Leutnant Erich Thomas was a World War I German
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 ten aerial victories. Nine of these were
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 ...
he destroyed.
[The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/thomas1.php Retrieved on 19 April 2010.]
Balloon buster
Thomas was assigned to
Jagdstaffel 9 in December 1917. He shot down his first enemy observation balloon on 3 January 1918. He carried on his career as a
balloon buster
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...
for Jasta 9 through 16 March 1918, when he downed numbers seven and eight. He then transferred to
Jagdstaffel 22, and shot down a ninth balloon on 21 March, and a
Sopwith on the 22nd. On 23 March, he attacked another French balloon and was shot down by
Jean Chaput,
, and
Auguste Lahoulle
Général Auguste Joseph Marie Lahoulle was a French military officer who began his career as a World War I flying ace. He was a double ace during the war, credited with ten confirmed aerial victories.
Service before and during World War I Grou ...
. Thomas was taken prisoner of war.
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Sources of information
References
*''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918'' Norman L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. , .
1897 births
1960 deaths
German World War I flying aces
Military personnel from Essen
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
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