Oberleutnant Erich Rüdiger von Wedel (1892–1954) was a German 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 thirteen aerial victories. Additionally, he spent most of the time from 2 May 1918 until the war's end on 11 November 1918 as commander of

Jagdstaffel 11 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 ("No 11 Fighter Squadron"; commonly abbreviated to Jasta 11) was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 Armee's “Kampfeinsitzer” or KEKs) 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the Germ ...

Aerial service

Wedel joined

on 23 April 1918. On 2 May, he took temporary command of the squadron. He shot down eight enemy fighters between 10 May and 21 July. On the latter date, he gave up command of the squadron for a few days. He reassumed command on 27 July and held it until 13 August. On 31 August, he took command for the final time, until war's end. By the time that occurred, he had won the

Royal 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 ...

and

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

First Class on 29 September, and wrapped up his victory tally with his thirteenth win on 5 November 1918.

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 L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. , . 1892 births 1954 deaths People from Choszczno County People from the Province of Brandenburg German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Prussian Army personnel Wedel family Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class {{germany-mil-bio-stub