A German air ace who claimed 33 victories, and was awarded the Pour le Merite on 23 December, 1917. He began his war in the army but transferred to the Air Service in 1915. He did the normal apprenticeship in reconnaissance and bombers before graduating to fighters in April 1917. He was wounded on several occasions but always came back to add to his list of victories. However in April 1918 he was badly shot up, and though he managed to land his plane in great pain, that was the effective end of his flying. He lost his left eye and a bullet lodged in his nose. He had recovered sufficiently by WWII though, where he served mainly in the Luftwaffe, commanding night fighter squadrons in Scandinavia. After surviving both world wars, he died of a heart attack in 1946.
A German air ace who claimed 33 victories, and was awarded the Pour le Merite on 23 December, 1917. He began his war in the army but transferred to the Air Service in 1915. He did the normal apprenticeship in reconnaissance and bombers before graduating to fighters in April 1917. He was wounded on several occasions but always came back to add to his list of victories. However in April 1918 he was badly shot up, and though he managed to land his plane in great pain, that was the effective end of his flying. He lost his left eye and a bullet lodged in his nose. He had recovered sufficiently by WWII though, where he served mainly in the Luftwaffe, commanding night fighter squadrons in Scandinavia. After surviving both world wars, he died of a heart attack in 1946.
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