Introduced over the western front in August 1917, the Fokker Triplane soon became the favorite plane of Germany’s greatest World War 1 ace, Baron Manfield von Richthofen. After scoring numerous aerial victories, von Richthofen was shot down in a triplane on April 21, 1981 and generally credited to Captain Roy Brown of the RAF. Others claim that von Richthofen was shot down by ground fire.