Christian Donhauser | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 9 September 1894 |
| Died | 13 January 1919 (aged 24) Coblenz, Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire |
| Service/ | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Rank | Leutnant |
| Unit | Flieger-Abteilung 10; Jagdstaffel 17 |
| Awards | Military Merit Cross; Iron Cross |
Leutnant Hans Christian Friedrich Donhauser was a German World War I flying ace credited with 19 aerial victories.
Hans Christian Friedrich Donhauser was born in Harburg on 9 September 1894. [1] He preferred use of the first name Christian. [2]
Donhauser began his flying career as a pilot in a photo reconnaissance and artillery direction unit, Feldflieger Abteilung (Field Flier Detachment) 10. [2] He scored his first victory on 18 May 1918, while he was flying artillery spotting missions. On 13 June 1918, he received the Iron Cross First Class after being wounded in action. [3] He then volunteered to fly fighter aircraft and underwent training at Jastaschule (fighter school) No. 1. After his graduation and posting to Jasta 17 as a Feldwebel in July 1918, he rapidly ran up a score. His second victory was on 20 August 1918; by the end of the month, his count was nine. He won twice more in September, and scored eight triumphs in October, with the last one on 23 October, just over two months after joining the jagdstaffel. [1] On 9 October 1918, he was awarded the Military Merit Cross, which was the highest Prussian decoration for valor awarded to noncommissioned officers. [2] [4] At war's end, Donhauser was in the first detachment of German pilots to surrender their aircraft. [1]
On 30 December 1918, Donhauser was the subject of an article in the New York Times. It noted that he claimed to have shot down and killed Quentin Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's son. It also stated that at 94 pounds, he was the smallest aviator in the German air force. [5]
Donhauser remained in military service in the diminished postwar Reichswehr . He was promoted to the officer's ranks as a Leutnant. While visiting Coblenz, he died in an airplane crash on 13 January 1919. [1] [2]
LeutnantKarl Allmenröder was a German World War I flying ace credited with 30 aerial victories. The medical student son of a preacher father was seasoned in the trenches as an 18-year-old artilleryman in the early days of the First World War, earning promotion via battlefield commission to Leutnant on 30 March 1915. After transferring to aviation and serving some time as an artillery spotter in two-seater reconnaissance airplanes, he transferred to flying fighter aircraft with Jagdstaffel 11 in November 1916. As Manfred von Richthofen's protege, Karl Allmenröder scored the first of his 30 confirmed victories on 16 February 1917. Flying a scarlet Albatros D.III trimmed out with white nose and elevators, Allmenröder would score a constant string of aerial victories until 26 June 1917, the day before his death. On 27 June 1917, Karl Allmenröder fell to his death near Zillebeke, Belgium. His posthumous legacy of patriotic courage would later be abused as propaganda by the Nazis.
Rittmeister Carl Bolle, PlM, MMC, HOH, IC, was a fighter ace with 36 aerial victories during World War I. He became a Jagdstaffel commander during that war, and an advisor to the Luftwaffe during World War II.
Emil Thuy, Pour le Merite, Württemberg's Order of Military Merit, House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was one of the leading German fighter aces of World War I, with 35 victories. After the war, he was an adviser to the Finnish air force and was involved in the secret origins of the Luftwaffe within the Soviet Union.
LeutnantOtto Könnecke PLM, MMC, HoH, IC, was a leading German fighter ace of World War I with 35 victories. He was one of only five pilots to receive Germany's highest decorations for both enlisted pilot and officer. He later became one of the founding pilots of Deutsche Luft Hansa and assisted in development of the new Luftwaffe.
Walter Kuno Reinhold Gustav von Bülow-Bothkamp, Pour le Merite, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories. After entering World War I as a hussar, he transferred to the Imperial German Air Service. Although flying a reconnaissance airplane, he managed to down two enemy planes in France in October 1915. He was then transferred to Palestine for 1916; he scored two more victories there. He returned to the Western Front to join Jagdstaffel 18, a fighter squadron. After shooting down nine more enemy planes, he was transferred to command Jagdstaffel 36. He would run his score to 25 enemy airplanes shot down and three observation balloons destroyed by 2 December 1917. He received Germany's highest award for valor, the Pour le Merite, on 8 October 1917. He was also transferred to a more prestigious command, Jagdstaffel 2, on 13 December 1917. On 6 January 1918, he was killed in action.
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LeutnantHans Martin Pippart Iron Cross was a pioneer aircraft manufacturer and early pilot. As a World War I German fighter ace he was credited with 22 victories.
Leutnant August Hanko was a German World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.
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Leutnant Heinrich Henkel was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.
LeutnantWalter Böning was a German World War I flying ace from the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg credited with 17 aerial victories. He began his World War I military service as an infantryman. He distinguished himself by winning both the Gold Medal for Bravery and the Second Class Iron Cross. He then transferred to aviation duty, training originally as a reconnaissance pilot before advancing to become a fighter pilot. Between 6 April 1917 and 30 May 1918, he was credited with 17 aerial victories. On 31 May 1918, he survived a midair collision while being attacked by British fighters. Although he coaxed his damaged machine home, the serious leg wound he had suffered sidelined him through war's end.
LeutnantHans Böhning, Iron Cross, was a German World War flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories. He served the German Empire first as an artilleryman, then as an aerial observer for artillery, as a fighter pilot, and finally as the Staffelführer of a fighter squadron.
Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein HOH, Bavaria's MMO was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.
LeutnantKarl Odebrett was a German World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.
Vizefeldwebel Karl Bohnenkamp was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. He scored his first victory on 21 September 1917 and continued through 28 October 1918. His 15 victories made him the leading ace in his squadron. He was awarded the Military Merit Cross on the latter date.
LeutnantAlbert Dossenbach was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.
Oskar Hennrich was a German World War I flying ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He was a notable balloon buster, as thirteen of his wins were destructions of observation balloons. He was the leading ace of his squadron, and ended his service with the rank of Vizefeldwebel.
Leutnant Leopold Anslinger was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories while flying on the Russian Front.
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