Red baron war diary.

[moritz55]

Hello,

I own a book called "Le corsaire rouge.1914.1918". This book is supposed to have been written by MvR. It's a diary but there are too many things that lack. No many days notifications, nothing about the planes he flew(performances,shape,...). Many things apart aviation like every one would have known around him, seing him living (hunting, riding...).
Does someone know if this book is a fake?

Thank you.
Sincerely greetings.
Thierry.

[crankcase]

moritz
you must be referring to the french translation of "der rote kampfflieger" (the red battle flyer) which is MvR's wartime memoir originally released in 1917. it was dictated (and maybe partially ghot-written) and was basically a propaganda pamphlet directed at the home front. it is more chatty and less technical than "we" would like it to be.

it was re-released in 1933 with a foreword by... you guessed it... herr reichsfeldmarschall hermann (or should we say meier?) and has some additional text (at the end) about 21 april 1918 and MvR's reburial in 1925.
CC

[FliegerJG1]

For a more recent and readable version, I'd recommend the 1969 translation by Peter Kilduff under the title The Red Baron. This includes dates with the diary enteries, a selection of photos, and drawings of WW1 aircraft with technical specs. There's a lot of extra material in this edition and it offers an excellent view into Manfred's life.

Blue skies,

FliegerJG1