Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein (20 January 1892 – 21 March 1918) HOH,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

's MMO was a World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with 16 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website's page on Hanstein http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hanstein.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. Hanstein rose through the

enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

s to become a

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

in command of a fighter squadron. Rather unusually, this

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

usually served in Bavarian units; he rose to command of Royal Bavarian '' Jagdstaffel 35''. After shooting down 16 enemy aircraft, including three observation balloons, Hanstein was killed in aerial combat on 21 March 1918.

Early life and service

Ludwig Hanstein was born on 20 January 1892 in Sudwalde,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, German Empire. His life and military service are unknown until he began aviation service in early 1916. In May 1916, he was posted to a Bavarian unit, ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 9.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918,'' p. 123 While repelling a British strategic bombing raid on 12 October 1916, he used a

Fokker D.II __NOTOC__ The Fokker D.II was a German fighter biplane of World War I. It was a single-seat fighter aircraft developed before the Fokker D.I. It was based on the M.17 prototype, with single-bay unstaggered wings and a larger fuselage and short ...

fighter plane to force down a

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

Sopwith 1½ Strutter onto

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Airfield by wounding its pilot through the neck.

'' Jagdstaffel 16'' service

Taking a transfer as a ''

Vizefeldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occup ...

'' on 31 October 1916, Hanstein shifted to Royal Bavarian '' Jagdstaffel 16'',The Aerodrome website page on ''Jasta 16'' http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta16.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. whose theater of operations was generally the French sector of the Western Front. Hanstein scored again on 17 March 1917; by 25 September, he had added nine more to his tallyThe Aerodrome website's page on ''Jasta 35'' http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta35.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. to become Jasta 16's first ace. On that same day, having been commissioned a

, he was posted to command of '' Jagdstaffel 35''.

''Jagdstaffel 35'' service: killed in action

On 17 October 1917, Hanstein received Bavaria's Military Merit Order Fourth Class with Swords.The Aerodrome website page on the Military Merit Order http://www.theaerodrome.com/medals/germany/bavaria_omm.php Retrieved 8 February 2013. Hanstein scored his thirteenth victory on 12 November 1917 and scored twice more in January 1918. On 20 January 1918, he received the Knight's Cross with Swords of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

. He also temporarily relinquished command to Bruno Justinius on 20 January and went on leave. On 14 February 1918, while on leave, Hanstein received an award of the Military Merit Order, this time with Crown and Swords. He succeeded again to the command of the ''jasta'' on 4 March 1918, after Justinius was killed in action and his successor transferred. About ten minutes after scoring his final victory on 21 March 1918, Hanstein was killed in action by Herbert Sellars and his

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Charles C. Robson. Sellars' combat report stated, "I did a sharp turn to the left, my observer firing at 75 yards range into the nearest enemy aircraft, which burst into flames and was seen to crash north of

Morchies Morchies () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Morchies is situated southeast of Arras, on the D18 road. Population Places of interest * The church of St.Vaast, rebuilt, as was a ...

Sources of information

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. . * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Part 1 of Albatros Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * ''Early German Aces of World War I.'' Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2006. . * ''Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I.'' Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2007. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanstein, Ludwig 1892 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down German military personnel killed in World War I Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Diepholz (district) People from the Province of Hanover Prussian Army personnel