Leutnant Georg von Hantelmann (9 October 1898 – 7 September 1924) was a German fighter ace credited with winning 25 victories during

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 ...

. It was notable that these victories included three opposing aces shot down within the same week in September 1918– David Putnam, Maurice Boyau, and Joseph Wehner.The Aerodrome website's page on Hantelmann http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hantelmann.php Retrieved 11 February 2013.

Early life and service

Georg von Hantelmann was born into a minor Junker family on 9 October 1898. He was born in Rokietnice,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, 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 ...

(present day Rokietnica, Poland). He was the eldest son. He joined the army in 1916. He was commissioned as a

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 ...

on 15 June 1917 before he transferred to aerial service with 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 ...

Aerial service

Hantelmann began training at ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 9'' on 20 September 1917. Upon graduation from this basic aviation training, he moved on to learn to fly a fighter plane at the ''Jastaschule'' in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, France. His initial assignment as a fighter pilot took him to '' Jagdstaffel 18'', commanded by Rudolf Berthold, on 6 February 1918.Franks et al 1993, pp. 123-124. When Berthold changed commands on 18 March 1918 to take charge of '' Jagdstaffel 15'', he took many of his pilots with him in a highly unusual mass exchange of personnel. Hantelmann was one of the pilots who accompanied Berthold to the new unit. Once he arrived at his new squadron, Hantelmann had his personal insignia of a "totenkopf"-style skull and crossbones painted on the fuselage sides of his Albatros D.Va reflected his prior service in the 17th Braunschweig "Death's Head" Hussar Regiment. Hantelmann posted his first victory claim on 29 May 1918, but it went unconfirmed. Thus, on 6 June when Jasta 15 dived into battle, he was eager for success. As his squadron-mate Joachim von Ziegsar recalled, "Like a steer unbound, the aircraft with the Braunschweig Hussar's crest dived onto the enemy first." A British

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 ...

fell before the young Prussian's guns. It was the first of five wins in June; on the 26th, Hantelmann became an ace. It was during this period that Kurt Wüsthoff borrowed Hantelmann's Fokker and flew his final mission. Hantlemann scored again on 17 August, but it was his second victory on 12 September 1918 that was notable. Hantlemann shot down American SPAD S.XIII pilot David Putnam, a leading ace of the nascent US Army Air Service who had 13 victories of his own, for victory number eight. Just four days and six wins later, Hantlemann scored an even more notable triumph when he shot down French ace Maurice Boyau, who had a score list of 21 balloons and 14 airplanes. Two days and two victories after that, Hantlemann shot down American ace Joseph Wehner, Frank Luke's wingman, for number 16. The young German ace ended September with 18 victories. On 21 October 1918, the day of his 22nd confirmed victory, Hantelmann 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 ...

First Class, as well as the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. He was now past the 20 victories then required for the award of Germany's highest decoration for valor, 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 ...

.Pour le Merite website http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Retrieved 11 February 2013. Hantelmann was recommended for the Blue Max on 3 November 1918. However, the

's defeat scotched the award. Nevertheless, Hantlemann ended the war with 25 confirmed and 5 unconfirmed aerial victories. All of his confirmed victories were on the Fokker D.VII, making him one of the most successful pilots in the type.

Postwar life

Hantelmann settled on a farm in Charcice, Prussia. On 8 October 1922 he married Elisabeth Countess Finck von Finckenstein (1904–1981), daughter of Bernhard Graf Finck von Finckenstein (1868–1913, Madlitz branch of the family) and his wife Agneta née von Ramdohr (1875–1919) in the Garrison Church in Potsdam. Their son Wolf-Dietrich von Hantelmann was born in 1923. He disappeared on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. On 7 September 1924, Polish poachers crossed the nearby border, and murdered Hantelmann when he discovered them trespassing on his property. His wife suffered a miscarriage as the result of his death

Inline citations

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. . * Franks, Norman. ''Albatros Aces of World War 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * Franks, Norman; VanWyngarden, Greg. ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War I, Part 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2003. . * Holmes, Tony; Wyllie, Iain; Postlethwaite, Mark. ''Aircraft of the Aces: Legends of the Skies''. Osprey, 2004. . * Van Wyngarden, Greg. ''Richthofen's Circus: Jagdgeschwader Nr 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2004. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hantelmann, Georg von 1898 births 1924 deaths German murder victims German untitled nobility German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Poznań County Military personnel from the Province of Posen Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class