Generalleutnant Franz Walz (1885-1945) began his military career in the infantry in 1905. In 1912, he switched to aviation. He attained the rank of Hauptmann (Captain) while becoming a

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 ...

during World War I. He flew more than 500 combat sorties in Palestine and on the Western Front. He scored seven confirmed aerial victories in the latter theater. His later career led him to join 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 ...

during World War II. Toward the end of the war, he was captured by the Russians and died in one of their prison camps in December 1945.

Biography

Franz Walz was born in

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, 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 ...

on 4 December 1885. He enlisted for military service with Bavaria's 8th Infantry Regiment on 15 July 1905. In 1908, he was promoted to ''

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 ...

''. Walz learned to fly before the

First World War 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 ...

,Franks et al 1993, p. 226. having transferred to aviation in 1912.

First World War

When the war began, Walz was the commander of ''

Feldflieger Abteilung Feldflieger Abteilung (''FFA'', Field Flying Detachment) was the title of the pioneering field aviation units of (The Air Forces of the German Empire) formed in 1912, which became the ( German air service) on 8 October 1916, during the First World ...

3'' (Field Flier Detachment 3). In November 1914, he was promoted to ''

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 ...

''. On 30 December 1915, he took command of ''Kampfstaffel 2'' (Tactical Bomber Squadron 2). He became one of the few German two-seater aces, scoring his first aerial victory on 9 April 1916, and his sixth on 29 July 1916. On 30 July, he was wounded in the foot. On 5 September 1916, having already received 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 ...

, Franz Walz received 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 ...

. On 3 November, he was assigned to command 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 19''. On 29 November, he was transferred to command of '' Jagdstaffel 2''. Walz was promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' on 20 January 1917. On 14 May 1917, he shot down William Curphey and his

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The ...

. On 9 June, Walz was posted to command of '' Jagdstaffel 34''. However, Walz was found lacking as a leader of fighter pilots, and on 25 August 1917 was transferred from France on the Western Front to the Middle East to command ''Flieger-Abteilung 304'' (Flier Detachment 304). Here he became known as "The Eagle of Jericho". On 22 July 1918, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

awarded Franz Walz its Silver Liakat Medal. On 9 August 1918, despite his low aerial victory score, he was awarded the ''

Pour le Merite Pour is a name which can be used as a surname and a given name: * Kour Pour (born 1987), American artist of Iranian and British descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * P ...

'' for prolonged service in command. By this time, he had flown over 500 combat

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

s. The Turkish award of the Order of Osmanieh Fourth Class with Swords followed on 15 September 1918. By this time, Walz had also been granted three decorations by his native

, as well as another from their

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

allies. On 20 September 1918, Walz fell into British captivity. He was released after war's end, on 1 December 1919.

Post-World War I

Franz Walz served with both the ''

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

'' and the State Police. Once the ''

'' was established, Walz returned to aviation duty and ascended in rank. On 1 April 1941, he became a ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

''. Later in World War II, he would be captured by the Soviets. He died as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in Breslau,

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, ...

on 18 December 1945.

Endnotes

References

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. , .
The Aerodrome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walz, Franz 1885 births 1945 deaths German World War I flying aces People from Speyer Luftstreitkräfte personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Liakat Medal Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe German people who died in Soviet detention German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union Military personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate Luftwaffe World War II generals