WAR

y January 1917 von Richthofen had accumulated a total of 16 victories and
was one of Germany's most successful living Aces. He received his Pour le
Merite
and was appointed to the command of a squadron, Jasta //.He was also promoted
to Captain, the rank name being Rittmeister, or Riding Master, since he
was an Uhlan. He was coming to the notice of the powers—including the German
newspapers—and knew from interviews with prisoners that he had a name
on the British side of the line as well. He had all the prompting he needed to
begin asserting himself, and an excellent way to do this was to have his
aeroplane painted up in some nice bright color. That way his presence would
never go unnoticed or his personal challenge ignored. Navarre had flown an allred
Nieuport at Verdun. The Rittmeister would fly a red machine, too.
It was evident that there was a decided tactical advantage in having the
machine of the squadron leader identified by a distinctive color scheme. Like
the orchestra conductor who works best if he is standing up on a podium where
everybody can see him, the squadron leader would handle his men best if they
could see him easily. For if they had to waste time to look for him they wouldn't
do so, not when they might get shot down while peering around trying to pick his
out of a dozen similar machines. If, on the other hand, the men could spot the
commander's machine instantly because it is painted bright red, they could always
keep an eye on it and follow his lead.
Moreover, it
the color of his Jasta.
became apparent that the personal color of the leader should be
The Albatros machines of von Richthofen's squadron were
therefore ticked out with various decorations in red—a tail, a wing, a stripe
around the fuselage, and so on. This had the added advantage of making it
easier
for ground and air observers to confirm victories.
The practice was quickly adopted by the rest of the German air service.
Yellow, for example, became the color of Jasta 2. As a variation, Jastas 3 and 6
used patterns—black and white checkerboard for the former, black and white
stripes for the latter. Actually, von Richthofen's own machines were never all red.
He flew a number of aeroplanes in his career, and may have had more than
one at his disposal at one time or another. The mechanics attended to the servicing
and maintenance of the aeroplanes first and decorated them when there
was time. The standard factory finish of the early Albatros machines was varnished
plywood for the fuselage and a streaky dark green on the wings and those
parts of the tail that were covered with fabric. As aeroplanes were wrecked,
worn out, or withdrawn for repair, new ones were issued to take their places, and
the new ones were decorated as the opportunity to do so offered itself. When
von Richthofen's aeroplanes were painted red, the Maltese crosses on the wings
were usually set off by being placed in the center of large white squares.
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