The Richthofen Aces of WWI: Family Relationship

Manfred - Lothar - Wolfram
There were 3 German flying aces from the Richthofen family in World War I: Manfred, Lothar and Wolfram. Coming from an aristocratic clan, they were trained from childhood in horse riding and hunting, resulting in quick reflects and killing instinct. These quality would be invaluable in the era where pilots were trained in a short time and had short life expectancy in the air. Those who fastly climed the learning curve would have better chances to survive and produce results.

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen was born on 2 May 1892 in Lower Silesia. In World War I, he joined the Air Service in 1915, the fighter squadron Jagdstaffel 2 in 1916, and the fighter wing Jagdgeschwader I in 1917. Richthofen became a national hero, receiving the Pour le Mérite, Prussian highest military order. He was credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories, the highest in World War I. His flying style was practical and no-nonsense; "It is stupid after all to die so unnecessarily a hero’s death" [1]. He was widely known as the Red Baron due to the color of his aircraft. He was shot down on 21 April 1918 in the Somme front, dying in combat at the age of 25.

Lothar Siegfried Freiherr von Richthofen was born on 27 September 1894, a younger brother of Manfred. He joined the Air Service in 1915 and later his brother's squadron. Unlike Manfred, he was an aggressive and daredevil pilot. He also received Pour le Mérite. He was credited with 40 confirmed air combat victories. He died in a flying accident on 4 July 1922 and the age of 27.

Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen was born on 10 October 1895. He joined the Army in 1993, transferred to the Air Serice in 1917, and later joined Manfred's squadron. He was credited with 8 confirmed air combat victories. After the war, he joined the new Luftwaffe, and served in the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War. He took part in the improvement of many air combat doctrines. In World War II, he served in many campaigns on many fronts, was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, and was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshall) in 1943. He retired from active duty in 1944 due to illness and died in Austria on 12 July 1945 at the age of 49.

The most detailed reading I came across just stated that Wolfram was a fourth cousin to the other two. So, I tried to search the internet - e.g. geni, WikiTree, GEDBAS, Geneanet and etc.- for more specific details and constructed a chart. There were some discrepencies on the name spelling and the date. I would be very thankful for any correction or additional information.

[19/06/22]

Sources
[1] Manfred von Richthofen. The Red Baron (Der Rote Kampfflieger). Pen & Sword Military Classics, 192 pages, 2005 (First Published in 1917, First Translated in 1918).

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