Hans Adam (fighter pilot)
Hans Adam , from 1917 Hans Ritter von Adam (born May 24, 1886 in Eisenstein ; † November 15, 1917 near Langemarck , Belgium ), was a Bavarian officer in the air force and scored 21 confirmed kills in the First World War .
Life
He was the son of the railway official Andreas Adam and his wife Hildegard, née Fischer. Adam completed secondary school as well as two semesters at the technical university and one semester at the commercial college. As a one-year volunteer , he joined the 4th Infantry Regiment "King Wilhelm von Württemberg" of the Bavarian Army in Metz on October 1, 1906 . After his release from the reserve he worked as a merchant and managing director in Munich. Adam married and had two children.
When the First World War broke out, Adam was called up as a lieutenant in the Landwehr to the Reserve Infantry Regiment 15, fought in the border battles and the Battle of Lorraine and was wounded on September 2, 1914 in the fighting over the French fortress line Nancy - Épinal . Not until the end of 1915 did he return to the front and report to the air force. On May 15, 1916 he received the observer badge . He flew his first missions with the Bavarian Field Aviation Department 2b (FA (A) 2b) together with the pilot and later fighter pilot Eduard von Schleich .
Adam achieved his first three aerial victories with his Albatros D.III in March 1917, after he had been transferred to Jagdstaffel (Jasta) 34. In July 1917 he came to Jasta 6, where shortly afterwards he won the British fighter pilot Lt. AWB Miller shot down the 29th Squadron. After his 14th victory in the air, Adam was proposed by his squadron commander for his special achievements during an air battle on July 28, 1917 for inclusion in the Military Max Joseph Order , which he was awarded on this date. At that time, as deputy squadron leader of Jasta 6, while his squadron leader was chasing a bomber, he had broken up an enemy bomber formation and pursued it with his damaged aircraft until his squadron had smashed the bomber formation. With the award, the elevation to the personal nobility was connected and he was allowed to call himself Knight of Adam after the entry in the nobility register . He also wore both classes of the Iron Cross and the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords.
On August 30, 1917, he followed the fallen Eduard Ritter von Dostler as a squadron leader of Jasta 6. Adam came on 15 November 1917 Kortewilde of Langemarck in Flanders with his Albatros DV (DV 222/17) in a dogfight with airmen of the 29th Squadron. He was probably shot down by Captain Kenneth Barbour Montgomery of the 45th Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps .
Adam was buried in the forest cemetery in Munich .
literature
- Bavarian War Archives : Bavaria's Golden Book of Honor. Dedicated to the holders of the highest Bavarian war awards from World War 1914/18. Hyronismus, Munich 1928, (Reprint: PHV Phaleristischer Verlag Autengruber and Hrdina, Offenbach am Main 2001, ISBN 3-934743-15-3 , ( Classics of Phaleristics 21)).
- Rudolf von Kramer, Otto von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Acts of War and Book of Honor 1914-1918. Self-published by the Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order, Munich 1966, p. 192, 261.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/adam.html accessed on August 1, 2006
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Adam, Hans |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Adam, Hans Ritter von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bavarian air force officer with 21 confirmed kills in the First World War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 24, 1886 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bavarian Eisenstein |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 15, 1917 |
| Place of death | Langemark , Belgium |