We are loosing a great many of WW2 veterans daily. :oops:
What if the Red Baron never died?!?!
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen
Specifically,
Quote
On 6 July 1917, during combat with a formation of F.E.2d two seat fighters of No. 20 Squadron RFC, near Wervicq, Richthofen sustained a serious head wound, causing instant disorientation and temporary partial blindness.[26] He regained consciousness in time to ease the aircraft out of a free-falling spin and executed a rough landing in a field within friendly territory.[30] The injury required multiple surgeries to remove bone splinters from the impact area.[30] The air victory was credited to Captain Donald Cunnell of No. 20, who was killed a few days later. The Red Baron returned to active service (against doctor’s orders) on 25 July,[31] but went on convalescent leave from 5 September to 23 October.[32] His wound is thought to have caused lasting damage, as he later often suffered from post-flight nausea and headaches, as well as a change in temperament. There is even a theory linking this injury with his eventual death.If this event had never occurred, some theorize, the Red Baron never would have been shot down and killed on 21 April 1918.
And with that said, had the Red Baron -in good health- survived the war, what impact would that have had on WWII?
Keeping in mind…
On 3 July 1918, Oberleutnant Hermann Göring became JG 1’s third and last commander of the war on 14 July.
Thoughts?
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Can you imagine the Luftwaffe not led by an obese addict, but a thin, good looking, aristocratic, blond,blue eyed respected expert on all aviation matters?
Would we have seen a successful Sealion after a better planned Battle of Britain?
Would Paulus have been allowed to pull out ofStalingrad as The Baron recognised and accepted supply by air was impossible?
I can assure you I would have visited his grave like Wittmann’s.
He was probably my first hero as a child. -
IN today’s Air Force, the Red Baron’s skills would not benefit using modern Fighter technology.
After say 2400 AD, the Baron might find his skills utilized as a star-fighter pilot in the Galactic Air Force.
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IL are you suggesting to survive WW1 The Red Baron would have to have been immortal?
Interesting thought.
Or just silly. -
IL are you suggesting to survive WW1 The Red Baron would have to have been immortal?
Interesting thought.This:
What if the Red Baron never died?!?!That means he never dies…
If the OP decided to say instead “what if the Baron survived till the end of the war” or “was not shot down in 1918” as opposed to saying “He never died” my answer might be different.
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@wittman:
Can you imagine the Luftwaffe not led by an obese addict, but a thin, good looking, aristocratic, blond,blue eyed respected expert on all aviation matters?
With the notable exception of Reinhard Heidrich, the Nazi leadership was singularly lacking in good-looking blue-eyed blond guys. In fact quite a few of these fellows were creepy- or thuggish-looking individuals with dark hair (including the Fuhrer himself, something which Charlie Chaplin explicitly joked about in his film “The Great Dictator”). And they didn’t have many aristocrats in their ranks either. Freiherr von Richthofen would have looked decidedly out of place in that collection of characters.
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I can imagine him turning his nose up at them and eventually joining a plot to overthrow Hitler.
You are right though, how many party officials looked the part they extolled? -
@wittman:
I can imagine him turning his nose up at them and eventually joining a plot to overthrow Hitler.
You are right though, how many party officials looked the part they extolled?To quote Charlie Chaplin:
Adenoid Hynkel: How wonderful! Tomania, a nation of blue-eyed blondes.
Garbitsch: Why not a blonde Europe, Asia, America?
Adenoid Hynkel: Blonde world…
Garbitsch: And a brunette dictator.
Adenoid Hynkel: Dictator of the world!Among the various folks in the Nazi party who looked quite unlike what they idealized, one could name Julius Streicher, Joseph Goebbels, Ernst Roehm and Henrich Himmler for starters.
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Do you think they invented the " one rule for us and one rule for another" saying?
I remember it from a child and I was born, well post war. -
And I never found Charlie Chaplin funny.
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The Baron would have been an important voice and personality during the years between the Wars. I wonder would he have joined the Nazis?
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I wonder would he have joined the Nazis?
He might since he NEVER DIES…
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Well if he didn’t join the Nazis, what were you going to do, kill him?
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Use him to sell Red Baron Pizza. Perfect mascot.
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Until Snoopy shows up!
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My favourite example of Snoopy – in goggles and scarf and leather helmet – providing his own narration as he gets on top of his doghouse is: “I climb into the cockpit and check the instruments. They are all there.”
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Well if he didn’t join the Nazis, what were you going to do, kill him?
How can anyone kill him if he never dies?
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since he never dies NASA should use him to explore the stars. Don’t even need life support.
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@Imperious:
since he never dies NASA should use him to explore the stars. Don’t even need life support.
Could he explore space with the head injury he suffered?
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Of course he could, even if his brain was slow… he would have had THE REST OF TIME!
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