Gerhard Fieseler (15 April 1896 – 1 September 1987) was a German

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 ...

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

champion, and aircraft designer and manufacturer.

From birth to the 1918 armistice

Born in

Glesch Bergheim (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Berchem'') is a German town, 22 km west of Cologne and the capital of the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (district). The town's Niederaußem district is one of the most important suppliers for energy from lignites in ...

(near Cologne), Fieseler joined the Air Service of the Imperial German Army in 1915. A crash during training hospitalized him until February 1916, but he had become an observation pilot by October 1916, flying first with ''

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 ...

'' 243, then with ''Feldflieger Abteilung'' 41. In 1917 he qualified as a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

and was posted on 12 July to the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

, initially flying a

Roland D.II The LFG Roland D.II was a German single-seat fighter of World War I. The type was manufactured by Luftfahrzeug Gesellschaft, and also by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke under license. Design and development The D.II used a plywood monocoque fuselage. Two la ...

with '' Jagdstaffel 25''. Fieseler scored his first aerial victory on 20 August 1917. A serious illness removed him from active duty from 21 September until 5 November 1917.Franks ''et al.'' 1993, pp. 106-107. Fieseler would not score his second success until 30 January 1918. He was eventually credited with nineteen confirmed aerial victories, with three others unconfirmed. Commissioned in October 1918, he was the highest-scoring German

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

on the Eastern Front to survive World War I. He was awarded the Golden Military Merit Cross and 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 and second class.

Between the World Wars

Following the war, he returned to printing, but yearned to return to flying. In 1926, he closed his print shop in

Eschweiler Eschweiler (, Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ) is a municipality in the district of Aachen (district), Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany on the river Inde, near the German-Dutch-Belgian border, and about east of Aachen and w ...

and became a flight instructor with the

Raab-Katzenstein Raab-Katzenstein was a 1920s German aircraft manufacturer based in Kassel. History The main character of the company was its designer Gerhard Fieseler. Following World War I, he returned to printing, but yearned to return to flying. In 1926, he ...

aircraft company in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

and continued to hone his flying skills, becoming an accomplished stunt pilot. In 1927, he performed a particularly daring routine in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

and started to command increasingly high fees for appearances. In 1928 while working at

, he designed his own stunt plane, the

Fieseler F1 Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 Tigerschwalbe, also known as the Fieseler F 1 Tigerschwalbe, was a German twin-seat biplane trainer aircraft designed by Gerhard Fieseler by the end of the 1920s. Design and development In December 1930, Fieseler was invited ...

(also known as the

Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 Tigerschwalbe Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 Tigerschwalbe, also known as the Fieseler F 1 Tigerschwalbe, was a German twin-seat biplane trainer aircraft designed by Gerhard Fieseler by the end of the 1920s. Design and development In December 1930, Fieseler was invited ...

), which was offered and sold to a Swedish company called AB Svenska Järnvägverkstäderna (ASJ), which built 25 of the type for Swedish Air Force in the beginning of the 1930s. In 1930, Raab-Katzenstien was bankrupt, and Fieseler decided to strike out on his own. Using money he had been saving from his aerobatics, he bought the Segelflugzeugbau Kassel

sailplane A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplan ...

factory and renamed it

Fieseler Flugzeugbau The Gerhard Fieseler Werke (GFW) in Kassel was a German aircraft manufacturer of the 1930s and 1940s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. History Gerhard Fieseler, the ...

. Although he continued with some sailplane manufacturing, from 1932, he set up to start manufacturing sports planes of his own design. A

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

member, Fieseler won contracts to licence-build military aircraft for the new

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 ...

in 1935. Real success came the following year, when his firm won a design contract against entries from

Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...

and

Siebel Siebel was a German aircraft manufacturer founded in 1937 in Halle an der Saale.Gunston p.424 History It originated in the Klemm-Flugzeugwerke Halle that had been founded in 1934 as a branch of Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm in Böblingen. Its nam ...

for a

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

liaison/observation plane, that his firm then went on to produce as the

Fieseler Fi 156 The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, "stork") is a liaison aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler. Its nickname of '' Storch'' was derived from the lengthy legs of its main landing gear, which gave the aircraft ...

''Storch''.

World War II

''Gerhard Fieseler Werke'' produced aircraft for the German military throughout World War II.

Post World War II

Following the war, Fieseler spent some time in US custody. When he was released, he re-opened part of this factory and spent some years building automotive components. He also published an autobiography, ''Meine Bahn am Himmel (My Road in the Sky)''. Fieseler died in Kassel, aged 91. The aerobatic manoeuvre

Fieseler The Gerhard Fieseler Werke (GFW) in Kassel was a German aircraft manufacturer of the 1930s and 1940s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. History Gerhard Fieseler, the ...

is named after him.

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. , .

Endnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fieseler, Gerhard 1896 births 1987 deaths Aerobatic pilots Aircraft designers German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia Military personnel from the Rhine Province Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross