Leutnant Fritz Rumey (3 March 1891 – 27 September 1918) ''

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

'', Golden Military Merit Cross was a German fighter pilot in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, credited with 45 victories. He was one of only five German soldiers who won both of the highest German awards for valor, the Military Merit Cross and the ''Pour le Mérite''.

Early life

Fritz Rumey was born on 3 March 1891 in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

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.Franks, Bailey & Guest (1993), pp. 193-194

Military service

He joined the pre-war the

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 ...

45th Infantry regiment as an

infantryman Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marin ...

. During the first year of WWI he saw action against the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

on the Eastern Front and was decorated with the

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 ...

2nd class. Subsequently in August 1915 he applied for aviation duty and completed an observer's course and served with ''Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 219''. Later he was accepted for pilot training and when he completed his training, he was sent to France in early 1917, serving for a brief period with '' Jasta Boelcke'', and then went to ''

Jagdstaffel 5 History Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 5, was created on January 21, 1916, and mobilized on 21 August 1916, as one of the first fighter units of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Arm ...

'' on 10 June 1917. He served 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 ...

'', along with

Josef Mai Major Josef Mai (3 March 1887 – 18 January 1982) Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter pilot credited with 30 victories. Early life Josef Mai was born in Ottorowo, Province of Posen. His original military service began on ...

and

Otto Könnecke ''Leutnant'' (later Lieutenant Colonel) Otto Könnecke (20 December 1892 – 25 January 1956) PLM, MMC, HoH, IC, was a leading German fighter ace of World War I with 35 victories. He was one of only five pilots to receive Germany's highest dec ...

, two other enlisted pilots. These three friends flew together and scored many of the squadron's 250 successes. In addition to Rumey's 45 eventual confirmed victories, Mai was credited with 30 confirmed and 15 unconfirmed, and Könnecke with 35 more. They were known as "The Golden Triumvirate". Rumey had his own personal livery painted on his airplane in addition to the squadron colors of a red nose and a green tail edged in red. The remainder of the fuselage, and the wings, were swirled with alternating black and white stripes. Smaller surfaces, such as wheel covers, wheel struts, and cabanes were alternately white and black. Another personal marking on the aircraft he used was a demon's head. Rumey's first victim was a British observation balloon, flamed on 6 July 1917. The following day, he received the Military Merit Cross. His third was over British ace Captain Gerald Crole of No. 43 Squadron RFC, who was taken prisoner. Rumey was wounded on 25 August 1917, and again on 24 September. By year's end he was credited with five victories. Rumey continued to accrue single victories throughout the first half of 1918. He killed ace Lt. James Dawe of No. 24 Squadron on 7 June 1918,The Aerodrome website on Daw

Retrieved on 19 September 2020 for his 23rd claim. This same day he was commissioned as 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 ...

. He brought down and killed Canadian ace Lt. Edward Carter Eaton on 26 June 1918. With 29 victories to his credit, Leutnant Rumey received the coveted ''

'' on 10 July 1918. This made him one of only five pilots to have received both this award and the Golden Military Merit Cross. He went scoreless in August but in September, shot down 16 aircraft.

Death

Rumey was killed in action on 27 September 1918, during a

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

over Neuville-Saint-Rémy, France. It is believed his plane collided with a British Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a flown by G. E. B. Lawson. Rumey plunged to his death when his parachute failed to open.

References

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Early life

Military service

Death

References

Further reading