Kurt Wissemann 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 ...

credited with five aerial victories.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved 14 September 2020

Biography

Born in

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...

, Wissemann trained as 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 ...

with ''Jastaschule 1'' (Fighter school 1) before being posted to '' Jasta 3'' on 28 May 1917. He claimed 5 victories during 1917, one of which was reputed to be top French ace Capitaine

Georges Guynemer Georges Marie Lodovic Jules Guynemer (, 24 December 1894 – 11 September 1917 Missing in action, MIA) was the second highest-scoring French Third Republic, French Flying ace, fighter ace with 54 victories during World War I, and a French ...

on 11 September. He was killed in action over

Westrozebeke Gedenkteken Slag bij Westrozebeke

Westrozebeke is a ...

, allegedly versus Rene Fonck but documentary evidence suggests it was more probably either Captain Reginald Hoidge or Captain

Geoffrey Hilton Bowman Group Captain Geoffrey Hilton "Beery" Bowman, (2 May 1891 – 25 March 1970) was an English First World War fighter ace credited with 32 victories. After attaining the rank of major in the Royal Flying Corps, he later became a group captain in ...

of No. 56 Squadron,

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 232

Sources of information

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''.

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. , . 1893 births 1917 deaths German World War I flying aces People from Elberfeld Military personnel from the Rhine Province Prussian Army personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel German military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down Military personnel from Wuppertal {{germany-mil-bio-stub