Major General Carl-August von Schoenebeck began his career in the ''Baden Leib-Grenadier Regiment'' in 1915. He transferred to the ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

'' in 1916. After training, he served with the artillery cooperation unit FA (A) 203. His subsequent service in fighters (e. g.

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

earned him credit for eight confirmed aerial victories and a number of decorations, as well as the command of

Jasta 33 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 33 was a "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 score a minim ...

while still 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 Germa ...

. Postwar, he tried a trans-Atlantic flight to Chile in 1924. From 1930 to 1935, he was a test pilot. He joined the

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

in 1934. In 1938, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and posted as air attaché to Yugoslavia. He became air attaché to Bulgaria in 1939, and held this position until after his promotion to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1943. He was held as a prisoner of war from 1945 to 1948. He earned a multi-engine license to enter competition in 1954. He learned

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covere ...

at the age of 77, in 1975. He died on 4 September 1989 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Biography

Through World War I

Carl-August von Schoenebeck was born in Bernstadt,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...

, German Empire on 19 January 1898. He enlisted in the ''Baden Leib Grenadier Regiment'' in 1915. He transferred to the ''

'' in 1916 and underwent pilot's training with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' (Replacement Detachment) 3 in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. After training, he was assigned to fly a two-seater on artillery direction missions with ''Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie)'' (Flier Detachment (Artillery)) 203. Although there is no mention of fighter conversion training, Schoenebeck joined a

fighter squadron A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...

, ''

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 ...

'', on 7 July 1917.Franks et al 1993, p. 205. His first victory was a notable one. On 27 July 1917, he shot down

Sopwith Triplane The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service. T ...

number N5492, which had been used to score 23 victories (most by

Raymond Collishaw Raymond Collishaw, (22 November 1893 – 28 September 1976) was a distinguished Canadian fighter pilot, squadron leader, and commanding officer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest ...

), and killing Flight Sub-Lieutenant G. Roach of

No. 10 Squadron RNAS No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil ...

. Four days later, he shot down a

Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 The Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 was a British two-seat biplane reconnaissance and bomber aircraft of the First World War designed and produced at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was also built under contract by Austin Motors, Daimler, Standard ...

from

No. 4 Squadron RFC No. 4 Squadron, normally written as IV Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the BAE Hawk T2 in the training role from RAF Valley. History Formation and First World War IV Squadron formed at Farnborough in 1912 as part of the Royal Fly ...

over Frezenberg. It would not be until 3 September that he tallied another victory, when he shot down another Triplane at

Hollebeke Hollebeke is a Flemish village in the Belgian province of West Vlaanderen, now part of Ypres city. History In World War I, it was the site of allied heroism (like other neighbouring parts of Ypres, such as Klein Zillebeke) that won Khudadad Khan ...

, Belgium. Schoenebeck transferred to '' Jagdstaffel 59'' on 26 January 1918. He scored one victory while with them, downing a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...

on 9 May 1918. On 11 August 1918, he was promoted to command of '' Jagdstaffel 33''. Between 23 August and war's end, he totalled four more confirmed victories, as well as four unconfirmed. Schoenebeck won several awards for his exploits, including both classes of 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 e ...

, 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 ...

, and the

Order of the Zahringer Lion Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Post World War I

Schoenebeck flew with Fighter Unit No. 424 of the ''

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, reg ...

'', fighting the Russians in the Baltic area; he was wounded in action at

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...

during 1919. By 1924, he was working for

Dornier Dornier may refer to: * Claudius Dornier (1884–1969), German aircraft designer and builder ** Dornier Flugzeugwerke, German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1914 by Claudius Dornier * Dornier Consulting, international consulting and project mana ...

; he flew a trans-Atlantic flight to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

for them in the

Dornier Do J The Dornier Do J ''Wal'' (" whale") is a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by ''Dornier Flugzeugwerke''. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry (''RLM'') under its aircraft designation system of 1933. ...

seaplane. From 1930 to 1935, he worked as a test pilot for both

Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...

and Arado. He also was an instructor during the covert founding of the

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populat ...

, Russia. He joined the nascent Luftwaffe, becoming a Group Commander of the new ''Jagdgeschwader'' 132 "Richthofen" in 1936. He later served in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

as the

Air Attache The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing ...

World War II and beyond

Schoenebeck rose to the rank of

during 1943. He was captured in 1945, and spent until 1948 in captivity. He later founded the ''Luftfahrt-Technik Company'', and represented such aircraft companies as Hiller Helicopters, Piper Aircraft,

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

, and

Beech Aircraft Corporation Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

. In 1954, he earned a multi-engine pilot's license and entered international competitions. In 1975, when 77 years old, he took up

. He died on 4 September 1989, in

.The Aerodrome website's page on Schoenebec

Sources of information

References

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. ''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. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Schoenebeck, Carl-August Von 1898 births 1989 deaths German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Major generals of the Luftwaffe People from the Province of Silesia Luftwaffe World War II generals Air attachés