Capt. Roy Brown had ordered the young airman not to engage the enemy, but Lt. Wilfrid B次元官网网址淲opB次元官网网址� May B次元官网网址� a school chum from Edmonton B次元官网网址� couldnB次元官网网址檛 help himself.

It was April 21, 1918 B次元官网网址� a century ago this Saturday B次元官网网址� 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 RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 all-red Fokker triplane closed in from behind for what would have been his 81st kill.

B次元官网网址淏rown saw that his buddy was in trouble,B次元官网网址� says Don Brodeur, BrownB次元官网网址檚 grandson and a retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilot with more than 6,000 hours of flight time in fighter jets.

B次元官网网址淩ichthofen broke some of his own cardinal rules B次元官网网址� He followed May for too long, which is why Brown got on top of him.B次元官网网址�

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.

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

B次元官网网址淭hat aircraft was particularly unstable at high speeds.B次元官网网址�

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 BrownB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址� his 10th.

However, the results from autopsies performed on RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 body raised questions about who fired the fatal shot.

Over the years, some historians and forensics experts have suggested the orientation of RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 wounds indicated the .303-calibre bullet must have been fired from the ground and not from BrownB次元官网网址檚 guns, which fired the same type of ammunition.

B次元官网网址淥ver time, the Australians made a very compelling case for one of their troops on the ground,B次元官网网址� 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.

B次元官网网址�(BrownB次元官网网址檚) flight-path geometry just does not work.B次元官网网址�

However, BrownB次元官网网址檚 grandson disagrees, saying the more plausible explanation is that Brown fired a lucky shot.

B次元官网网址淭here is only one record,B次元官网网址� Brodeur said in an interview from his home in Victoria. B次元官网网址滲oth Canada and the U.K. attribute the shooting down of the Red Baron to Capt. A. Roy Brown. ThatB次元官网网址檚 a fact to this day.B次元官网网址�

As well, Brodeur says his interpretation of what happened B次元官网网址� as seen through the eyes of an experienced fighter pilot B次元官网网址� has led him to conclude RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 aircraft would have been practically inverted for the Australian theory to make sense.

B次元官网网址淚n movies, you see aircraft rolling in a dogfight, but itB次元官网网址檚 a waste of time,B次元官网网址� says Brodeur, who flew several types of jet fighters and was a member of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerobatic squadron.

B次元官网网址淚t looks good in Hollywood films, but itB次元官网网址檚 not something you do in an air-to-air fight.B次元官网网址�

Rob Probert, president of the Roy Brown Historical Society in Carleton Place, says there was nothing to be learned by examining RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 downed plane because it had been damaged by artillery shells and quickly stripped by souvenir hunters.

B次元官网网址淏rown was officially credited with the kill, and 100 years later that still stands,B次元官网网址� Probert says.

B次元官网网址淭he problem here in Canada is that there hasnB次元官网网址檛 been a group championing Roy BrownB次元官网网址檚 story, until our group came along. WeB次元官网网址檙e just trying to make sure the story doesnB次元官网网址檛 get lost over time B次元官网网址� ItB次元官网网址檚 part of the Canadian psyche not to brag about our heroes.B次元官网网址�

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 BrownB次元官网网址檚 superior skills as a pilot and leader, one of the most celebrated aerial battles of the war would never have happened.

B次元官网网址淚 think he was a hero for sure B次元官网网址� he never lost a man under his command,B次元官网网址� says Probert, who is part of a local effort to have a statue of Brown installed across from town hall in Carleton Place.

B次元官网网址淚t canB次元官网网址檛 be refuted that Brown caused this battle to happen.B次元官网网址�

After the dogfight, Brown went to a nearby aircraft hangar to see RichthofenB次元官网网址檚 body.

B次元官网网址淗is face, particularly peaceful, had an expression of gentleness and goodness, of refinement,B次元官网网址� Brown later wrote.

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

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, BrownB次元官网网址檚 legacy is largely muted in Canada.

B次元官网网址淗e didnB次元官网网址檛 really speak about his exploits,B次元官网网址� says Tim Cook, First World War historian at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 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, thereB次元官网网址檚 the sense that Canadians are not always the best at backslapping and elevating their heroes.B次元官网网址�

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

Like us on and follow us on .