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CCSU administrator reveals new facts about Germany’s most famous flier in his new book “Red Baron: Life and Death of an Ace”

NEW BRITAIN -- January 25, 2008 -- Stories about the most successful fighter pilot of World War I, Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron, have made him one of the most celebrated fliers of all time. But this near-mythic character has not been revealed as completely as in the new book “Red Baron: Life and Death of an Ace” (David & Charles, London, 2007) by Peter Kilduff, director of university relations at Central Connecticut State University.

In this, his 12th book, Kilduff explores new evidence about the combat career of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the most successful fighter pilot of World War I.  Richthofen, who shot down 80 enemy airplanes, received more high decorations than any other German combatant.

“Peter Kilduff’s research process brings freshness to readers’ understanding of the formative years of military aviation when the speeds were slower, but the skill, the daring, the pressures and the risks, matched any battle-scene before or since. Kilduff has delved into a wide array of narratives by people who knew Baron von Richthofen, as well as into official records, and family and military archives that include never before accessed records, reports, as well as rare and obscure books and articles,” according to James Streckfuss of the League of World War I Aviation Historians.

Richthofen's aristocratic status, his penchant for flying all-red airplanes and his death in combat at age 25 have combined to make him a legendary, romantic figure for the ages.  Other books have been written about him, but none has come as close to the subject as this volume by a leading World War I aviation expert who has written extensively on the subject.

"The number of enemy aircraft shot down was one measure of aerial success in World War I," Kilduff says, "and Manfred von Richthofen set the benchmark for success.  During 20 months at the Front, he shot down 80 enemy aircraft -- the highest individual score of any World War I pilot -- easily making him the most famous and feared German airman on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918.  Richthofen set patterns for air combat command that are still used by major air arms today."

Kilduff has been an avocational aviation history researcher-author for over 40 years.  He has conducted extensive studies in archives in America, Britain, France and Germany -- and continues to find new material.  Hence, “Red Baron: Life and Death of an Ace” is the latest and most in-depth view of Manfred von Richthofen as a man and as a combat leader. 

“Flypast” magazine in England hailed the new book as “powerfully written, with extensive references to contemporary material.”  According to the U.K.-based “Great War” journal:  "There have been many books written about the legendary flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen, but this one certainly stands out head and shoulders above the crowd.”

In addition to 12 books, Kilduff has written dozens of articles for scholarly journals and popular aviation history magazines.  Ten of his books deal with World War I and two books are on American naval aviation subjects, reflecting the author's U.S. Navy service aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lake Champlain (CVS-39) in the early 1960s.

Kilduff has also appeared on the A&E "Biography" TV program devoted to the Red Baron, the History Channel's "This Week in History" series, the "Airpower Showdown" TV series produced by "Aviation Week & Space Technology" magazine, and the Discovery Channel's program about the Red Baron.

Peter Kilduff is a founding member and past president of The League of World War I Aviation Historians, as well as former managing editor of its quarterly journal "Over the Front."  He is a New Britain native and lifelong resident, and a 1967 graduate of Central Connecticut State University.

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