Abstract
Angelo Joseph Russo was born May 20, 1919, in Chicago, and died December 20, 1999, in Deltona, Florida. On October 16, 1940, he registered with his local Draft Board in Bronx County, New York. At the time of his registration, he stood 5’8” and weighed 119 pounds. Beyond that bare minimum of information, we know nothing more of the man himself except that he had accumulated an extraordinary collection of World War I material, including photographs of German, French, English, American, and Portuguese aviators during the First World War. The proof of his expertise was his preparation of a biography of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, and his “circus” of aviators. Russo’s album/history, titled The Red Knight of Germany, included a lengthy biography and was accompanied by photos. The Division of Special Collections in Morris Library. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, purchased Russo’s collection from Charles Apfelbaum, Rare Manuscripts and Archives, located at 551 Ridge Road in Watchung, New Jersey, on February 17, 2003. Beyond that, there is little information about Mr. Russo except for several letters he sent to Neal W. O’Connor, president of the Foundation for Aviation World War I, located in Princeton, New Jersey. The purpose of this correspondence suggests that Russo was seeking a publisher for his album/history, but ultimately failed to find one.
In preparing the Russo manuscript with the intent to publish, I found it necessary at times to provide the reader with additional information on persons, aeroplanes, equipment, battles, places, etc. through footnotes. Most significantly, however, was the challenge of discerning Russo’s own words from other material he chose to include in the manuscript. Unfortunately, I found that he had taken extensive sections from sources that at the time were protected by copyright. This created a problem of considerable proportions as it prevented me from reproducing the manuscript in its original form as I had once intended.
Fearing that the entire project was lost, I remembered that Russo accompanied his history with a large collection of photographs that he had gathered over a period of twenty years. They, too, were of an indeterminate origin. What I have chosen to do is offer a selection of Russo’s photographs in combination with my own narrative and a selection of stories and first-hand accounts that are in the public domain for which I have edited. My particular focus is on what the French called the Avions de Chasse, or Avions de Combat; the British called a scout, chaser, or pursuit machine, and the Americans called a combat machine. Simply put, this is a story of the single-seater fighter machines and the men who flew them. It is the history of the knights of World War I aviation and the folklore surrounding the manner in which they fought—alone and trusting in their own skill.
Collection of photographs
Recommended Citation
Haller, John S. "The Knights of World War One." (Nov 2026).