Leutnant Adolf Schulte (24 December 1894—12 April 1917) IC was a German World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with nine aerial victories. His short gallant career would end in a fatal midair crash with his enemies.

Early life

Adolf Schulte was born in Ludenscheit, Germany on 24 December 1894.

World War I

Schulte joined

Jagdstaffel 12 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would scor ...

in November 1916. He became its first ace during the opening months of 1917, scoring nine victories. On 12 April 1917, he first downed Edwin Hayne. He subsequently collided with a

Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 ("Farman Experimental 2") designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day a ...

d from No. 18 Squadron RAF to score his final victory, killing both himself and the British pilot and observer.''Albatros Aces of World War I'', p. 37.

List of aerial victories

Endnotes

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 Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. , . * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Volume 32 of Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 32 of Osprey Aviation Series: Volume 32 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces''.

. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . * ''Sopwith Pup Aces of World War 1: Volume 67 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces: Issue 67 of Aircraft of the Aces''. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2005. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulte, Adolf 1894 births 1917 deaths People from Lüdenscheid German World War I flying aces Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class German military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from the Rhine Province Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia