Colonel Karl Christ (15 June 1897 – ) was a

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 ...

credited with five aerial victories. He returned to his nation's defense during early World War II.

Biography

Karl Christ was born on 15 June 1897 in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

, the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

, in 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 ...

. In January 1915, he joined the '' Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches'' (the German flying service). He trained with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung (Replacement Detachment) 6'' at Grosenheim.Franks et al 1993, p. 92. He began service with ''Kampfgeschwader 6''. By 1916, he was serving in ''Kampfgeschwader 5'', a tactical bomber wing subordinate to the German Supreme Command. During this period, Christ won both classes of 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 ...

. Christ was commissioned 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 23 March 1917 while serving with another bombing wing under the German Supreme Command—''Bombengeschwader 2''. In November 1917, he left Bogohl 2; the following month he joined

Jagdstaffel 28 Royal Württemberg Jagdstaffel 28, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 28, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squa ...

, a single-seat fighter squadron, for service through war's end. Between 14 May and 14 October 1918, he had five of his six victory claims confirmed, though details are lacking on the last pair.

World War II service

From 1 April 1941 through February 1942, Karl Christ was an

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

with a

Stuka The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

''geschwader'' in North Africa.

Awards

(1914) 2nd and 1st Class *''Hessische Tapferkeits-Medaille'' *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 5 June 1942 as ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' in Sturzkampfgeschwader 3Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 73.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * 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. , . * 1897 births Year of death missing German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from Darmstadt People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class {{germany-airforce-bio-stub