earning one of these badges was no mere "winning your wings" in the sense that they were automatically conferred after one’s first solo flight. A series of very strict exercises were prou scribed and there are a number of instances later on in the war where a man had been at the front and flying in combat for several weeks before his badge came through. Lt. Friedrich Noltenius actually had one confirmed victory (and a couple of others in dispute) before his badge reached him.

German pilots were allowed to receive and wear the flying badges of their allies. Those serving on the Austro-Hungar- ian, Turkish an~ Bulgarian fronts frequently were awarded the badges of these nations. For some reason, the early German pilots, even though they never left the Western Front, were awarded the Austro-Hungarian Pilot,s Badge. This practice seems to have ceased by 1917, perhaps again to keep some ex~ clusivity to the award.

RITTMEISTER (CAVALRY CAPTAIN) MANFRED yon RICHTHOFEN

With 80 confirmed victor- ies, Manfred yon Richthofen was the highest scoring ace of any nation. While he was awarded more individual orders, decorations and medals than any other flier, it is not a fact, as reported by so many biographers of "The Red Baron" that he received every award a grateful nation could be- stow. It would be interest- ing to know why such powerful states as Anhalt, Baden, Meck- lenburg and Oldenburg never got around to honoring him to say nothing of the principal- ities of Reuss, Schwarzburg and Waldeck.

It is also interesting to speculate on what honor would have been forthcoming to him had he lived to score 100 vic- tories. Almost certainly he would have been taken off act- ive service as a symbol too valuable to risk further° This might have occasioned his promotion to Major and then a number of options would have been opened up in terms of higher Prussian awards. There is reason to believe that the oakleaves to his Pour le Mer- ite would have been the most

olausible award. This certainly would have been suitable rec- Ognition in that only 122 awards of the Pour le Merite with oakleaves were made during the war.

The manner in which Richthofen’s 3rd class Red Eagle was displayed on his funeral cushion has misled some historians to classify this as a 2nd class neck badge award. Instead of be- ing placed on his order bar following his Knight°s Hohenzoll~

Richthofen’s awards as they were displayed on his act- ual funeral cushion at reinterment ceremonies in 1925.

The author°s representative group. Note the 3rd class Red Eagle lacks the Crown distinction. Also included is a commemorative coin issued in Germany after his death. These are mounted on a simulated funeral cushion.

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ern as it should have been, it was left to be displayed separ- ately alongside his Pour le Merite. The explanation for this might be that since the award was received only 15 days before his death, he might never have had the chance to mount it prop- erly and that the family~left it loose rather than remount his other awards on his order bar to accomodate this piece.

A) Worn or mounted separatel~

l) Order Pour le Merite - Prussia 2) Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd class, with Cro~ua and

Swords - Prussia 3) Iron Cross, 1st class - Prussia 4) War Merit Cross, 1st class - Lippe 5) Order of Bravery, 4th class, 1st grade - Bulgaria 6) ImtJaz Medal, in Silver, with Swords - Turkey 7) Liakat Medal, in Silver, with Swords - Turkey 8) War Medal (the Iron Crescent or so-called "Gallipoli

Star") - Turkey 9) Pilot’s Badge, Army - Germany

10) Pilot’s Badge, Army - Austria-Hungary (Franz Joseph)

B) Worn on the order bar

l) Iron Cross, 2nd class - Prussia 2) Order of the Royal House of Hohenzollern, Knight’s Cross

with Swords - Prussia 3) Military Order of St. Henry, Knight’s Cross - Saxony 4) Order of the House of Ernestine, Knight’s Cross, 1st

class, with Swords - Saxon Duchies 5) Order of Military Merit, 3rd class, with Crown and

Swords - Bavaria 6) Order of Military Merit, Knight’s Cross - WGrttemberg 7) Duke Carl Edward Medal, with Swords - Sax-Coburg-Gotha 8) General Honor Medal, "for Bravery" - Hessen 9) Cross for Faithful Service - Schaumburg-Lippe

10) War Merit Cross, 2nd class - Brunswick ll) Hanseatic Cross - L~beck 12) Hanseatic Cross - Bremen 13) Hanseatic Cross - Hamburg 14) Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class, with War Decoration

- Austria-Hungary 15) War Merit Cross, 3rd class, with War Decoration -

Austrla-Hungary

Why the Turkish ImtJaz and Liakat Medals were not also put on the order bar following the Austrian awards is hard to say. We will see this in the case of several of the other flier’s as well. One thought has been that the particular Turkish ribbons were not available for mounting imperial style in wartime Ger- many. Another opinion has it that the German fliers were not particularly impressed with their Turkish allies, nor of the quality and design of their awards, and thus did not deign to have them olaced on their order bars. The author finds the latter statement a little difficult to accept.