What was the name of the pilot that shot down the Red Baron?

Answer 1

Wilford May, Roy Brown OR an Australian soldier on the ground. It depends on who you believe.

The shot that killed him came up from underneath his arm. But since the dog fight took so long and involved two allied planes it isn't known who fired the killing shot.

The Red Baron had a history of fighting on while wounded.

May fought with him first when he had to break off but he did get some shots off before he ran out of ammunition.

The Red Baron then got behind Roy Brown, but Brown was expert in using the air-brake technique which where he would purposely stall his plane, his opponent who was behind him would all of a sudden be in front and above Brown when he raised his nose and Brown would shoot from beneath, which gives Brown's story some validity.

However, the Red Baron also flew low over the Australian lines which gives credence that it was an Australian infantryman firing from the ground.


In short, nobody really knows for sure.

Answer 2

Canadian Capt. Roy Brown from No. 29 Sqdn RFC. Allegedly. Current forensic, and archival, research points toward ground fire from Australian anti-aircraft gunners. At that point, it gets fuzzy, depending on the flight path and weapons positions one wants to believe, either Evans or Sgt Popkin downed the plane.
MOST historians lean towards Popkin.
Brown, was almost 200 yards away, in a dive when fired 1-2 bursts. Given the weapons platforms of the time, it would be nearly impossible for him to have hit the plane at all. Also, the wound Richtofen suffered was mortal (without immediate medical attention). NO way could he have flown another 3 minutes (where literally hundreds of witnesses saw his plane), and then landed-alive.
As a side note, popular (and bad BTW) historians have asserted that Richtofen was in love with the Triplane. Not true, he actually wanted the Fokker DVII but it was not ready for production. The Fokker DR1 he flew as it was marginally a better dogfighter than the Albatros DVa-the other frontline German fighter.

Answer 3

Who really killed the Red Baron?
Many have claimed credit since that fateful day, April 21, 1918.
All have their detractors and supporters.
Principal claimants are:
Captain A Roy Brown
Gunner Robert Buie(Lewis Gun) Australian 53rd battery #3801
Gunner Sgt CB Popkin (Vickers gun) with the Australian 24th machine gun company.
And someone who cannot be discounted is an unknown soldier with a Lee-Enfield .303 who could have fired the fatal shot in the rain of bullets fired at Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen. He was not a 'Baron', by the way. His title of 'Freiherr' loosely translates as 'freeman'.

http://www.anzacs.net/who-killed-the-Red-Baron.htm

Answer 4

It was an Australian machine gunner. Others gave good answers. There were forensic studies that determined who brought down the Red Baron.

Answer 5

While in combat, a single bullet, shot from behind him, passed diagonally through his chest. The shot is commonly believed to have come from Australian gunners on the ground, but might have also come from the guns of Canadian flier Arthur 'Roy' Brown who was coming to May's aid. Manfred von Richthofen crashed into a field alongside the road from Corbie to Bray. His body was recovered by British forces, and he was buried with full military honors.

Answer 6

Yes, it was the Australian gunner. The bullet wound could not have come from a different flyer, only from the ground.

Saw a special on BBC about it.

Answer 7

Snoopy!
helptick’s answer is maybe not the most appropriate in historic terms,
but it is the funniest. Respect!

Answer 8

historians are not sure who shot him. They believe it was someone shooting from the ground and that it was someone from the British army

Answer 9

Canadian Roy Brown.

Answer 10

Snoopy, dude.