Hans Rolfes

Last updated
Hans Rolfes
Born18 April 1894
Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony
Died12 August 1935 (1935-08-13) (aged 41)
Johannisthal Air Field, Berlin, Germany
AllegianceFlag of the German Empire.svg  Germany
Service/branchAviation
Rank Leutnant
UnitFliegerersatz-Abteilung 2 (Replacement Detachment 2);
Kagohl 2 (Tactical Bomber Wing 2);
Kampfstaffel 11 (Tactical Bomber Squadron 11);
Jagdstaffel 32 (Fighter Squadron 32)
Commands held Jagdstaffel 45 (Fighter Squadron 45);
Jagdgruppe Ost
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsKnight's Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern;
Iron Cross First and Second Class

Hans Joachim Rolfes was a German World War I flying ace credited with 17 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories. He scored his first confirmed victory while with Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 32 , on 6 July 1917. His second and subsequent victories were while leading Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 45 during the first nine months of 1918. [1] On 29 September 1918, he was additionally given command of a four squadron wing. Rolfes died in an aviation accident on 12 August 1935.

Contents

Biography

Early life and cavalry service

On 18 April 1894, Hans Joachim Rolfes was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. His father was the German Consul there. Rolfes began his education in local schools before being sent to London to study. [2]

In 1912, he went home to Germany to enlist in the 14th Dragoon Regiment. He was still with them when they moved to the front as the First World War began. On 24 December 1914, he was commissioned as a Leutnant . Serving as such, he was badly wounded on 31 August 1915. [2]

Aviation career

As he recovered, he requested transfer to aviation duty. After pilot training with Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 2 (Replacement Detachment 2), he was posted to Kagohl 2 (Tactical Bomber Wing 2) on 5 October 1915. As Kagohl 2 was composed of several different squadrons based separately, Rolfes flew on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. At some point, he transferred to Kampfstaffel 11 (Tactical Bomber Squadron 11); there he claimed an unconfirmed victory over a French Voisin. On 20 February 1917, he was transferred to a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 32 . He scored his first accredited aerial victory while flying with them, shooting down a Farman over Moronvillers, France on 6 July 1917. [2]

Rolfe's final mount was a Fokker D.VII. Captured Fokker D.VII in 1919.jpg
Rolfe's final mount was a Fokker D.VII.
On three occasions, a Breguet 14 was Rolfe's victim. Breguet 14 (14217556240).jpg
On three occasions, a Breguet 14 was Rolfe's victim.

On 17 December 1917, he was appointed to form a new fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 45 . He began scoring victories with them on 20 January 1918, running off a string of 16 more confirmed victories and an unconfirmed one. [2] In July 1918 or early August, he was re-equipped with a Fokker D.VII. [3] On 29 September 1918, he shot down his 17th and last confirmed victim. That was also the day the German High Command decided to combine his squadron with Jagdstaffeln 9, 21, and 66 to form Jagdgruppe Ost. Rolfes was given command of the Jagdgruppe in addition to commanding his own squadron. By war's end, he had been awarded the House Order of Hohenzollern, as well as both classes of the Iron Cross. [2]

List of victories

Confirmed victories listed in date order. Unconfirmed claims are marked 'u/c'. Doubled lines in table indicate change of assignment.

No.DateTimeAircraftResultLocationNotes
'u/c'17 February 1917 Voisin Forced to landClaimed while with Kasta 11
16 July 19171320 hours Farman Destroyed.MoronvillersOnly claim with Jasta 32
220 January 19181510 hours Nieuport Destroyed Chattancourt, FranceFirst victory with Jasta 45
316 March 19181250 hours Observation balloon DestroyedFort Marre
417 March 19180710 hours SPAD Destroyed Malancourt, France
56 May 19181700 hours Breguet 14 Destroyed Pimprez, France
64 June 19181640 hoursSPADDestroyedCoulcombs
720 June 1918 Salmson 2A2 DestroyedChezy, France
84 July 1918Breguet 14Destroyed Villers Cotterets, France
914 August 19181340 hoursSPADDestroyed Branges, France
1020 August 19181250 hoursBreguet 14Destroyed Crecy-au-Mont, France
1129 August 1918SPADDestroyed Fismes, France
12 and 132 September 19181600 and 1605 hoursTwo SPAD 2sDestroyedMagneux, France
144 September 19181400 hoursSPADDestroyedNorth of Fismes, France
15 and 166 September 19181635 and 1645 hoursSalmson 2A2; observation balloonDestroyedMagneux, France
'u/c'14 September 1918 SPAD S.11 Blanzy, France
1729 September 19181900 hoursBF.2bDestroyed Masnieres, France [1] [4]

Postwar

Hans Joachim Rolfes died in an aviation accident at Johannisthal Air Field, just outside Berlin, on 12 August 1935. [2]

Sources of information

  1. 1 2 The Aerodrome website Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918, pp. 190-191
  3. Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2, p. 66
  4. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918, p. 191

Related Research Articles

<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">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">Heinrich Kroll</span> German World War I flying ace

OberleutnantHenrich Claudius Kroll Pour le Merite, Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Saxony's Albert Order Knight Second Class with Swords, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 33 victories.

Leutnant Georg von Hantelmann was a German fighter ace credited with winning 25 victories during World War I. It was notable that these victories included three opposing aces shot down within the same week in September 1918–David Putnam, Maurice Boyau, and Joseph Wehner.

Leutnant Georg Meyer was a German World War I fighter ace credited with confirmed victories over six enemy observation balloons and 18 enemy aircraft.

Friedrich Altemeier was a German World War I flying ace credited with 21 confirmed aerial victories. Due to his distinguished faithful military service and piloting skills, he became one of the test pilots for Germany's last and best fighter airplane of the war, the Fokker D.VIII.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Schmidt (aviator)</span>

Doctor OberleutnantOtto Schmidt HOH, IC was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories, including eight against enemy observation balloons. He commanded three different jagdstaffeln (squadrons) as well as a jagdgruppe.

Leutnant Peter August Burkard was a German World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.

Leutnant Friedrich von Mallinckrodt was a German World War I test pilot and flying ace credited with six aerial victories.

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.

LeutnantRudolf Klimke IC was a German World War flying ace credited with 17 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories. Serving initially as a bomber pilot, his aggressiveness in bombing England, and in shooting down a couple of enemy airplanes got him reassigned to a fighter squadron. After a string of a dozen victories during 1918, he was wounded in action on 21 September 1918.

Leutnant Johannes Klein was a German World War I flying ace credited with 16 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories. He should not be confused with another Johannes Klein, who was actually the driver for and present during the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Stark</span>

Lieutenant Rudolf Stark was a World War I flying ace credited with eleven confirmed and five unconfirmed aerial victories.

Leutnant Franz Brandt was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten confirmed aerial victories, as well as three unconfirmed claims.

Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 21 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 148 verified aerial victories, including at least 30 destructions of enemy observation balloons.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 33 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 a minimum of 46 verified aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagdstaffel 32</span> Group within the Imperial German Army

Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 32, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 32, was a "hunting group" of the German Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 41 aerial victories during the war, including four enemy observation balloons. In turn, they would suffer the expense of eight killed in action, five killed in flying accidents, four wounded in action, two injured in accidents, and one taken prisoner of war.

General-major Hans-Eberhardt Gandert was a German professional soldier who began his 33-year military career in 1912. He learned to fly in the early days of World War I, went on to become a flying ace credited with eight aerial victories, including killing British ace Edwin Benbow, and ended the war in command of a fighter group. In the wake of Germany's defeat, he would serve in the German Army until 1934. He would then transfer into the newly established Luftwaffe and serve in increasingly responsible posts until mid-World War II. He retired on 28 February 1945.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 49, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 49, was a jagdstaffel of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron scored 28 aerial victories during the war, including at least one observation balloon. The unit's victories came at the expense of one pilot killed in action and three wounded in action.

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 51, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 51, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score over 24 aerial victories during the war. The unit's victories came at the expense of 10 killed in action, two killed in a mid-air collision, two wounded in action, one injured in an aviation accident, and two taken prisoner of war. A member of this unit was Friedrich Karl Florian Nazi Gauleiter of Düsseldorf, Germany.

References