Who killed MvR

The angle of the wound,that it was right to left,plus
the timeline,makes me feel it had to come from the ground,most probably Sgt. Popkin.
Also I payed $100000 for the bullit on E-Bay,and its a
lewis!!

The angle of the wound,that it was right to left,plus
the timeline,makes me feel it had to come from the ground,most probably Sgt. Popkin.
Also I payed $100000 for the bullit on E-Bay,and its a
lewis!!

LMAO

[WFS]

According to what I've read Brown's attack came from above and to the left of MvR. The fatal bullet hit the Baron right to left with a slightly upward trajectory. Also, the bullet was found under MvR's flight suit which would indicate that it was fired from far enough away that it spent all of its energy.

I've read Carisella, Titler and Franks&Bennett, as well as other less comprehensive reports. Until I see something with new evedence I have to go with Popkin. However, I'd like to see the article that Dan-San mentioned.

Best Regards,
Wayne

[Cigogne]

To throw some more thoughts on this:

1. Stephen Lawson remarked that if Brown had hit him in the area mentioned in Markham's treatise there would have been a corresponding bullet hole in the seat to match. (If I recall correctly, Markham thought von R had twisted in his seat). The surviving seat in Ottawa shows no such hole.

2. Also, the article, often credited to Brown, where he says ""I couldn't have felt greater sorrow if he had been a friend," is believed to have been written by a hack writer and not Brown. I read somewhere a few years ago that Brown dissavowed having written that account.

3. von R's firing pin in one of his guns broke and the other also might have been disabled at the end, according to Carisella.

4. Weren't both the Lewis and Vickers machine guns both .303 calibre? That would make it hard to determine what gun fired it unless one had the exact guns where the rifling marks could be studied and tested by ballistic experts.

[Michael]

<quote>1. Stephen Lawson remarked that if Brown had hit him in the area mentioned in Markham's treatise there would have been a corresponding bullet hole in the seat to match. (If I recall correctly, Markham thought von R had twisted in his seat). The surviving seat in Ottawa shows no such hole.</quote>

I'm not surprised - the seat is in Torornto, at the Royal Canadian Military Institute.

[Graeme]

There were probably thousands of .303" calibre bullets flying around at the time from every Lee Enfield, Lewis and Vickers in the vicinity. Without forensic examination of every weapon, it's impossible to say which gun fired the bullet and whose finger pulled that gun's trigger.

Based on the content of Brown's combat report, the RAF justifiably (at the time) credited him with the victory and gave him a Bar to his DSC. It is only with the benefit of historical (if not hysterical) hindsight we can suggest that the decision was over-optimistic.

Anyway, I did say I'd side with Brown only to fuel the debate. Seems to have done the trick!

Graeme

[Bushrod]

Could someone check MvR's final flight path and see if he flew over any grassy knolls?

[Craig]

. . . and why not? We've already got a Magic Bullet!

I'd like to know more about this article that Dan-San mentioned. From what empirical evidence - as well as educated guessing - I am aware of, it seems likely that MvR was plucked from the sky by a lowly grunt. I can see some bloke taking a hip shot as the triplane whizzes by. And he never knew he'd hit the Baron.

[Barrett]

Homework assignment: everybody inclined toward ANY opinion in this matter is required to read Franks' "The Red Baron's Last Mission" (reviewed here) so we'll all begin from a common point of departure.

MvR is dead? Has Lothar been told?