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World War I Items - Imperial Germany

This page contains a number of my signed and unsigned World War I items. The cornerstones of my collection are several von Richthofen signed Sanke cards. One is listed below. Because of the importance of this item, I have given a far more lengthy description than normal. Included in these items are a number of unsigned Sanke and Verlag portrait cards of Blue Max (Pour le Merite) recipients and signed items of all three Kaisers and vonHindenburg. NOTE: All of the portrait postcards are vintage originals and not modern copies. If I have created an album page for the item, it will be pictured.  The original signed piece is affixed to the album page using clear photo corners or a special removable stain-free adhesive.

WWI-1 - Manfred von Richthofen  - This is a superb copy of the rare Sanke #606 signed by von Richthofen. This item was obtained from one of the world's authority on WWI and WWII German signed items. The Sanke #606 is rarely seen even unsigned. This is a truly rare item. The Red Baron - "vonRichthofen" signed Sanke cards are the most desired of all military heroes and authentic signed photos are quite rare. This item is the cornerstone of my collection. This is a fantastic Sanke photo post card portrait of von Richthofen with an unusually clear signature across his hands. The signed photo is affixed to a descriptive album page using clear photo corners and it is in a poly cover that is punched to fit a standard 3-ring binder or it can be framed. A similar Sanke which did not have as nice a signature recently sold for $11,000. This also comes with a tiny piece of vonRichthofen's hair (with authentication) and a biographical book about him.

Manfred von Richthofen was born May 2, 1892 the son of Major Albrecht von Richthofen, a Prussian nobleman, and his wife, Kunigunde. (The name Richthofen means "court of judgment" and was bestowed by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.) Manfred was the eldest of three sons but he had an older sister. He was enrolled at age 11 at the military school at Wahlstatt, and then attended the Royal Military Academy at Lichterfelde. Manfred was a far better athlete than he was a scholar, and applied his horseback riding skills to become a cavalry officer. He was commissioned in April, 1911 in the 1st Regiment of Uhlans Kaiser Alexander III. He was promoted to Leutenant in 1912. Unfortunately, twentieth century warfare had little use for mounted cavalry. The invention of the machine gun had led to the need for combat operations

to be carried out from the relative safety of trenches dug into the countryside. When war broke out in August, 1914, Richthofen looked to the air service for a new challenge. He initially joined the Fliegertruppe (air service) in 1915 as an observer because the training course was shorter and would get him to combat faster. After meeting Oswald Boelcke, who would remain his hero and idol, Manfred was committed to becoming a pilot. After only 24 hours of flight training from his friend, Oberleutnant Georg Zeumer, he made his first solo flight on October 10, 1915. (He crashed his plane attempting to land.)

· September 1915 - In his second air combat (still as an observer), Richthofen exchanges fire with a French plane. The Allied plane dropped away and crashed, but Richthofen was not credited with the victory as the enemy plane crashed behind French lines and could therefore not be confirmed. Later in his career, Richthofen would not be held to this restriction: he was taken at his word for his kills.

· Apr 24, 1916 - Richthofen shoots down his first plane as a pilot. The craft, a French Nieuport, crashed behind enemy lines, and again the victory was not officially credited to Richthofen.

· Sep 1, 1916 - At Oswald Boelcke’s invitation, Richthofen reports for duty on the Western Front. He begins his career with Jagdstaffel 2 in an Albatross D.II biplane. Although it was the Fokker Dr.I triplane with which Richthofen is remembered, he spend the vast majority of his time flying biplanes like the Albatross D.II and D.III.

· Sep 17, 1916 - Richthofen scores his first confirmed air victory.

· October 1916 - After 40 victories, Oswald Boelcke is killed in a mid-air collision during combat. Some accounts blame Richthofen’s enthusiasm for the collision which caused pilot Erwin Böhme’s undercarriage to collide with Boelcke’s upper wing. Others place the blame on Böhme, or call it simply an accident not attributable to anyone’s mistake.

· Nov 23, 1916 - Richthofen, with the help of a superior aircraft, makes British ace Major Lanoe Hawker his eleventh victim.

· Jan 4, 1917 - Richthofen scores his 16th air victory, making him the top living German ace. On January 12th, Richthofen receives the Orden Pour le Mérite (aka the "Blue Max"). He is given command of Jasta 11. Richthofen decides to paint parts of his aircraft red, in part to identify himself easily to his allies on the ground (whom he feared might otherwise shoot at him). It has been suggested that he chose red because it was the color of his old Uhlan cavalry regiment.

· Mar 9, 1917 - Richthofen is shot down over Oppy, but was flying again the same day.

· Apr 7, 1917 - Richthofen is promoted to Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain)

· Apr 8, 1917 - The lower wing of the Albatross D.III flown by another member of Jasta III breaks off in flight. Richthofen writes an angry letter to Berlin, and is visited by aircraft designer Anthony Fokker, who literally goes to the trenches to observe his aircraft in action. The result of this visit (in which he was able to observe the British Sopwith Triplane) led to Fokker’s development of the Dr.I triplane. Earlier the lower wing had also broken off Richthofen's plane.

· Apr 29, 1917 - Richthofen shoots down four planes in one day, a personal best. April, 1917 is known as "Bloody April". Britain lost 912 pilots and observers during the month, while Richthofen scored an incredible 21 victories during the same period. After his 41st victory, Richthofen was ordered on leave. Turning command over to his brother Lothar, Manfred left the front on May 1st and did not return until early June. He spent his vacation hunting in his home town, on propapropaganda tours, and meeting with Kaiser Wilhelm.

· Jun 24, 1917 - Jagdgeschwader 1 (Fighter Wing 1) is formed, with Manfred von Richthofen in command. The wing would later be renamed "Jagdgeschwader Frieherr von Richthofen" in his honor.

· July 1917 - Richthofen is shot down by Capt. Douglas Cunnel and 2nd Lt. Albert Woodbridge. Though he lands safely, he has suffered a serious bullet wound to the head. Manfred would suffer from terrible headaches until the end of his life, but there were other ramifications. German command, recognizing the propaganda value to the enemy of Richthofen’s loss, begins to pressure him to retire from air combat, going so far as to forbid him from flying unless absolutely necessary (a loophole Richthofen exploited at every opportunity).

Richthofen began to spend more and more of his time in more administrative and public relations roles. Eventually he returned to the front full-time when Germany’s leaders realized that no matter the risks, they could not afford not to let Richthofen do what he did better than anyone else.

· August 1917 - The first Fokker triplanes are delivered to Jagdgeschwader 1.

· September 1, 1917 - Richthofen scores his 60th victory, his first in the Dr.I triplane. On September 6th, he took a leave of convalescence, and when he returned in the next month he went back to flying the Albatross D.V.

· April 1918 -: Richthofen achieves two victories flying Fokker Dr.1 triplane (number 425/17). Though he flew biplanes for nearly all of his career, and most of these were only partly painted red, it is the Dr.1 triplane, blood-red from cowl to tail, which is commonly associated with the Red Baron.

April 21, 1918 - Richthofen followed the Sopwith Camel of Wilfred May far into British territory. The end of the war was only months off by this time, and the German air command faced both ever-improving British airplanes and their own dwindling numbers. The thrill of the hunt was all but gone for Baron von Richthofen, as most of his peers had already been killed and his own wounds agonized him. Though the German air doctrine he himself wrote stated that "one should never obstinately stay with an opponent which, through bad shooting or skillful turning, he has been unable to shoot down while the battle lasts until it is far on the other side", he chased his British quarry far deeper into enemy territory and far lower to the ground than his own doctrine permitted. May later said that it was only his erratic, untrained piloting which saved him. Richthofen followed the erratic path of the novice pilot until 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.

Manfred’s brother, Lothar (also a Pour le Mérite recipient) was himself recovering from being shot down when his older brother was killed in combat. He returned to Jagdgeschwader 1 and carried on the Richthofen tradition of fearlessness in combat in a blood-red fighter. Lothar was shot down again on August 13th, 1918, and forced into retirement with 40 kills. Manfred’s eventual successor was Hermann Göring (who would later become the head of the Luftwaffe and a particularly infamous Nazi), who chose to paint his aircraft completely white, ending the reign of the blood-red German fighters.

$4500.00 - Shipping to US is $6. Foreign shipping is $22. Includes postage, registered, insured.

Imperial Germany's Kaisers & Leaders

The items below are of Germany's Kaisers other leaders. Where a signed photo is not available, a signed document accompanies the item.

Unsigned Vintage Portrait Cards

German Imperial

The cards pictured below are all vintage portrait cards - Verlag, Sanke, private portraits, etc. Most of these are of Blue Max (Pour le Merite) recipients and are very scarce. All are unsigned.

Free eBooklet of All Blue Max Recipients

I have a free eBooklet that lists all World War I Blue Max recipients and a brief history of the Blue Max (Pour le Merite). Recipients are listed in alphabetical order by branch. Also included is the date of the award. Click on the booklet cover, left to download the eBooklet. I created this for my personal use as a checklist.

BMU-002 - This is a beautiful vintage Verlag portrait post card portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Approximately 3.5" x 5.5". $35.00

BMU-003 - This is another outstanding vintage Red Cross portrait card of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The handwritten signature and note are printed and not actually personally written on the card. Approximately 3.5" x 5.5" $35.00

Luftwaffe Aces

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