Red fabric from fuselage of Baron Manfred von Richthofen's Fokker DR1

Piece of fabric from the wing of a Fokker DR1 aircraft. One side is covered with red paint, which appears to have been applied as the first coat over the underlying linen. The red paint is an almost exact match for Munsell 7.5R/3/6. Thread count: 22 threads/cm x 22 threads/cm, 1:1 plain weave. On the rear of the sample is written in blue ink the following:
"Mother A Peice [sic] of the wing of Count. Von. Richthofen [sic] Flying Machine one of the Red Devils. This man fetched down 79 Allies [sic] Machines and was after his 80 when he was fetched down by an Australian on the Somme. "

Leading flying aces captured the imagination of the wartime public and became national heroes. None was more famous than the German, Manfred von Richthofen. Even the allies acknowledged his exploits, dubbing him 'the Red Baron', ' the Red Pirate' , or the 'Red Devil'; a reference to his brightly-coloured aircraft. His tally of 80 enemy aircraft destroyed was unmatched by any other airman.

Richthofen had been a cavalry officer. During the war he transferred to the air corps, making his first solo flight, aged 23, in October 1915. He quickly established a reputation as a skilful and deadly fighter pilot. By 1917 he was Germany's top-scoring living air ace and was awarded the highest gallantry award, the Pour le Mérite (the "Blue Max"). By mid-1917 he commanded a fighter wing known as "Richthofen's Circus". Regularly in combat, he was shot down in July and wounded, but survived. His score mounted as he aggressively sought out more victims. Finally, on 21 April 1918, flying his distinctive red Fokker Dr. 1 triplane, he was fatally shot over the Australian positions above the Somme River near Corbie, in France. He was buried with military honours by members of No. 3 Squadron, AFC.

This piece of linen was cut from the fuselage of Manfred von Richthofen's Fokker DR1 within 24 hours of the aircraft being shot down. The donor sent the sample to his mother from France. It is uncertain as to the extent to which the colour we see now has oxidised, and changed colour. The present colour approximates the colour of venous blood.