On 21 April 1918, Germany’s most celebrated fighter pilot, Manfred von Richthofen—known as the “Red Baron”—was shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme, France, during World War I.
The 25-year-old ace, credited with 80 aerial victories, was pursuing a British aircraft when he was fatally struck.
Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is officially credited with the kill, though the true source of the fatal shot remains debated. Richthofen’s death marked a symbolic blow to German morale and the legend of chivalric air combat in the Great War.