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 ...

'' Ludwig Luer 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 six aerial victories.

World War I service

Luer was transferred from ''Armee-Flug-Park'' 4 (Army Flight Park 4) to '' Jagdstaffel 27'', a

fighter squadron A squadron in an air force, or naval or army aviation service, is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, ...

, on 7 March 1917. At that time, he was ranked as an '' Offizierstellvertreter'' (Deputy Officer). By August 1917, he had been commissioned as a ''

''. On 14 August, he shot down an observation balloon west of

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

at 1637 hours; that same day, he received 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 ...

First Class.Note: German regulations made a prior award of the Second Class a prerequisite for the First Class.Franks et al 1993, p. 160. On 9 September 1917, Luer shot down a 70 Squadron

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 b ...

(serial number B3916) over Frezenberg. At 1010 hours on 24 October, he downed a SPAD from Naval Ten northeast of

Zonnebeke Zonnebeke (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde (Zonnebeke), Zandvoorde and Zonnebek ...

. His fourth victory came on 5 November 1917, when he destroyed another Camel. On 5 January 1918, Luer left ''Jasta 27'' to become the first ''

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' (, " Formation leader") was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First ...

'' (Commanding Officer) of '' Jagdstaffel 62''. He would score his fifth victory with them on the evening of 22 April, when he scored another SPAD over Mezieres. He would tally one more victory on 16 May 1918, over a SPAD over Montdidier. On 22 May, he went to hospital until 1 July. On 8 July 1918, he was relieved from combat duty.

Sources of information

References

* 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. , . German World War I flying aces Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) {{Germany-airforce-bio-stub