37 Quotes by Manfred von Richthofen

The important thing in aeroplanes is that they shall be speedy.

Whatever Boelcke told us was taken as Gospel!

What's the hurry? Are you afraid I won't come back?

Everything in the air that is beneath me, especially if it is a one seater . . . is lost, for it cannot shoot to the rear.

The aggressive spirit, the offensive, is the chief thing everywhere in war, and the air is no exception.

I started shooting when I was much too far away. That was merely a trick of mine. I did not mean so much as to hit him as to frighten him, and I succeeded in catching him. He began flying curves and this enabled me to draw near.

When one has shot down one's first, second or third opponent, then one begins to find out how the trick is done.

Sometimes, however, the Gaelic blood asserts itself. The Frenchmen will then attack. But the French attacking spirit is like bottled lemonade. It lacks tenacity. The Englishmen, on the other hand, one notices that they are of Germanic blood. Sportsmen easily take to flying, and Englishmen see in flying nothing but a sport.

If I should come out of this war alive, I will have more luck than brains.