Erich Loewenhardt
Erich Loewenhardt (born April 7, 1897 in Breslau ; † August 10, 1918 near Chaulnes ) was an officer in the air force and, with 54 kills, achieved the third highest number of aerial victories among German fighter pilots in the First World War .
Life
Loewenhardt was born the son of a doctor. He embarked on a military career and began his training at the Hauptkadettenanstalt in Lichterfelde . From there he was transferred to Infantry Regiment No. 141 . At the beginning of the First World War, this regiment was transferred to the Eastern Front.
On October 2, 1914, Loewenhardt was promoted to lieutenant . After being seriously wounded in late October 1914, he was treated in hospital until January 1915. Another mission followed in the east. Loewenhardt saved the lives of five wounded German soldiers in the Carpathian Mountains . For this he received the Iron Cross 2nd class in early 1915 .
Loewenhardt was assigned to the German Alpine Corps , then in October 1915 - at his own request - to the air force. After completing his training and starting out as an observer, he was transferred to Aviation Department 265 (artillery) at the beginning of 1916, after he had applied for a license to train as a pilot . Loewenhardt completed his pilot training in 1916. In March 1918 he was transferred to Jagdstaffel 10 , which belonged to Jagdgeschwader 1 , under the leadership of Freiherr von Richthofen . By the end of March 1918, he shot down 15 enemy aircraft. At the beginning of April 1918, at the age of just 20, Loewenhardt was appointed squadron leader of the Jasta 10. A large number of aerial battles followed in a short time, in which he was victorious. By the end of July 1918, when Loewenhardt was flying a Fokker D.VII , he had already counted 47 kills. At times he was deputy commander of the fighter squadron. On May 31, 1918 he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite . On August 10, 1918, he succeeded in shooting down a British aviator near Chaulnes, the 54th. Erich Loewenhardt is one of the three German fighter pilots who achieved more than 50 kills.
In a dogfight with the No. 56 Squadron of the Royal Air Force , Loewenhardt collided with the aircraft controlled by Alfred Wenz . Both pilots managed to jump out of the plane, but Loewenhardt's parachute did not open. He died, Wenz survived the accident.
Awards
- Prussian military pilot badge
- Iron Cross (1914) 2nd class
- Iron Cross (1915) 1st class
- Pour le Mérite
literature
- Jürgen Brinkmann: The knights of the order Pour le merite 1914-1918. Th. Schäfer Druckerei GmbH, Hanover et al. 1982.
- Arch Whitehouse: Aviator Aces 1914-1918 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1970, pp. 409-411.
- Walter Zuerl: Pour le mérite-Flieger. Luftfahrtverlag Axel Zuerl, Steinebach Wörthsee 1987, ISBN 3-934596-15-0 .
See also
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Loewenhardt, Erich |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German fighter pilot in the First World War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 7, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wroclaw |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 10, 1918 |