Friedrich Noltenius
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''Leutnant'' Friedrich Theodor Noltenius (8 January 1894 – 12 March 1936) was a 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 ...
during the First World War, with a total of 21 official victories. From July 1914 to July 1917, he served with distinction as an artilleryman. 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 ...
'' (Imperial German Air Force) and became a fighter pilot. After his aerial combat career began with a horrifying incident, Noltenius began shooting down enemy
observation balloon 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 ...
s and airplanes on 10 August 1918. His battle claims were sometimes unsuccessfully disputed with other pilots, including his commanding officers. Despite the resulting transfers between units, Noltenius continued his success, being credited with his 21st victory on 4 November 1918. Only the war's end a week later barred him from receiving Germany's highest award for valor, the ''
Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...
''. Noltenius became a medical doctor after the war ended. He married and moved to South America. After his return to Germany in 1933, he died in a flying accident.


Early life and service

Friedrich Theodor Noltenius was born in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
on 8 January 1894, the son of a professor of medicine. The younger Noltenius graduated from high school in Bremen. The beginning of World War I then interrupted his university medical studies. Noltenius enlisted in the
Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...
's Field Artillery Regiment No. 13 at the outbreak of war, on 4 August 1914. He served on the Eastern Front from November through December 1914 before transferring to the Western Front in France. On 17 November 1915, he was awarded 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 ...
Second Class. He received the Iron Cross First Class on 10 May 1917. He was commissioned as an officer in October 1916 and was wounded on 16 April 1917. He was awarded Württemberg's Knight's Cross of the Military Merit Order on 5 July 1917.


Aerial service


In the beginning

While it is unknown when Noltenius transferred to flying service in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Force), he began
ground school Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
on 3 November 1917. In February 1918, he began actual flight training. By early June, he was flying his first artillery direction missions with ''Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 234'' (Flier Detachment (Artillery) 234). Shortly thereafter, he was sent to fighter training in late June. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Royal Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 27'', one of the fighter squadrons of
Bruno Loerzer Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 – 23 August 1960) was a German air force officer during World War I and World War II. Credited with 44 aerial victories during World War I, he was one of Germany's leading flying aces, as well as commander of ...
's ''
Jagdgeschwader III ''Jagdgeschwader III (Fighter Wing III, or JG III)'' was a fighter wing of the Imperial German Air Service during World War I. It was founded on 2 February 1918, as a permanent consolidation of four established ''jagdstaffeln'' (fighter squadron ...
'' wing. Once he received his assigned
Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...
, he had his personal insignia painted on it. He chose an elaborate display of red and white, with checkerboards and stripes both encircling the fuselage in a wide band and painted on the upper wing above the cockpit. His sister's name, Hertha, was on the side of the cockpit.


First kill

On 16 July, an exceptionally hot spell of weather settled in—so hot that it sometimes detonated incendiary bullets within aircraft cockpits with fatal results. During a two-day stretch, at least seven German airplanes were lost to ammunition
cooking off Cooking off (or thermally induced firing) is unfired weapon ammunition explosion, exploding prematurely due to heat in the surrounding environment. The term is used both for detonation of ammunition not loaded into a weapon, and unintended firin ...
. Flying in this killing weather, Noltenius found himself one of three German pilots attacking a French
Breguet 14 The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. The Breguet 14 w ...
on the 18th. As he wrote in his diary:
"Alternately, I was over him or under him and behind him...anyway, at an altitude of 2500 metres I took good aim and pressed the trigger. Then a body broke free of the seat and the observer fell out. It was an abominable sight, and I can only say that I was extremely sorry for the poor devil....
The horror of his machine gunning the observer to death was compounded by his commanding officer, after they landed. According to him, unseen by Noltenius, the French pilot had futilely raised his arms to surrender. Also, Noltenius' combat claim for this victory was denied; the credit was given to another pilot.


A string of victories

On 3 August 1918, Noltenius pushed through drizzly weather to unsuccessfully attack a drenched enemy
observation balloon 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 ...
. Noltenius chalked the failure up to experience. His first victory was over a
Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on the ...
, on 10 August. His second, ten days later, initiated him into the ranks of
balloon busters 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 ...
as he destroyed an observation balloon. As his victories continued, on 2 September, he became an ace, scoring his fifth and sixth victories. On 3 September, Noltenius claimed another victory, only to find it was also being claimed by his commanding officer, Hermann Frommherz, who took credit for himself. The next day, Noltenius submitted another claim; that victory was also awarded to another pilot. A disgruntled Noltenius requested transfer to another squadron. Meanwhile, Noltenius turned again to balloon busting. On 14 September, he attacked an observation balloon without knowing it was booby-trapped. The balloon full of high explosives was detonated from the ground during Noltenius's attack. The flaming explosion singed much of the fabric from his plane's wings, and left melted balloon fabric trailing from its spars. While Noltenius managed to fly the battered craft home and land safely, it was scrapped. Having escaped injury by the explosion, he was lightly wounded the next day by a ricocheting bullet. He was shot down on 22 September by American ace George Vaughn, but survived. On 29 September, his requested transfer came through, and he shifted to Royal Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 6''. By this time, Noltenius had successfully shot down another four enemy airplanes and three more balloons, raising his score to 13, with one pending. He shot down another balloon, and 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 ...
in his new squadron. Then a clash with Ulrich Neckel, his commanding officer, led to another move, this time to Royal Prussian ''
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 ...
''. He scored three victories for his new squadron on 23 October. Three more single-handed victories, on 28 October, 3 and 4 November, closed out his list of victims—his 21st and last officially credited victory was over an
Airco DH.4 The Airco DH.4 is a British two-seat biplane day bomber of the First World War. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber capable of defending itself. It was desig ...
bomber of the American
11th Aero Squadron The 11th Aero Squadron was a United States Army Air Service unit that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Bombardment Squadron, performing long-range bombing attacks on ...
. On 8 November, Noltenius received 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 ...
. His twentieth victory qualified him for the ''
Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...
'', but the Armistice three days later put an end to those awards. He had flown 141 combat sorties by war's end.


Postwar life

After the Armistice ended the war, Germany was in chaos. Revolutionists from both extremes of the political spectrum fought for governance of their nation. Noltenius enrolled in 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 ...
'' for the
German Revolution of 1918-1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...
, fighting against the communist
Spartacus League The Spartacus League () was a Marxism, Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the International Group by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other members of the So ...
revolutionists attempting to take over Germany. He then completed his medical studies. Once he qualified as a doctor, he moved his family to South America. He returned to Germany in 1933, and again took up flying. Noltenius became involved in racial research, dealing with the concepts of a
master race The master race ( ) is a pseudoscientific concept in Nazi ideology, in which the putative Aryan race is deemed the pinnacle of human racial hierarchy. Members were referred to as ''master humans'' ( ). The Nazi theorist Alfred Rosenberg b ...
, including the Hamitic theory.Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell (1993). ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps'', 1914–1918. Oxford: Grub Street In 1936, Noltenius was one of the German flying veterans asked by
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 ...
historians to contribute his extensive diaries to the government archives because the ''Jagdeschwader III'' war diary was incomplete. He obliged them. As a result, historians found that the wing's total air victories during its nine months of existence was found to amount to about 370 enemy aircraft destroyed. Just before 2 PM on 1 March 1936, Friedrich Noltenius took off from
Johannisthal Air Field The Johannisthal Air Field, located southeast of central Berlin, between Johannisthal (Berlin), Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany, Germany's first commercial airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first a ...
near Berlin. He crashed his Bücker Bü 131 biplane and died en route to hospital.


His legacy

In addition to German historians' use of his diaries in 1936, in later years The League for Aviation Historians would publish English translations from Noltenius's war diaries, accompanied by his military service record ''(Kriegsranglisten-Auszug)''. These items were published in the League's magazine, the Cross and Cockade Journal, Volume 7, Number 4 (Winter 1966), p 307.


References


Sources

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External links


Friedrich Noltenius' record in ''Luftstreitkräfte'' service from TheAerodrome.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noltenius, Friedrich T. 1894 births 1936 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from Bremen (city) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1936 Proponents of scientific racism White supremacists Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany