend was made. The exact reasons behind it remain unclear. But making himself a target was, if nothing else, a tremendous display of courage. Perhaps not surprisingly, Richthofen got caught up in the hysteria surrounding his exploits. With his kill count climbing he contacted a jeweller in Berlin and ordered him to engrave a silver cup with the date and type of enemy aircraft to mark each victory.

With more than 60 cups to his name it was only Germany’s dwindling silver resources that brought an end to his collection. In June 1917 Richthofen was put in charge of Jagdgeschwader 1, a fighter wing of four squadrons which became known as the Flying Circus. They were the best of the best, lead by the greatest pilot of the war.

Australian gunner sergeant Cedric Popkin (second left), behind a Vickers machine gun, with crew that manned the four machine guns in his battery. Popkin is believed to have shot down Baron Manfred von Richthofen’s plane.

By the time of his death he had 80 kills to his name — although it is thought the figure could have been even higher. Debate still rages as to who killed Richthofen, although most experts credit Popkin. In a final display of his brilliance, Richthofen somehow managed to make an emergency landing despite rounds entering his cheek, chin, heart and legs. He died just minutes later.

He was given a full military funeral by the Australians and the pilots, who he had tried to shoot out the skies just days before, acted as his pallbearers.

To this day he is considered the ace of aces.