Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein (20 January 1892 – 21 March 1918)

HOH Water () is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, which is nearly colorless apart from an inherent hint of blue. It is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as the "univer ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

's MMO 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 16 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website's page on Hanstein http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hanstein.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. Hanstein rose through the

enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

s to become 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 ...

in command of a fighter squadron. Rather unusually, this

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

usually served in Bavarian units; he rose to command of Royal Bavarian '' Jagdstaffel 35''. After shooting down 16 enemy aircraft, including three observation balloons, Hanstein was killed in aerial combat on 21 March 1918.

Early life and service

Ludwig Hanstein was born on 20 January 1892 in

Sudwalde Sudwalde is a municipality in the district of Diepholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Al ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

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 ...

. His life and military service are unknown until he began aviation service in early 1916. In May 1916, he was posted to a Bavarian unit, ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 9.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918,'' p. 123 While repelling a British strategic bombing raid on 12 October 1916, he used a

Fokker D.II __NOTOC__ The Fokker D.II was a biplane fighter designed by the Fokker Aircraft Company () during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's () Imperial German Air Service () and the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops () of the Austro-Hu ...

fighter plane to force down a

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps ...

Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith Strutter is a British single- or two-seat Multirole combat aircraft, multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor configuration, tractor fighter and the first Briti ...

onto

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Airfield by wounding its pilot through the neck.

''
Jagdstaffel 16 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was founded from two ''ad hoc'' predecesso ...
'' service

Taking a transfer as a ''

Vizefeldwebel '' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...

'' on 31 October 1916, Hanstein shifted to Royal Bavarian ''

Jagdstaffel 16 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was founded from two ''ad hoc'' predecesso ...

'',The Aerodrome website page on ''Jasta 16'' http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta16.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. whose theater of operations was generally the French sector of the Western Front. Hanstein scored again on 17 March 1917; by 25 September, he had added nine more to his tallyThe Aerodrome website's page on ''Jasta 35'' http://www.theaerodrome.com/services/germany/jasta/jasta35.php Retrieved 10 January 2010. to become Jasta 16's first ace. On that same day, having been commissioned a

, he was posted to command of '' Jagdstaffel 35''.

''Jagdstaffel 35'' service: killed in action

On 17 October 1917, Hanstein received Bavaria's Military Merit Order Fourth Class with Swords.The Aerodrome website page on the Military Merit Order http://www.theaerodrome.com/medals/germany/bavaria_omm.php Retrieved 8 February 2013. Hanstein scored his thirteenth victory on 12 November 1917 and scored twice more in January 1918. On 20 January 1918, he received the Knight's Cross with Swords of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

. He also temporarily relinquished command to Bruno Justinius on 20 January and went on leave. On 14 February 1918, while on leave, Hanstein received an award of the Military Merit Order, this time with Crown and Swords. He succeeded again to the command of the ''jasta'' on 4 March 1918, after Justinius was killed in action and his successor transferred. About ten minutes after scoring his final victory on 21 March 1918, Hanstein was killed in action by Herbert Sellars and his

aerial observer Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush, and that album's title track * "Aerials" (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands * Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) ...

Charles C. Robson. Sellars' combat report stated, "I did a sharp turn to the left, my observer firing at 75 yards range into the nearest enemy aircraft, which burst into flames and was seen to crash north of

Morchies Morchies () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France southeast of Arras. Population See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department The following is a list of the 887 communes of the Pas ...

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. . * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Part 1 of Albatros Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * ''Early German Aces of World War I.'' Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2006. . * ''Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I.'' Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2007. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanstein, Ludwig 1892 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down German military personnel killed in World War I Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Diepholz (district) Military personnel from the Province of Hanover Prussian Army personnel

Early life and service

''Jagdstaffel 16 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was founded from two ''ad hoc'' predecesso ...'' service

''Jagdstaffel 35'' service: killed in action

Sources of information

References

''
Jagdstaffel 16 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was founded from two ''ad hoc'' predecesso ...
'' service