Gustav Dörr

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Gustav Dörr

Gustav Dörr (born October 5, 1887 in Blindgallen / East Prussia , † July 18, 1928 near Stendal ) was one of the most successful German fighter pilots in World War I and was awarded the Golden Military Merit Cross . Despite several crashes, he survived the war and became one of the first airliners for Deutsche Lufthansa .

Life

Dörr was born in Blindgallen / East Prussia as the son of a building contractor. Dörr graduated from construction school and began training as a machine fitter at Krupp AG in Essen in 1905 . In 1908 Dörr was called up for military service, which he performed with the 176 Infantry Regiment in Thora and finished as a sergeant.

In August 1914 Dörr was called up as a sergeant in his regiment in East Prussia, where he was seriously wounded by a shot in the basin on August 20, 1914 in the Battle of Gumbinnen . After his recovery he returned to the troops in December 1914 and took part in the Battle of the Rawka near Łódź . Wounded for the second time by a bayonet stab in the right hip in an assault on February 17, 1915, Dörr was taken to the Naumburg garrison hospital . After his recovery, he was released on May 1, 1915, to the replacement battalion of his regiment, but volunteered to train as a pilot in response to a circular from the War Ministry. Dörr then came in July 1915 for flight training in Döberitz to the Airplane Replacement Department (FEA) 2 and then to the Airplane Replacement Department 3 in Gotha . From there he was sent on March 10, 1916 as a pilot to Army Air Park B on the Western Front , and from there on March 18 to Feldfliegerabteilung 68, which was stationed in Habsheim in southern Alsace and which also included the then Vice Sergeant Ernst Udet flew. Dörr was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and received the pilot's badge .

With the beginning of the Battle of the Somme Dörr and his observer Lieutenant Serger were transferred to Artillery Fliegerabteilung 6 and took part in the heavy fighting against the Allied air superiority on the Somme. Dörr stayed with Department 6, later renamed FA (A) 257. During a mission flight over the Aisne in June 1917, the elevation control of his aircraft at 1,400 m broke and crashed. His observer, Lieutenant Bohn, died, Dörr survived with a six-fold fracture of the lower jaw, seriously injured, and came to the University Hospital in Halle for treatment .

Three months later, Dörr came to Flieger-Ersatz -teilung 1 in Altenburg , where he worked as a one-flyer from November 1917 to February 1918. Promoted to deputy officer on December 22, 1917 and awarded the Iron Cross 1st class, he registered as a fighter pilot on the Western Front in February 1918. Dörr came to Jasta 45 in the 5th Army . On his second mission flight on March 17, 1918, he got into an aerial battle with six other Germans against 26 French and British and shot down an English Sopwith 1½ Strutter over the Hessenwald near Verdun . Then the squadron of the 7th Army was subordinated; In April 1918, Dörr was the first of his squadron to achieve another aerial victory on the new section of the front. Dörr shot the third enemy on May 28, 1918 over the Marne , but was then taken under fire by French two-seaters. His Albatros D.Va was set on fire 400 m away ; Dörr nevertheless managed to crash land in the approx. 400–500 m wide no man's land near Fismes between the French and German lines, was able to free himself from the machine with slight burns and to break through to the German positions despite the heavy enemy fire. On August 29, 1918, Dörr had meanwhile scored 18 kills, and was awarded the gold military cross of merit. With the 21st kill he was proposed to officer, after the 30th kill he was promoted to lieutenant and on October 25, 1918 proposed to be awarded the Pour le Mérite , which was only given to him after the end of the war on January 17, 1919. On November 4, 1918 Dörr shot down his last and 35th opponent. At 31, Dörr was one of the oldest fighter pilots in the German air force. He achieved most of his aerial victories (30) on a Fokker D.VII and was therefore considered the most successful fighter pilot of the war with this fighter aircraft.

After the war, Dörr remained loyal to aviation and joined Deutsche Lufthansa as a commercial pilot. By 1928 he had covered 580,000 km as a flight captain. On December 11, 1928, Dörr drove the three-engine Junkers G 31 D-1473 "Rheinland" in night air traffic from Cologne to Berlin. For unknown reasons, he was forced to make an emergency landing in Letzlingen near Stendal , but the plane caught fire and burned out. The only passenger was able to save himself slightly injured, pilot Dörr, his on-board fitter Müller and his radio operator Orgel died in the flames.

Gustav Dörr was buried in the Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin . In honor of its fatally injured pilot, Lufthansa later named one of its Junkers Ju 52 / 3m aircraft with the name "Gustav Dörr".

Hit list

Win no. date opponent place time
1 March 17, 1918 Sopwith 1½ strutter Montzéville , Verdun 07:20
2 April 11, 1918 SPAD S.VII Tracy-le-Mont
3 May 28, 1918 Breguet 14 Vendeuil 15:00
n / A June 1, 1918 RE8 La Ferté-Milon
4th June 12, 1918 SPAD S.VII Haraumont
5 June 28, 1918 SPAD S.XIII Villers-Cotterêts
6th SPAD S.VII
7th July 5, 1918 Breguet 14 Brumetz 11:10
8th July 8, 1918 Villers-Cotterêts 11:30
9 July 15, 1918 SPAD S.VII Comblizy 16:45
10 Breguet 14 No comblizy 17:00
11 18 July 1918 SPAD S.XIII Pernant 06:50
12 Breguet 14 Montigny 07:05
13 July 21, 1918 SPAD Neuilly 14:25
14th July 24, 1918 SPAD S.XIII Pernant 11:30
15th July 25, 1918 Breguet 14 La Croix 11:00
16 July 29, 1918 Fère-en-Tardenois 17:00
17th July 30, 1918 SPAD S.VII Coincy 11:50
18th August 1, 1918 Nieuport 28 Bruyères 11:00
19th August 4, 1918 Breguet 14 Nampteuil 08:10
20th August 11, 1918 Braisne 12:30
21st August 21, 1918 SPAD S.XI Rosnay 11:45
22nd SPAD Branges
23 August 24, 1918 Salmson 2A2 Vézaponin 13:30
24 September 2, 1918 SPAD S.XI Ormes 11:25
25th Reims 11:30
26th September 4, 1918 SPAD S.VII N Fismes 14:00
27 September 14, 1918 SPAD S.XI Blanzy
28 September 16, 1918 SPAD S.VII Fismes
29 September 24, 1918 Soissons 19:00
30th September 26, 1918 SPAD S.XI Fismes 13:00
31 October 3, 1918 Salmson 2A2 Coucy-le-Château
32 October 5, 1918 Brimont
33 October 9, 1918 Breguet 14 Coucy-le-Château
n / A October 27, 1918 SPAD S.XI u / c Malmaison 10:00
34 Amifontaine 15:40
n / A October 28, 1918 SPAD
35 October 30, 1918 Salmson 2A2 Missy 11:00
n / A November 4, 1918 Single seater

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Junkers Ju 52 / 3m , license number D-2490 (AFYS) and D-ASHY

Web links