This is a list of World War I flying aces who were born in the territory of the present-day Republic of Poland. Poland was not an independent country during World War I, and pilots born there served in several different air forces. They may therefore also appear in other lists of aces. Some of them also fought in the struggles that echoed through Europe in the aftermath of World War I.
This list is incomplete.
Name | Air service(s) | Victories | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Manfred von Richthofen | German Luftstreitkräfte | 80 victories | Leading ace of the war. Pour le Mérite plus 22 other awards. [1] |
Godwin von Brumowski | Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrtruppen | 35 victories | Leading Austro-Hungarian ace. Order of the Iron Crown, Order of Leopold, Medal for Bravery, Military Merit Medal, Iron Cross. [2] |
Frank Linke-Crawford | Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrtruppen | 27 victories | Fourth ranking Austro-Hungarian ace. Order of the Iron Crown. [3] |
Hans-Georg von der Marwitz | German Luftstreitkräfte | 15 victories | Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross [4] |
Dieter Collin | German Luftstreitkräfte | 13 victories | Iron Cross [5] |
Johannes Janzen | German Luftstreitkräfte | 13 victories | Iron Cross [6] |
Erich Rüdiger von Wedel | German Luftstreitkräfte | 13 victories | Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross [7] |
Willi Gabriel | German Luftstreitkräfte | 11 victories | Iron Cross [8] |
Donat Makijonek | Imperial Russian Air Service, Polish Air Force | 8 victories | Cross of Saint George (2nd, 3rd, and 4th Class Awards), Order of Saint Vladimir, Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov), Order of Saint Anne (3rd and 4th Class Awards). [9] |
Hans Schilling | German Luftstreitkräfte | 8 victories | Royal House Order of Hohenzollern [10] |
Alfred Fleischer | German Luftstreitkräfte | 6 victories | Iron Cross First Class. [11] |
Mieczysław Garsztka | German Luftstreitkräfte, Polish Air Force | 6 victories | Iron Cross First and Second Class, Virtuti Militari Fifth Class. [12] |
Tadeusz Grochowalski | Imperial Russian Air Service | 5 victories | [12] |
Wiktor Komorowski | Imperial Russian Air Service | 5 victories | [12] |
Julius Kowalczik | Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrtruppen | 5 victories [13] | |
Antoni Mroczkowski | Imperial Russian Air Service, Polish Air Force | 5 victories | Served in Polish-Soviet War. [12] |
Stefan Peter | Austro-Hungarian Luftfahrtruppen | 5 victories | [12] |
Erich Loewenhardt was a German soldier and military aviator who fought in the First World War and became a fighter ace credited with 54 confirmed aerial victories. Originally enlisting in an infantry regiment even though he was only 17, he fought in the Battle of Tannenberg, winning a battlefield commission on 2 October 1914. He would serve in the Carpathians and on the Italian Front before being medically discharged in mid-1915. Following a five month recuperation, Loewenhardt joined the Imperial German Air Service in 1916. After serving as an aerial observer and reconnaissance pilot, he underwent advanced training to become a fighter pilot with Jagdstaffel 10 in March 1917. Between 24 March 1917 and 10 August 1918, Loewenhardt shot down 45 enemy airplanes, as well as destroying nine observation balloons. Shortly after his final victory, he was killed in a collision with another German pilot.
Leutnant Fritz RumeyPour le Mérite, Golden Military Merit Cross was a German fighter pilot in the First World War, credited with 45 victories. He was one of only five German soldiers who won both of the highest German awards for valor, the Military Merit Cross and the Pour le Mérite.
OberleutnantFritz Otto Bernert 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.
Generalmajor Otto Fruhner MMC, IC, was a German World War I flying ace credited with 27 victories. He was one of the first aviators to parachute from a stricken aircraft.
Leutnant Kurt Wüsthoff was a German fighter ace credited with 27 listed confirmed victories during World War I. Enlisting prewar at age 16 1/2, after learning to fly during the events leading to the war's start, he was posted as a flight instructor until adjudged old enough for combat. He then flew two-seater reconnaissance craft for a year and a half during 1916 and 1917 before training as a fighter pilot in June 1917. Assigned to Jagdstaffel 4, he shot down 24 enemy airplanes and three observation balloons between 15 June 1917 and 10 March 1918. Promoted to command of his squadron on 10 January 1918, he proved immature and plagued by combat stress reaction. Relieved of his post on 16 March 1918 by Manfred von Richthofen, he returned to combat duty with Jagdstaffel 15 in June, only to be shot down and captured on the 17th. He survived the war and a long convalescence, only to die after crashing while performing aerobatics on 18 July 1926. He died of his injuries five days later.
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.
LeutnantMax Näther HOH, IC, was a German World War I ace fighter pilot noted for the destruction of 26 enemy aircraft. He shot down 10 observation balloons and 16 airplanes, including 10 SPAD S.XIII fighters and a Sopwith Dolphin. He died in action at the border of Germany and Poland after the war's end on 8 January 1919.
Hauptmann Otto Hartmann was a German World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.
Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein HOH, Bavaria's MMO was a 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.
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 8 was a fighter squadron of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the Jasta went out of existence along with its parent units shortly after the Armistice ending World War I, its experiences would strongly influence the subsequent Luftwaffe.
Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 22 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 57 verified aerial victories. Their eleven wins over enemy observation balloons made them a balloon buster squadron.
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 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.
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 30, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 30, was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score a minimum of 63 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of twelve killed in action, six wounded in action, and two taken prisoner of war.
OffizierstellvertreterRobert Heibert MMC IC was a German flying ace during World War I. He was credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories; he also had seven unconfirmed claims.