Fritz Otto Bernert

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Otto Bernert
Otto Bernert.jpg
Note that Bernert is hiding his disabled arm.
Born6 March 1893
Ratibor, Upper Silesia German Empire (modern Raciborz, Poland)
Died18 October 1918(1918-10-18) (aged 25)
Ratibor, Upper Silesia
Jerusalem Cemetery
Ratibor, Upper Silesia
Allegiance German Empire
Service/branchInfantry, Air Service
Years of service1912–1918
Rank Oberleutnant
Unit173rd Infantry Regiment;
Flieger-Abteilung 27;
Flieger-Abteilung 71;
Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux;
Jagdstaffel 4 ;
Jagdstaffel 2
Commands held Jagdstaffel 6 ;
Jagdstaffel 2
Awards Pour le Merite
Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords;
Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords;
Iron Cross Second and First Class

Oberleutnant Fritz Otto Bernert (commonly called Otto) (6 March 1893 – 18 October 1918) was a leading German fighter ace of World War I. After being invalided from infantry duty after his fourth wound, Bernert joined the aviation branch. After pilot training, he scored 27 victories between 17 April 1916 and 7 May 1917 despite being essentially one-armed and wearing pince-nez. Among his 15 victories during Bloody April were five scored in 20 minutes on 13 April 1917. He was promoted to squadron command, first of Jagdstaffel 6 , then of Jagdstaffel 2 . Removed from command on 18 August 1918 by wounds and illness, he died of influenza on 18 October 1918.

Contents

Early life and infantry service

Fritz Otto Bernert was the son of a Bürgermeister (mayor). He was born in Ratibor, Silesia, which now is Racibórz, Poland. [1] At the time of his birth, Ratibor was German and part of the Kingdom of Prussia. [2]

Bernert was commissioned into the 173rd Infantry Regiment in 1912. He was serving with them when World War I began. He was wounded in ground combat in both November and December 1914; his fourth wound, inflicted by a bayonet, [3] severed the major nerve in his left arm. Upon recovery, it became apparent his left arm was essentially useless, and he was invalided out of the infantry. [1] [4] [5]

Aerial service

Bernert then applied to the Luftstreitkräfte and trained to be an aerial observer. Upon graduation, he flew reconnaissance missions for Feldflieger Abteilung 27. He then transferred to Feldflieger Abteilung 71, where he served through November. Bernert then applied for pilot's training; he hid his disability successfully and was accepted. [4] The fact that he wore pince-nez also did not bar him from service. [6]

He transferred to Kampfeinsitzerkommando Metz , a temporary grouping of pilots mostly from Feldflieger Abteilung 71, for his initial assignment to a fighter unit. By March, 1916, he had his pilot's license and was assigned to Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux. [4] [7] On 17 April 1916, he scored his first victory while flying a Fokker Eindecker, [8] [9] over a Nieuport fighter. [3]

The ad hoc Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux was equipped with Halberstadt D.II planes and reorganized into a full-fledged permanent Prussian fighter squadron. It became Jagdstaffel 4 on 25 August 1916. [10] On 6 September, Bernert scored the new squadron's first victory. He became an ace on 9 November 1916, scoring his fifth, sixth, and seventh triumphs. [1] [3] [11]

On 1 March 1917, he was transferred to Jagdstaffel 2. [1] This squadron, named in honor of Oswald Boelcke, [12] the founder of fighter aviation tactics and strategy, was considered the premier unit of the German Air Service. [13] Bernert scored his first victory in this unit on 19 March; on 1 April, he achieved the status of double ace with his tenth win. [1]

Bernert continued to shoot down British airplanes during early April 1917. He claimed his 18th and 19th victims on the 11th. [1] Then, rather unusually, he was awarded the Pour le Merite on either 23 [14] or 24 April 1917. [15] [note 1] However, it was on the 24th that he carried off one of the notable aerial feats of the war. On a morning patrol, Bernert managed to shoot one of a enemy patrol of Sopwith 1½ Strutters at 0830 hours, killing the pilot and burning the aircraft. Breaking off combat with the Sopwiths, Bernert next found a formation of Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2es. The three bombers were flying without aerial observers manning their rear guns; their gunners had been left home so more bombs could be loaded. Slower than Bernert's fighter, with no rear defense, they were easy prey for him, and he blasted them from the sky between 0840 and 0845. Two of the unfortunate British pilots were killed, and the third captured after his crash. Then, with fuel and ammunition remaining, Bernert found an Airco DH.4 and shot it down at 0850 hours, killing the observer and wounding the pilot. [16]

Five victories on a single mission was astounding. It had only happened once before, when the bomber crew of Austro-Hungarian aces Julius Arigi and Johann Lasi shot down five Italian assailants on 22 October 1916. [17]

Bernert in command

On 1 May, Bernert was appointed to command Jagdstaffel 6. [9] His final three victories came in May, with an unconfirmed 28th on 19 May. [1] [note 2] In mid-May, Bernert crashlanded behind German lines after his engine quit in mid-combat. A few days later, he landed long, ran out of airfield, and crashed next to his home aerodrome, breaking his jaw and bruising himself severely. Although unable to fly, Bernert did not give up his command. [18]

On 9 June 1917, Bernert was transferred back to Jasta 2, and would command it to the end of his flying career. The previous commanding officer had scored no victories to inspire his pilots; as it turned out, because of his injuries, Bernert could do no better. However, he hosted a delegation of pilots from neutral Sweden. He also welcomed several pilots from Austro-Hungary during his tenure, including Raoul Stojsavljevic, and thus influenced the fighter tactics of Germany's allies. He also took some leave during June and July. [19]

Bernert was severely wounded again on 18 August 1917. This wound was the final straw that took him off flight status and removed him from command. On the 28th, he was transferred to aid the Inspector of the Flying Service. However, he actually spent three months in hospital. He was seriously ill in addition to his wounds. He was also diagnosed with Kriegsmudigkeit (war weariness). [20]

He was promoted to Oberleutnant upon his release from hospital. [4] However, in May 1918, he was back in hospital at a sanitarium, probably with lung problems. As the Spanish flu swept through the German populace, Bernert caught it. He died from influenza in his home town's hospital, on 18 October 1918. [1]

Decorations and awards

Footnote

  1. Customarily, the Pour le Merite was recommended as an award after 20 confirmed victories. Bernert's award was granted only 12 days after his 19th victory, and he may have been recommended for an even lower number, given administrative processing time.
  2. Interestingly, these victories scored while flying with Jagdstaffel 6 were credited to Jagdstaffel 2.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald Boelcke</span> German First World War flying ace

Oswald Boelcke PlM was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air combat as a whole. He was a highly influential mentor, patrol leader, and tactician in the first years of air combat, 1915 and 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Buckler</span> German First World War flying ace

Julius Buckler was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 36 victories during the war. He shot down 29 enemy airplanes and seven observation balloons; two other victories went unconfirmed. He was one of only four German fighter aces to win Germany's highest decorations for valor for both enlisted man and officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef Jacobs</span>

Josef Carl Peter Jacobs PlM, was a German flying ace with 48 victories during the First World War. The victory total of the prewar flier tied him with Werner Voss for fourth place among the war's German aces. His skill in aerial warfare brought him squadron and wing -level commands. By war's end, he was the leading ace flying the Fokker Triplane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Blume (aircraft designer)</span>

Walter Blume was a German fighter ace of World War I. During World War I, he flew with two fighter squadrons, Jagdstaffel 26 and Jagdstaffel 9 gaining 28 aerial victories and earning the Iron Cross, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, and the Pour le Merite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Ritter von Müller</span> German flying ace

Max Ritter von Müller PlM, IC, MOMJ was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 36 victories. He was the highest scoring Bavarian pilot of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Bolle (flying ace)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdstaffel 2</span> Military unit

Jasta 2 was one of the best-known German Luftstreitkräfte Squadrons in World War I. Its first commanding officer was the great aerial tactician Oswald Boelcke, and it was the incubator of several notable aviation careers.

Paul Billik was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduard Ritter von Dostler</span>

Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von DostlerPlM, MOMJ was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 26 victories. On three consecutive assignments during World War I, Dostler was entrusted with the combat leadership of German jagdstaffeln.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm Frankl</span> German flying ace (1893–1917)

Wilhelm Frankl, Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He scored his first aerial victory with a carbine on 10 May 1915, before the Fokker Eindecker, the world's first dedicated fighter airplane, came into use. Once Frankl was equipped with an Eindecker, he became part of Germany's air superiority offensive, the Fokker Scourge, shooting down eight more enemy airplanes. He became one of the first eight aces in Germany's service, and one of its first winners of the prestigious Pour le Merite. As such, he was appointed to lead one of the world's first fighter squadrons, Jagdstaffel 4. Although he died fighting for Germany on 8 April 1917, in later years the Nazis would ignore his wartime conversion to Christianity, and expunge his heroic record because he was Jewish.

Leutnant Ernst Hess HOH IC was a World War I flying ace credited with 17 confirmed and four unconfirmed aerial victories. Hess was one of a few World War I pilots involved in aviation prewar, as he gained his civil pilot's license on 26 September 1913. He was already enrolled in Die Fliegertruppen of the Imperial German Army when World War I began. He qualified for his military pilot's license on 21 November 1914, and was launched on his flying career as one of Germany's first fighter pilots. He would score his first aerial victory in tandem with Oswald Boelcke on 5 January 1916. He would rotate through four assignments before scoring a dozen victories within July–September 1917 while flying an Albatros D.Va for Jagdstaffel 28. On 19 September 1917, he was promoted to command of Jagdstaffel 19. He had just been appointed to command of a Jagdgruppe being formed by Germany's First Army when he was killed in combat on 23 December 1917.

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.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 was a fighter squadron of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn from First Army. It was one of the first wave of dedicated fighter squadrons founded as a result of Oswald Boelcke's espousal of massing fighter air power. Leopold Reimann scored the first of its 138 aerial victories two days later. It served on the Western Front until September 1917, transferred directly to the Italian Front to serve until March 1918, then returned to France for the rest of the war.

Ernst Freiherr von Althaus was a German flying ace in World War I, credited with nine confirmed aerial victories, as well as eight unconfirmed ones. He was one of the original Fokker Eindekker pilots who became known collectively as the Fokker Scourge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdstaffel 15</span> Military unit

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 15, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 15, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score over 150 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of seven killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, three wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident, and two taken prisoner of war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdstaffel 12</span> Military unit

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 was a World War I "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 155 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of seventeen killed in action, eight wounded in action, and one taken prisoner of war.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 17 was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 101 aerial victories during the war, with another 22 of the squadron's claims going unconfirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdstaffel 26</span> Military unit

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 26 was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 177 verified aerial victories, including four observation balloons destroyed. The Jasta would pay a bloody price for its success: five pilots killed in action, nine wounded in action, and one prisoner of war.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 36, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 36, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 123 confirmed aerial victories during the war, including 11 enemy observation balloons. In turn, they would suffer 13 killed in action, 15 wounded in action, two injured in flying accidents, and two taken prisoner of war.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Franks, Bailey & Guest (1993), p. 70.
  2. "The history of Racibórz". Town of Racibórz. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  3. 1 2 3 The Aerodrome webpage on Bernert Retrieved on 4 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Who's Who: Fritz Bernert". FirstWorldWar.com. 2002-02-09. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  5. VanWyngarden (2006), p. 78.
  6. VanWyngarden (2007), p. 30.
  7. VanWyngarden (2006), p. 77.
  8. Franks (2000), p. 15.
  9. 1 2 "Jasta 6". The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of World War I. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  10. "Jasta 4". The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of World War I. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  11. VanWyngarden (2006), p. 81.
  12. "Jasta 2". The Aerodrome: Aces and Aircraft of World War I. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  13. VanWyngarden (2007), p. 105.
  14. VanWyngarden (2007), pp. 38–39.
  15. "Air Pour le Merite Winners: Air Service Awards During World War I". PourleMerite.org. Archived from the original on 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  16. Hart (2005), pp. 225–226.
  17. O'Connor 1994, pp. 190–191, 272, 324.
  18. VanWyngarden (2007), p. 47.
  19. VanWyngarden (2007), pp. 47–48, 51.
  20. VanWyngarden (2007), p. 54.

Bibliography