Oberleutnant Hans Kummetz (29 April 1890 – 11 January 1918) was a World War I

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 seven aerial victories.

Biography

Hans Kummetz was born on 29 April 1890 in Illowo, then part of 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 ...

but now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. His early military career is unknown, including any pilot training or early aviation service.Franks et al 1993, p. 152. However, he became the ''

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' (, " Formation leader") was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First ...

'' of one of the German air service's original

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, ...

s, ''

Jagdstaffel 1 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn ...

'' soon after its foundation, on 18 November 1916.The Aerodrome website's page on Jasta 1 (Retrieved 20 May 2013
/ref> The newly formed unit went into action in France on the Western Front. Kummetz would shoot down five enemy aircraft and a French

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 ...

, beginning 4 March 1917, with his sixth victory coming on 17 August 1917. He was then posted to ''Jastaschule II'' (Fighter School 2) on 12 September 1917. It is unknown whether he was an instructor or a pupil, with the former being probable. On 12 November, he returned to ''Jasta 1'', which had been repositioned in Italy. On 20 November 1917, he reassumed command, which he would hold until his death. He shot down 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 ...

over Villamata for his seventh victory. On 1 January 1918, Kummetz claimed another Sopwith Camel, but the claim was unconfirmed. On 11 January 1918, Hans Kummetz clashed with Camels from

No. 66 Squadron RAF No. 66 Squadron was a Royal Flying Corps and eventually Royal Air Force aircraft squadron. History World War I The squadron was first formed at RAF Filton, Bristol, on 30 June 1916 as a training squadron equipped with Royal Aircraft Factor ...

over

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian language, Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th ...

, Italy. He was downed and

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

; his most likely killer was Lieutenant H. T. Thompson. During his military career, he had won both the Second and First Class

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 ...

Sources of information

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. , . 1890 births 1918 deaths People from Działdowo County Military personnel from East Prussia Prussian Army personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel German World War I flying aces German military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down {{germany-airforce-bio-stub