Major General Carl-August von Schoenebeck (1898–1989) began his career in the ''Baden Leib-Grenadier Regiment'' in 1915. He transferred to the ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

'' 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 4 Armee's ''Kampfeinsitzerkommandos'' (or KEKs) 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part o ...

earned him credit for eight confirmed aerial victories and a number of decorations, as well as the command of Jasta 33 while still 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 ...

. 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, 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 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 in 1943. He was held as a prisoner of war from 1945 through the end of the war, and then illegally held until 1948, despite never having been suspected of or charged with war crimes. He earned a multi-engine license to enter competition in 1954. He learned

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium al ...

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

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Biography

Through World War I

Carl-August von Schoenebeck was born in Bernstadt,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

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 an air force, or naval or army aviation service, 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, ...

, ''

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 ''Kampfeinsitzerkommandos'' (or KEKs) 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part o ...

'', 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 is 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. The 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 (RAF). He was the high ...

), and killing

Flight Sub-Lieutenant Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

G. Roach of No. 10 Squadron RNAS. Four days later, he shot down a Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 from No. 4 Squadron RFC 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 Flanders, now part of Ypres. 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 th ...

, 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 b ...

on 9 May 1918. On 11 August 1918, he was promoted to command of ''

Jagdstaffel 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 minimum ...

''. 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 (, , 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 ...

, the Knight's Cross with Swords of the

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 ...

, and the Order of the Zahringer Lion.

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 paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

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

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

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 manag ...

; he flew a trans-Atlantic flight to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

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 RLM aircraft designation system, aircraft ...

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, wit ...

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

Lipetsk Lipetsk (, ), also Romanization of Russian, romanized as Lipeck, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh (river), Voronezh River in the Do ...

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

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

as the Air Attache.

World War II and beyond

Schoenebeck rose to the rank of major general during 1944. 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 Hiller Aircraft Corporation is an American private aerospace company, based in Firebaugh, California. It was founded in 1942 as Hiller Industries by Stanley Hiller to develop helicopters. History Stanley Hiller, then seventeen, established the ...

Piper Aircraft Piper Aircraft, Inc. is a manufacturer of general aviation aircraft, located at the Vero Beach Regional Airport in Vero Beach, Florida, United States and owned since 2009 by the Government of Brunei. Throughout much of the mid-to-late 20th cent ...

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 ...

, and Beech Aircraft Corporation. 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

* Dermot Bradley (Hrsg.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand: Die Generale der deutschen Luftwaffe 1935-1945. Band 5: . Biblio Verlag. Osnabrück 1991, S.213f. *

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. ''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 Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Luftwaffe World War II generals Air attachés