Capt. Roy Brown had ordered the young airman not to engage the enemy, but Lt. Wilfrid 91裸聊视频淲op91裸聊视频� May 91裸聊视频� a school chum from Edmonton 91裸聊视频� couldn91裸聊视频檛 help himself.

It was April 21, 1918 91裸聊视频� a century ago this Saturday 91裸聊视频� and the two Canadians in their canvas-covered Sopwith Camel biplanes were about to match wits with the deadliest ace of the First World War, Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron.

As the engines of primitive German and British warplanes snarled in the skies over the Somme River in northern France, May joined the fight, only to have his guns jam as Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 all-red Fokker triplane closed in from behind for what would have been his 81st kill.

91裸聊视频淏rown saw that his buddy was in trouble,91裸聊视频� says Don Brodeur, Brown91裸聊视频檚 grandson and a retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilot with more than 6,000 hours of flight time in fighter jets.

91裸聊视频淩ichthofen broke some of his own cardinal rules 91裸聊视频� He followed May for too long, which is why Brown got on top of him.91裸聊视频�

As May flew fast and low over the French countryside, skimming over the scars left by trenches and bomb craters, Brown pitched his plane into a dive and aimed his machine-guns at Richthofen, firing bursts at long range.

91裸聊视频�(Brown) wound that Camel up to 190 miles an hour, which was no mean feat,91裸聊视频� says David Bashow, editor of the Canadian Military Journal and a retired lieutenant-colonel who served 36 years with the RCAF.

91裸聊视频淭hat aircraft was particularly unstable at high speeds.91裸聊视频�

What happened next has long been the subject of an intense debate, even as the world marks the 100th anniversary of the storied dogfight.

May escaped as Richthofen broke off to the right to avoid Brown91裸聊视频檚 blasts and rising terrain, but that manoeuvre brought him within range of Australian Corps machine-guns on the ground.

Soon after Brown fired on the scarlet fighter aircraft, Richthofen crashed in a sugar-beet field, where he died from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was 25.

The Royal Air Force credited the 24-year-old Canadian, originally from Carleton Place, Ont., with the combat victory 91裸聊视频� his 10th.

However, the results from autopsies performed on Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 body raised questions about who fired the fatal shot.

Over the years, some historians and forensics experts have suggested the orientation of Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 wounds indicated the .303-calibre bullet must have been fired from the ground and not from Brown91裸聊视频檚 guns, which fired the same type of ammunition.

91裸聊视频淥ver time, the Australians made a very compelling case for one of their troops on the ground,91裸聊视频� says Bashow, an associate professor at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont., and a former fighter pilot who logged 2,400 hours in the supersonic CF-104 Starfighter.

91裸聊视频�(Brown91裸聊视频檚) flight-path geometry just does not work.91裸聊视频�

However, Brown91裸聊视频檚 grandson disagrees, saying the more plausible explanation is that Brown fired a lucky shot.

91裸聊视频淭here is only one record,91裸聊视频� Brodeur said in an interview from his home in Victoria. 91裸聊视频滲oth Canada and the U.K. attribute the shooting down of the Red Baron to Capt. A. Roy Brown. That91裸聊视频檚 a fact to this day.91裸聊视频�

As well, Brodeur says his interpretation of what happened 91裸聊视频� as seen through the eyes of an experienced fighter pilot 91裸聊视频� has led him to conclude Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 aircraft would have been practically inverted for the Australian theory to make sense.

91裸聊视频淚n movies, you see aircraft rolling in a dogfight, but it91裸聊视频檚 a waste of time,91裸聊视频� says Brodeur, who flew several types of jet fighters and was a member of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic squadron.

91裸聊视频淚t looks good in Hollywood films, but it91裸聊视频檚 not something you do in an air-to-air fight.91裸聊视频�

Rob Probert, president of the Roy Brown Historical Society in Carleton Place, says there was nothing to be learned by examining Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 downed plane because it had been damaged by artillery shells and quickly stripped by souvenir hunters.

91裸聊视频淏rown was officially credited with the kill, and 100 years later that still stands,91裸聊视频� Probert says.

91裸聊视频淭he problem here in Canada is that there hasn91裸聊视频檛 been a group championing Roy Brown91裸聊视频檚 story, until our group came along. We91裸聊视频檙e just trying to make sure the story doesn91裸聊视频檛 get lost over time 91裸聊视频� It91裸聊视频檚 part of the Canadian psyche not to brag about our heroes.91裸聊视频�

Appropriately, the society will gather Saturday in Carleton Place, to fete the man they say brought down the Red Baron.

Regardless of who fired the fatal shot, one thing is for certain: Were it not for Brown91裸聊视频檚 superior skills as a pilot and leader, one of the most celebrated aerial battles of the war would never have happened.

91裸聊视频淚 think he was a hero for sure 91裸聊视频� he never lost a man under his command,91裸聊视频� says Probert, who is part of a local effort to have a statue of Brown installed across from town hall in Carleton Place.

91裸聊视频淚t can91裸聊视频檛 be refuted that Brown caused this battle to happen.91裸聊视频�

After the dogfight, Brown went to a nearby aircraft hangar to see Richthofen91裸聊视频檚 body.

91裸聊视频淗is face, particularly peaceful, had an expression of gentleness and goodness, of refinement,91裸聊视频� Brown later wrote.

91裸聊视频淪uddenly I felt miserable, desperately unhappy, as if I had committed an injustice. With a feeling of shame, a kind of anger against myself 91裸聊视频� I could no longer look him in the face. I went away. I did not feel like a victor 91裸聊视频� If he had been my dearest friend, I could not have felt greater sorrow.91裸聊视频�

Brown, who was in poor health and complained of being on the verge of a nervous breakdown, was later transferred to a flight training unit. He was badly injured in a crash on July 5, 1918, when his engine quit soon after takeoff.

Unlike Richthofen, whose martyrdom continues to be commemorated in books, movies and, of course, the perennial Peanuts cartoon, Brown91裸聊视频檚 legacy is largely muted in Canada.

91裸聊视频淗e didn91裸聊视频檛 really speak about his exploits,91裸聊视频� says Tim Cook, First World War historian at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 have a whole lot of military heroes from the past who still resonate today. It has something to do with our national character. It has something to do with how we view war and peace. And, perhaps, there91裸聊视频檚 the sense that Canadians are not always the best at backslapping and elevating their heroes.91裸聊视频�

Brown moved to Stouffville, Ont., after the war. He died of a heart attack in 1944 at the age of 50.

He is buried in Toronto, but his grave remained unmarked until a few years ago.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press

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