Sous Lieutenant Jacques Louis Ehrlich (1893-1953) was a French 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 19 aerial victories; he was one of the leading
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 ...
of the war.
Biography
Jacques Louis Ehrlich was born in Paris on 25 October 1893.
[''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', pp. 157 - 158]
He enlisted in the French army on 29 May 1913.
[''Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1'', p. 15.] Three and a half years later, in December 1916, he transferred to aviation. In May 1917, he was brevetted a pilot. Two months later, he was badly wounded while on a trench-strafing mission. He returned to duty in November as a newly promoted sergeant.
[The Aerodrome websit]
Accessed 19 December 2009. Beginning on 30 June 1918, he was one of a "wolf pack" of his squadron's pilots dedicated to the highly hazardous pursuit of destroying German observation balloons.
From that first victory, through the next two and a half triumphant months, he shared in the destruction of 15 enemy balloons, and shot down three others solo. On 1 August and on 15 September, he was credited with three victories each; on 17 July, he had two. After the 15 September feat of downing three balloons in two minutes,
he was recommended for both the ''
Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
'' and the ''
Médaille militaire
The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
''. Three days later, he was shot down and captured while scoring his last win. After scoring with three low-level gunnery runs, Ehrlich,
Paul Petit, and another wingman ran into 11
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 ...
s;
in the ensuing melee, it was uncertain whether Ehrlich fell to a Fokker or to ground fire. The day after that, he began his captivity as a newly commissioned ''
Sous lieutenant''.
[
His total of 18 balloons downed garnered him the sixth spot on the ]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 ...
list. He also shared a victory over an Albatros
An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds.
Albatross or Albatros may also refer to:
Animals
* Albatross (butterfly) or ''Appias'', a genus of butterfly
* Albatross (horse) (1968–1998), a Standardbred horse
Literature
* Albat ...
fighter.[''SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War I'', p. 60] one of five notable Jewish aces in France.[''Les cahiers du judaïsme'' 21-22 Alliance israélite universelle – 2007"Cinq As juifs se distinguent dont Jacques-Louis Ehrlich – dix-neuf avions et Drachens abattus -, Eugène Weismann, ... Jacques-Louis Ehrlich de l'escadrille 154, quinzième As dans le palmarès des aviateurs, demeure très humble au sujet ..."] His score was matched by a Jewish-born German ace, Wilhelm Frankl
Wilhelm Frankl (20 December 1893 – 8 April 1917), ''Pour le Mérite'', Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, was a World War I flying ace, fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He scored his first aerial victory with a carbine ...
, who had converted to Catholicism to marry his Austrian bride.[
Ehrlich died in his native Paris on 10 August 1953.][
]
Honors and awards
Citation for Médaille militaire
"Remarkable pursuit pilot who has distinguished himself by his exceptional audacity and tenacity which have earned him twelve victories in one month. He flamed three balloons in a few minutes. One wound. Three citations." Médaille militaire citation, 10 September 1918[
]
Sources of information
References
*''Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1''. Jon Guttman. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2005. , .
* ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'' Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing, (1993). .
* ''SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces)'', Jon Guttman. Oxford UK:Osprey Publishing, 2002. ,
External links
* (fr
List of victories, color profile of his plane
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehrlich, Jacques
1893 births
1953 deaths
French World War I flying aces
Military personnel from Paris
20th-century French Jews
Recipients of the Médaille militaire (France)
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)