Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' Erich Hahn (18 October 1891 – 4 September 1917) was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 six aerial victories.The Aerodrome webpage on Hah

Retrieved 29 October 2020

Biography

Erich Hahn was born on 18 October 1891 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

, in the

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 ...

.Franks et al 1993, pp. 122–123. He joined Saxony's Infantry Regiment Nr. 2 just before World War I. In 1913, he learned to fly at

Anthony Fokker Anton Herman Gerard "Anthony" Fokker (6 April 1890 – 23 December 1939) was a Dutch aviation pioneer, aviation entrepreneur, aircraft designer, and aircraft manufacturer. He produced fighter aircraft in Germany during the First World War such ...

's flying school. As one of the very few experienced pilots about, he was serving in ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 64 when the war began. He then moved on to service in ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 23 and then to artillery direction with ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (''Artillerie'') (Flier Detachment (Artillery)) 221. On 10 August 1916, he transferred to fighter aviation with his assignment to ''Kampfeinsitzerkommando'' (Combat Single-Seater Command) Bertincourtt. When ''

Jagdstaffel 1 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn ...

'' (Fighter Squadron 1) was founded as one of the original dedicated German fighter squadrons later in August, Hahn joined them. On 10 November, he would both succeed to acting squadron commander and score his first aerial victory. On 29 November 1916, he transferred to command of '' Jagdstaffel 19'' (Fighter Squadron 19). Having already won 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 ...

, he accepted the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Saint Henry on 29 December 1916. Hahn was the first fighter pilot to receive the Saint Henry. He would not score again until April, when he downed three enemy airplanes and two

observation balloons An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...

. Notable among these wins was his fourth victory, when he downed French ace

René Doumer ''Capitaine'' René Doumer (October 31, 1887 – April 26, 1917) was a French World War I flying ace credited with seven confirmed aerial victoriesThe Aerodrome websitRené DoumerRetrieved on 22 June 2014. and four unconfirmed combat claims.''Over ...

. On 1 May, Erich Hahn was awarded 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 ...

. After these six confirmed victories, Hahn led his squadron until 1935 hours 4 September 1917. At that time, French ace, Lieutenant

Georges Madon Georges Félix Madon (28 July 1892 – 11 November 1924) was the fourth ranked French ace pilot of the First World War. His lengthy career and wide variety of aviation experiences were remarkable. Early years Madon was born in Bizerte, Tunisia, ...

shot him down over Beine, France and killed him.

Sources of information

References

* 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. , . 1891 births 1917 deaths German World War I flying aces Military personnel from Leipzig Military personnel of the Kingdom of Saxony Luftstreitkräfte personnel German military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down {{germany-airforce-bio-stub