Franz Hemer

Last updated
Franz Hemer
Nickname(s)"Locken"
Born1894
Died18 October 1982
Frankfurt, Germany
AllegianceGermany
Service/branchAviation
Rank Leutnant
UnitFlieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) (Flier Detachment (Artillery)) 283;
Jagdstaffel 6 (Fighter Squadron 6)
Awards Royal House Order of Hohenzollern;
Iron Cross

Leutnant Franz Hemer was a World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories. [1]

Contents

Biography

Hemer was originally a talented concert cellist. His long curly blonde hair sparked his nickname of "Locken". [2]

Hemer served with FA(A) 283 before he was posted to Jasta 6 on 10 September 1917. He scored his first victory on 27 October 1917, when he shot down an RE.8. He scored once more in 1917, on 12 November. [1] He was then assigned a Fokker Dr. 1. He had a wavery yellow line painted the length of the fuselage, symbolizing the wavy locks of hair that gave him the nickname "Locken". [3]

By the end of March 1918, he became an ace. He scored at least five more victories with the triplane before upgrading to a Fokker D.VII. He scored his last win on 8 August 1918. The following day, he was wounded in action when his Fokker D.VII was shot down during a dogfight with RAF DH.9s of No. 49 Squadron RAF supported by Sopwith Camels. While convalescing, he was commissioned a Leutnant . However, he apparently did not return to flight duty before the war's end. [2]

Later he became managing Director of König & Bruder in Leipzig, head office in Vienna, an old fur trading company. [4]

Franz Hemer died on 18 October 1982 in Frankfurt. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Franz Hemer". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 2019-09-14.
  2. 1 2 'Richthofen's Circus': Jagdgeschwader. Bloomsbury USA. 2004. ISBN   978-1-84176-726-0.
  3. 1 2 Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918, pp. 126-127
  4. Manes, Philipp (1941). Die deutsche Pelzindustrie und ihre Verbände 1900–1940, Versuch einer Geschichte (in German). Vol. 4. Berlin. p. 336.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Sources

Further reading

'Richthofen's Circus': Jagdgeschwader. Bloomsbury USA. 2004. ISBN   978-1-84176-726-0.