Leutnant Johannes Klein (died 1926) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with 16 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories.The Aerodrome website page on Klei

Retrieved 11 January 2010. He should not be confused with another Johannes Klein, who was actually the driver for and present during the assassination of

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inc ...

Biography

Johannes Klein's life is unknown before he began his aviation service. He became a fighter pilot in February 1917, and received his initial assignment to either Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 27 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 27 (german: Königliche Preussische Jagdstaffel Nr. 27), commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 27, was a "hunting group" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World Wa ...

'' or Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 29 Royal Prussian ''Jagdstaffel'' 29, commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 29, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score 76 aerial vic ...

''. Regardless of his exact assignment, he failed to score any aerial victories. He switched to Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 18 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 18 was a "hunting squadron" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History The Jasta was formed on 30 October 1916, at Halluin under 4th Armee auspic ...

'' in August 1917, and scored his first victories there, downing a Spad on 16 August 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 be ...

on 5 September. Klein then transferred to Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 15 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 15, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 15, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score over 150 aerial victor ...

'' as part of

Rudolf Berthold Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold (24 March 1891 – 15 March 1920) was a German flying ace of World War I. Between 1916 and 1918, he shot down 44 enemy planes—16 of them while flying one-handed. Berthold's perseverance, bravery, and willingness t ...

's swapping of personnel between the two units. Klein scored the remainder of his wins between 30 March and 25 September 1918. Klein was slightly wounded on 15 September 1918. He was awarded the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von 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 ...

on 19 September 1918,The Aerodrome website page on the Hohenzoller

Retrieved 11 January 2010. having previously earned the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914-1918'', p. 145 Johannes Klein died in 1926.

Sources

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914-1918''. Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. . * ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 1''. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2003. , . Year of birth missing 1926 deaths German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel {{Germany-airforce-bio-stub