Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Germa ...

'' Max Näther (24 August 18998 January 1919) HOH, IC, was a German

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, ...

ace fighter pilot who destroyed 26 enemy aircraft. He shot down ten

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

s and sixteen airplanes, including ten SPAD S.XIII fighters and a

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

. He was killed in his plane at the border of Germany during the Greater Poland uprising on 8 January 1919.

Early life and army service

Näther was born on 24 August 1899 in Tepliwoda,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...

, in what was then the eastern part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...

and is now Poland. He joined the German army in 1914, at age 15. He was wounded twice before being commissioned as ''Leutnant der Reserve'' on 11 August 1916, just before his 17th birthday. He won both the Second and First Class

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 ...

es during this time, the latter on 1 February 1916. In the summer of 1917, he volunteered for transfer to the Air Service.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 172

Aerial service

Näther took basic flight training in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. He then progressed to training with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 7'' (Replacement Detachment 7) at Brunswick. His final training was at ''Jastaschule I'' (Fighter Training School 1) in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, France. He graduated from ''Jastaschule I'' and was assigned to ''

Jagdstaffel 62 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 62, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 62, 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 more than 42 aerial ...

'' (Fighter Squadron 62) on 31 March 1918. He flew an all black Albatros D.Va with a personal insignia of a German national flag streaming from a slanted staff imposed on a white square painted on the side of the plane's fuselage just aft of the cockpit. Näther made his first aerial kill on 16 May 1918, over a Spad XIII. Then, in June, he reeled off a string of six more over enemy

s between the 1st and the 28th, becoming an ace on the 16th. Balloons were well defended by surrounding anti-aircraft and nearby patrols of fighter planes, and attacks on them were considered near suicidal. He became '' Staffelführer'' (Commander) on 7 July 1918, just before his 19th birthday. Näther took leave from 28 July to 21 August; he probably waited to change planes to a Fokker D.VII until after his return. In September, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of 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 ...

. He shot down another six that month, including two more balloons. On 26 September, he downed a Spad S.XIII in the morning and a balloon and another Spad S.XIII in the afternoon. He was slightly wounded the following day. He began October with back-to-back kills on the 9th and 10th. After another on the 18th, he incinerated his tenth and final balloon on the 23rd. As he returned from this mission, Näther was shot down by Jacques Swaab, but survived a fiery crash-landing. His final three kills were scored on 29 October. Coincidentally, although he had become eligible with his 20th and 21st on 10 October, he was nominated for the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Ea ...

on 29 October. His was one of several nominations that was not approved because of the war's end. Näther's 26 kills comprised over half those of his entire squadron. These included ten observation balloons and eleven fighters—ten SPAD S.XIIIs and a

Death in Greater Poland uprising

Näther was killed on 8 January 1919 during the Greater Poland uprising after World War I, by Polish ground fire while flying over

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

(now Chodziez) in the

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Notes

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 (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. . * ''Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1''. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2005. . * ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1: Part 2''. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2004. . * ''SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War I''. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing. Osprey Publishing, 2002. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Nather, Max 1899 births 1919 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from the Province of Silesia People from Ząbkowice Śląskie County Prussian Army personnel