Kurt Wüsthoff
Kurt Wüsthoff (born January 27, 1897 in Aachen , † July 23, 1926 in Dresden ) was a German fighter pilot and the youngest holder of the Pour le Mérite order .
Life
Kurt Wüsthoff was initially a fighter pilot in Kampfgeschwader 1 and then reported to the fighter pilot, where he first flew in Jasta 4 and later became chief of Jasta 15. After he had already won 27 aerial victories, Wüsthoff was forced to land and captured on June 17, 1918 in combat with three British SE5s and a Sopwith Dolphin of Squadrons 23 and 24 of the Royal Air Force with his Fokker D.VII at Cachy .
On July 18, 1926, Wüsthoff had an accident while being shown flying during the Immelmann Memorial Day at the Dresden-Kaditz airfield . While doing aerobatics, he fell from a height of about 150 meters and was thrown from his plane . The plane was completely smashed and the unconscious Wüsthoff suffered a fractured skull and two broken legs. He was admitted to the Friedrichstadt hospital . Both legs had to be amputated there. Wüsthoff only briefly became weak a few times and died five days later from his serious injuries.
In the district of Neu-Tempelhof the Berlin district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg is the Wüsthoff street named after him.
See also
literature
- Reinhard Kastner: Kurt Wüsthoff - the youngest Pour-le-Mérite carrier of the German air force .
Web links
- The Aces of World War I: Kurt Wüstenhoff (overview of his aerial victories in English)
- Newspaper reports of the death of Wüsthoff
Individual evidence
- ↑ The British aviator CE Walton shared the victory in the air with three aviation aces: the Canadian George Johnson, the British Ian McDonald and the South African Horace Barton.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wusthoff, Kurt |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wuesthoff, Kurt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German fighter pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aachen |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 23, 1926 |
| Place of death | Dresden |