The nature of warfare changed on Aug. 26, 1914 when Lieut. Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly became the first pilot to down an aircraft in aerial combat.

In the early days of the First World War, aircraft was used for observation. Generals ordered their pilots to report back the enemy's troop movements in much the way the horse cavalry scouts did in conflicts past. A successful example of this was when a pilot with the British Expeditionary Force observed General Alexander von Kluck's 1st Army approaching Mons. On this particular day, Lieut. Harvey-Kelly had spotted a German Taube below him. Along with two other planes, he dove on the lone craft armed only with a pistol. They forced the Taube down, chased the crew away and set the plane on fire before taking off.

The introduction of synchronized machine guns brought with it the destruction of aircraft in the sky. On July 1, 1915, Leutnant Kurt Wintgens scored the first aerial victory when he downed a a two-seat French Parasol flown by Capitaine Paul du Peuty. Armed with a 7.9 millimetre calibre machine gun that could fire 700 rounds a minute, Wintgens engaged in the skirmish over the village of Luneville. Du Peuty's observer was wounded in the leg but they managed to land safely in friendly territory.

Few have probably heard of Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly or Kurt Wintgens. But history recalls more prominently Manfred von Richthofen. He was celebrated by Germans as der rote Kampfflieger, the Red-Battle Flyer. The Allies respected him as the 'ace of aces.' The French called him 'le petit rouge,' known to the English-speaking world as the Red Baron.

Manfred von Richthofen was born the son of a Prussian nobleman in 1892 in Breslau, Germany (which is today Wroclaw, Poland). Graduating from the Royal military academy at Lichterfelde, he was commissioned as a cavalry officer in the 1st Regiment of Uhlans Kaiser Alexander III.

After the war broke out, he saw action as a reconnaissance officer in the Eastern and Western Fronts. The evolution of the machine gun and the advent of trench warfare made horse-mounted cavalry obsolete. Seeking to satisfy his desire to see combat, von Richthofen transferred to the fledgling German Army Air Service.

Von Richthofen gave up being an air observer to train as a fighter pilot after meeting Oswald Boelcke. He made his first solo flight after only 24 hours of training but crashed the two-seater Albatros on landing. Although von Richthofen damaged a French Nieuport on April 26, 1916, he didn't receive his first official kill until Sept. 17 when he was victorious over Cambrai, France. To celebrate this achievement, the pilot ordered a silver cup engraved with the date and type of plane he shot down (he would do this for his first 60 kills until silver became scarce).

The charismatic squadron commander filled his study with trophies of the planes he had shot down. He relished battle and many historians surmise von Richthofen conquored fear believing he was invulnerable (something he may have accepted flying as observer for Kurt Wissemann, who flew his plane within mere feet of the aircraft he was chasing and yet survived).

"I am a hunter," von Richthofen once wrote. "My brother, Lothar, is a butcher. When I have shot down an Englishman, my hunting passion is satisfied for a quarter of an hour."

In one of his most infamous dogfights, von Richthofen soundly dispatched his nemesis, British ace Major Lanoe Hawker, who flew into an ambush laid by the Baron on Nov. 23, 1916. Both ended up circling each other in a one-on-one skirmish. As the planes descended in tighter and tighter circles, Hawker realized he needed to escape to British lines and zigzagged to avoid von Richthofen's fire. The Baron managed to hit Hawker with a head shot killing him instantly. He later remarked: "The impertinent fellow was full of cheek and when we got down to about 3,000 feet he merrily waved to me as if he would say, 'Well, how do you do?'"

With his 16th confirmed kill in January, 1917, von Richthofen was awarded the prestigious Blue Max and his own command. The Jasta 11 fighter squadron, which became known as the "Flying Circus," counted some of the best pilots in the German air force amongst its numbers. Known for possessing a flair for the flamboyant, the newly installed squadron commander painted his Albatros D.III red (the unit colour for his old Uhlan cavalry regiment). Other members of his squadron also painted parts of their planes red so their leader could not be easily picked out of the sky.

Von Richthofen wasn't as indestructible as he presumed. During one mission, his lower wing broke off in mid-air. On another sortie, he was shot down but flew again the same day. These near misses with death only seem to heighten his legend. On April 29, 1917, he shot down four planes in a single day. During the "Bloody April" air battles, the Red Baron scored 21 victories.

Although von Richthofen was posting some impressive statistics, he was not necessarily going unchallenged in the air. There was Britain's "Mick" Mannock, who routinely shared his victories with other pilots and often failed to submit reports on the numerous aircraft he had shot down (he is credited with 61 kills before his plane was destroyed by ground fire). The top ace for the Allies was French aviator Rene Fonck, who could have conceivably brought down over 100 planes (he is credited with 75 victories). Germany's Ernest Udet, Britain's James McCudden and South Africa's A. Beauchamp-Proctor were also vying for the title. In the top 10 aces who fought in the First World War, three were Canadians. Fourth from the top was perhaps Canada's greatest combat pilot, William Avery "Billy" Bishop, of Owen Sound, Ontario.

As a boy, he became a crack shot with a .22 calibre rifle his father had purchased him for Christmas. He was sent to Royal Military College in Kingston at age 17 but he failed to impress his instructors. They almost expelled him from RMC but war broke out in August, 1914. Bishop sailed for England with the 7th Canadian Mounted Rifles the following year. After being hospitalized for pneumonia, he decided to become a fighter pilot. The only air assignment he could get was as an air observer, so he took it. He flew several months as an in-flight observer until November, 1916 when he began learning how to fly. He initially flew on coastal defence patrols until he was transferred to 60th Squadron, the top fighter unit in the RAF, which immediately flew to Filescamp Farm near Arras.

It was here that the 23-year-old lieutenant crashed his Nieuport 17 on his first mission and was almost grounded by his commander, Major Alan Scott. He claimed his first victory on March 24, 1917. Two weeks later, he became an ace with his fifth kill. Bishop developed a new manoeuvre of achieving a high altitude and using cloud cover before diving on his prey, catching them off guard. Once in a dogfight, he would dive in close, firing one or two well-aimed rounds before escaping to circle around and go on the attack again. It proved effective, as he claimed 12 German planes in the "Bloody April" campaign alone.

Establishing a reputation for himself as a fighter ace, it was inevitable that Bishop would run into the Red Baron - and he did. On the afternoon of April 30, 1917, Billy Bishop and his commander, Major Jack Scott, spotted four enemy scouts and turned to engage them. He quickly identified them as four red Albatrosses. One of them was being piloted by Manfred von Richthofen. Bishop described the encounter in a newspaper account after the war:

"In my turn I opened fire on the Baron, and in another half minute found myself in the midst of what seemed to be a stampede of bloodthirsty animals. Everywhere I turned smoking bullets were jumping at me; and although I got in two or three good bursts at the Baron's "red devil," I was rather bewildered for two or three minutes, as I could not see what was happening to the major, and was not at all certain as to what was going to happen to me.

"Around we went in cyclonic circles for several minutes, here a flash of the (enemy) machines, then a flash of silver as my squadron commander would whizz by. All the time I would be in the same mix-up myself, every now and then finding a red machine in front of me, and letting in a round or two of quick shots. It was a lightning fight, and I have never been in anything just like it."

The Red Baron twisted and banked with such precision as to not offer himself up as a clear target. Bishop's machine gun jammed when he did get a clear shot but still plugged a few rounds into von Richthofen's fuselage. When four Sopwiths showed up from a British naval squadron, the Red Baron and his escorts headed back towards German lines. Noting that he had sustained some bullet holes himself, Bishop later remarked that it was a "close shave, but a wonderful, soul-stirring flight."

Two months later, Billy Bishop achieved his greatest military feat. In the early morning hours of June 2, 1917, he flew a solo mission behind enemy lines where he attacked a German aerodrome near Cambrai. He engaged and downed three aircraft taking off to intercept him, while he destroyed more on the ground. For his successful dawn attack, Bishop was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Meanwhile, the Red Baron's dominance in the air continued uncontested. But while von Richthofen had no sense of his own mortality, High Command began to worry about the acefs many close shaves and what his death at the hands of an allied pilot would mean as a propaganda tool. They implored von Richthofen to retire. The Baron would hear none of it. Then on July 6, he was shot down by Captain Douglas Cunnel and 2nd Lieut. Alfred Woolbridge. Though he landed safely, the ace had been wounded by a bullet which grazed his head. He recovered but it gave him headaches for the rest of his days.

After this incident, High Command dispatched von Richthofen on a speaking tour, however, the squadron commander eventually returned to combat as the war became desperate for Germany. That September, he scored his 60th victory in the sky.

Perhaps, Manfred von Richthofen was calculating that he would survive the conflict as many other aces had. He had tangled with the best of the best and prevailed each time. However, his reign of the skies over France would come to an end, but not at the hands of great pilots such as Billy Bishop or Rene Fonck. The Red Baron would meet his match at the hands of a relatively inexperienced 25-year-old Ottawa Valley lad from Carleton Place.