Colonel Alois Heldmann was a 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 15 confirmed aerial victories (plus three unconfirmed) while he was a ''

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

''. He later joined the nascent

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

in 1933 and was a flying school inspector until the end of World War II.Heldmann
''The Aerodrome''. Retrieved 18 January 2010.

Early life and service

Alois Heldmann's was born on 2 December 1895 in

Grevenbrück Lennestadt (occasionally also ''die Lennestadt'') lies in the Sauerland in southeast North Rhine-Westphalia and is a community in Olpe district. It is the district's most populous municipality. Lennestadt itself is not an actual town but a commun ...

, east of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. He was studying engineering until the war began. Heldmann joined the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

on 3 January 1915, originally as an infantryman on the Russian Front. Shortly thereafter, he transferred to aviation duty.Franks, VanWyngarden 2003, pp. 12-13.Franks et al 1993, p. 126.

Flying service

After switching to aviation, Heldmann served in a two-seater

aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or Strategy, strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including Artillery observer, artillery spott ...

unit, FA 57, beginning in August 1915. He transferred to FA 59, which also operated two-seaters. In his Eastern Front dutie, he served in Serbia and Bulgaria. He transferred fronts and moved to France. He was a well experienced pilot by the time he was promoted into the officers' ranks in 1917 as a ''Leutnant''. He joined the Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 10 on 24 June 1917 and was given a

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to co ...

to fly. He used the Pfalz for his first five wins, beginning 22 July 1917. He then upgraded to a

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

, which bore his initials painted on the top wing; its nose was yellow, its tail a checkerboard. He scored steadily throughout the last eight months of the war, with his last victory five days before the war's end. Twice he rose to temporary command of the squadron, from 19 June to 6 July 1918, and from 10 to 14 August. Heldmann survived the war.Franks et al 1993, p. 33.

After World War I

Heldmann returned to being an engineer after the war. He joined the

in 1933. Having risen to the rank of colonel, he became an inspector of a flying school. He served throughout World War II and was subsequently imprisoned by Allied forces until 1946. He then resided in

Bad Aibling Bad Aibling (; ) is a spa town and former district seat in Bavaria on the river Mangfall, located some southeast of Munich. It features a luxury health resort with a peat pulp bath and mineral spa. History Bad Aibling and its surroundin ...

, Germany. Alois Heldmann died on 1 November 1983 in Grevenbruck.

Honors and awards

World War I

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

both First and Second Class * Knight's Cross of the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

References

Bibliography

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. , . * Franks, Norman. ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Part 1 of Albatros Aces of World War I.'' Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . * Franks, Norman; VanWyngarden, Greg. ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 1.'' Osprey Publishing, 2003. , . * Van WynGarden, Greg. ''Pfalz Scout Aces of World War 1.'' Osprey Publishing, 2006. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Heldmann, Alois 1895 births 1983 deaths German World War I flying aces Military personnel from North Rhine-Westphalia Luftstreitkräfte personnel Luftwaffe personnel of World War II Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class