Kurt Ungewitter

Last updated
Kurt Ungewitter
Born13 November 1891
Elberfeld, German Empire
Died14 March 1927(1927-03-14) (aged 35)
AllegianceGermany
Service/branchAviation ( Luftstreitkräfte )
Years of service1913 - ca 1918
Rank Vizefeldwebel
Unit Schutzstaffel 5 (Protection Squadron 5), Jagdstaffel 24 (Fighter Squadron 24)
Awards Iron Cross (both classes)

Vizefeldwebel Kurt Ungewitter was a German test pilot for Rumpler Flugzeugwerke and Albatros Flugzeugwerke , aircraft manufacturers in 1913. During World War I, he became a flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. [1] He died in a postwar flying accident on 14 March 1927.

Contents

Biography

Kurt Ungewitter was born in Elberfeld on 13 November 1891. He had an early interest in aviation; he learned to fly in 1913 and became a test pilot for two German aircraft companies, Albatros and Rumpler until the start of the First World War. [2] On 27 February 1914, just before the First World War began, he qualified for pilot certificate No. 683. [3]

His assignments and actions in the early days of the war are unknown; however, he was still a Gefreiter when assigned to Schutzstaffel 5 (Protection squadron 5) in 1917. [2]

On 3 January 1918, Ungewitter flew a DFW C.V that attacked a British aerial photography mission flown by Keith Park and his observer. The latter, Lieutenant John Henry Robertson, fired a burst of machine gun fire into the German two-seater, which dropped away in a sharp dive. The British air crew submitted a combat report claiming a "driven down out of control" victory. It was confirmed. [4] Ungewitter also submitted a combat report claiming victory over Park and Robertson. It was denied. [2]

However, flying with Vizefeldwebel Meinke as the aerial observer manning the guns in the rear seat, Ungewitter and Meinke scored two confirmed aerial victories in early 1918, on 9 January and 18 February. Ungewitter was awarded both the Second Class and First Class Iron Cross. [2]

He was subsequently promoted, first to Unteroffizier , then to Vizefeldwebel. Though there is no mention of Ungewitter receiving the usual advanced training at Jastaschule (Fighter School), on 6 June 1918 he left Flug Park 18 (Flight Park 18) on a posting to a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 24 . At 1940 hours on 27 June, he scored his first single-seater victory when he destroyed an observation balloon over Saint Just. [2]

Ungewitter would not score again until 23 September 1918, when he downed a Bristol F.2b Fighter at 1725 hours over Levergies. He would destroy a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 on morning sorties on both 3 and 8 October. A final victory over Sopwith Dolphin number C8165 from No. 87 Squadron RAF on 4 November 1918, just one week before the war ended, brought his total to seven victories. [2]

Kurt Ungewitter was killed in a flying accident on 14 March 1927. [2]

Endnotes

  1. ↑ "Kurt Ungewitter".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Franks et al 1993, p. 222.
  3. ↑ German pilot's license listing, certificates 601-817.
  4. ↑ Guttman 2007, p. 16.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georges Guynemer</span> French World War I flying ace

Georges Guynemer was the second highest-scoring French fighter ace with 54 victories during World War I, and a French national hero at the time of his death. Guynemer's death was a profound shock to France.

<i>Luftstreitkräfte</i> Air arm of the Imperial German Army

The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte —known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches —was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, although that is not a literal translation of either name. German naval aviators of the Marine-Fliegerabteilung were an integral part of the Imperial German Navy. Both military branches operated aeroplanes, observation balloons and airships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Emil Schäfer</span>

Karl Emil Schäfer was a German pilot during World War I; he became one of the major German flying aces of the war, with 30 confirmed aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Kissenberth</span>

Otto Kissenberth was a German flying ace of World War I credited with 20 aerial victories. He was a prewar mechanical engineer who joined the German air service in 1914. After being trained and after serving as a reconnaissance pilot, he became one of the first German fighter pilots, flying with Kampfeinsitzerkommando KEK Einsisheim. He scored six victories with this unit as it morphed into a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 16. His success brought him command of Jagdstaffel 23 on 4 August 1917. He would run his victory tally to 20, downing his final victim using a captured British Sopwith Camel on 20 May 1918. Nine days later, a crash while flying the Camel ended Kissenberth's combat career. His injuries were severe enough he was not returned to combat, instead being assigned to command Schleissheim's flying school. Although Otto Kissenberth survived the war, he died soon after in a mountaineering accident on 2 August 1919.

<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">Otto Höhne</span> German flying ace

Leutnant Otto Paul Wilhelm Höhne was a German World War I flying ace credited with six confirmed aerial victories. Höhne was a pioneer ace; he was the first pilot to score a victory while flying the Albatros D.1. During World War II he was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Adjutant Paul Armand Petit was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories, at least four of which were observation balloons.

Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein HOH, Bavaria's MMO was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.

LeutnantWilhelm Anton Seitz was a German World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories. He scored those victories over a two-year span, beginning on 17 November 1916 and ending on 4 November 1918.

Offiziersstellvertreter Edmund Nathanael was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. He flew both two-seater reconnaissance aircraft and single-seater fighter craft. He scored all his victories while flying for Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, and received a rare award of the House Order of Hohenzollern for his valor. He was killed in action while serving the German Empire.

LeutnantPaul Strähle was a German World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial victory standards of World War I</span> Aspect of History

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.

Oberst Paul Aue was a World War I flying ace from the Kingdom of Saxony in the German Empire. Partial records of his early aviation career credit him with 10 aerial victories. He would join the nascent Luftwaffe during the 1930s and serve Germany through World War II. He died in a Russian prison camp in 1945.

Leutnant Adolf Schulte IC was a German World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. His short gallant career would end in a fatal midair crash with his enemies.

Oberleutnant Walter Ewers was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.

LeutnantHermann Habich (1895–?) was one of the original pilots in the Imperial German Air Service, having earned his brevet two months before World War I began. He is noted for having killed French aviation pioneer Roland Garros. Habich scored seven victories in all, becoming a flying ace. He joined the Luftwaffe in the 1930s and served in World War II.

References

ISBN   1846032016, 9781846032011.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.