Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

Ernst Krislanovich Leman (1894–1917) was a Russian

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 five aerial victories.

Biography

Ernst Krislanovich Leman was born in 1894 to a middle class Lutheran family in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Leman enlisted as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

on 14 November 1914. He was sent to

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

for aviation training. By Spring 1915, he had become a flight cadet. Eventually, he was graduated as a pilot on 29 June 1916; he was rated as a ''

Podpraporshchik Podpraporshchik (, ) was a Russian non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank ( rus, у̀нтер-офице́р ранг, , ˌunʲtʲɪr ɐfʲɪˈtsɛr rank), originally below the Sergeant and Feldwebel. From 1826 to 1884 it became the highest NCO rank ...

''. On 29 July 1916, he was posted to the 19th Corps Fighter DetachmentFranks et al 1997, p. 209. near

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

.Durkota et al 1995, pp. 79-80. On 22 August 1916, Leman chased off an enemy plane acting as artillery spotter. His feat was noted in the daily official army communique. It was the start of a series of valorous feats that resulted in the award of the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

Fourth Class on 9 January 1917. Leman's unit then was transferred to the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

. By late February, it was based near Stanislav, Romania. Though still unsuccessful, he was in frequent combat. In late April he was appointed as a ''

Praporshik (, , ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...

''. He scored his first victory on 4 May 1917. He was awarded the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

Fourth Class after his third victory, and the Order of Saint Stanilas Third Class with Swords and Bow after his fourth. While scoring his fifth victory on 26 September, he was severely wounded and was hospitalized. He married his nurse, Lydia Vilensky, while convalescing. Kazakov recommended Leman for the

; the Fourth Class award was made on 13 November 1917. On 22 November, Leman was discharged to return to duty, though he was too weak to fly. On 17 December 1917, Leman was shot in the head. His wife sat by him in hospital until he died several days later. At the time of Leman's death, it was known that the Soldier's Councils of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

were calling for the murder of military officers. For instance, in the same unit, Ivan Smirnov was marked for murder by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

. It is unknown whether Ernst Leman was murdered or committed suicide.

List of aerial victories

Honors and awards

Cross of St. George In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with th ...

, 4th class: January 1917 * Order of St. Anna, 4th class: ca July 1917 * Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class with Swords and Bow: 20 September 1917 *

Fourth Class: 13 November 1917

Endnotes

References

* Allen Durkota; Thomas Darcey; Victor Kulikov. ''The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I.'' Flying Machines Press, 1995. , 9780963711021. * Norman Franks; Russell Guest; Gregory Alegi. ''Above the War Fronts: The British Two-seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces, 1914–1918: Volume 4 of Fighting Airmen of WWI Series: Volume 4 of Air Aces of WWI''. Grub Street, 1997. , .

External links