Paul Billik (27 March 1891 – 8 March 1926) was a German World War I

fighter 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 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation.

His life before aviation

Billik was born on 27 March 1891 in Haatsch in the Silesian region of what was then Germany,VanWyngarden 2006, p. 67. and is now the Czech Republic. He attended school in Ratibor (

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

) until 1910. In 1911, he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division and was based in Brzeg. He was promoted to the rank of corporal, over the next two years. He was still in this regiment when World War I started, and he went into battle with them. In November 1915, he received a commission, apparently on the battlefield, which suggests uncommon courage and ability. In May 1916, he transferred to the ''Fliegertruppe'' for aviation training.

Flying service

Billik trained with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 4''. From January through 26 March 1917, he flew defensive patrols with ''Schutzstaffel 4'', and he trained to fly single seat

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

.Franks et al 1993, p. 74. On 1 April 1917 he joined the Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 12'', which was later commanded by Oberleutnant

Adolf Ritter von Tutschek Adolf Ritter von Tutschek (born Adolf von Tutschek)(16 May 1891 – 15 March 1918) ''Pour le Mérite, PlM'', Military Order of Max Joseph, MOMJ was a professional soldier turned aviator. As German air strategy turned towards concentrated air power ...

. He was assigned an Albatros fighter to fly, which he personalized with his good luck insignia of a pre-Nazi

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

.''Der Flieger-Album'' website https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.flieger-album.de/geschichte/portraits/portraitpaulbillik.php&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=7&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpaul%2Bbillik%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DMuw%26sa%3DG On 30 April, he downed a

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...

for his first victory; his victim was

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

ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant John Joseph Malone. Billik downed three more opposing fighters before being transferred, with number four being on 3 July 1917. Billik was rewarded with 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. He was reassigned the following day. His new unit was the Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 7 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 7 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 126 aerial victories (130 claimed) during the war, at the exp ...

'', commanded by Josef Jacobs. With them, he flew a Fokker Dr.I and scored once in August, twice in September, was wounded on 7 October, and claimed victory number eight on 12 December. As the year turned, Billik was appointed to command newly formed Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 52 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 52, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 52, 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 over 42 aerial victor ...

''. Although most of his pilots were recent graduates of aviation training, he brought with him four pilots from his old unit, along with an aircraft color scheme of black fuselages for the Jasta's Pfalz D.IIIs.Franks 2004, p. 31. Note: Though this source names 9 January 1918 as the date Billik assumed his new command, ''Above the Lines'' names 28 December 1917. The Pfalz was an underperforming airplane, but Billik was shrewd enough to modify tactics to minimise its limitations. On 7 February 1918, Billik led his new unit, by now nicknamed the "Black Squadron", to

Bersée Bersée () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in S ...

to support 6 Armee. Beginning on 9 March 1918, he began a five-month accumulation of successes. Scoring one or two victories per day, without the three, four, five, or six plane multiple victories of some other aces, he ran up a tally of 23 with his squadron, including successes over four British aces. On 28 March, he shot down Captain

John Lightfoot Trollope John Lightfoot Trollope, (30 May 1897 – 21 October 1958) was a British First World War flying ace, credited with 18 aerial victories, including seven in one day, the first British pilot to do so. Early life and background Trollope was born ...

No. 43 Squadron RAF Number 43 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Fighting Cocks'', was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron originally formed in April 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps. It saw distinguished service during two world wars, producing numerous Flying ace, ...

, who survived as a prisoner of war but had to have his left hand amputated. On 19 May, in a dogfight where the Germans were outnumbered, he downed ace Major Albert Desbrisay Carter of

No. 19 Squadron RAF No. 19 Squadron (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) is a Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to operate the Supermarine Spitfire. It currently operates the UK's Control and Reporting Centre from RAF ...

, who survived as a prisoner of war. Billik was slightly wounded in the encounter. On 1 June 1918, he shot the wing off British ace Captain William Cairnes' Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, sending it plummeting earthward in a high-speed spin; Cairnes (of No. 74 Squadron) did not survive. On 8 July, Billik killed ace Captain

Arthur Claydon Captain Arthur Claydon (25 September 1885 – 8 July 1918) was a British World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. Biography Claydon was one of five brothers, born in Deeping St. James, Lincolnshire. In 1902 he and his old ...

of No. 32 Squadron RAF. It was about this time that ''Jagdstaffel 52'' finally upgraded to

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

s and Dr.Is. On 25 July, Billik was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. On 10 August 1918, in a swirling confused dogfight, Billik was shot down and taken as a prisoner. He had been recommended for a

Pour le Merite Pour is a name which can be used as a surname and a given name: * Kour Pour (born 1987), American artist of Iranian and British descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * P ...

when his score sheet reached 20 victories. This award was Germany's highest decoration for valor, and one very seldom awarded to men from humble origin or from the non-commissioned ranks. His capture prevented the honor. In evaluating Billik's achievements as a fighter ace, he triumphed over few opponents in inferior airplanes, and many in superior ones. An Albatros or a Pfalz was considered a poorer combat aircraft than the Sopwith Camel, SE5a or Dolphin, yet Billik shot down nine Camels, seven SE5as and two Dolphins. Conversely, he shot down only six bombers among his 31 score; all modern well-armed craft.

Post war

Billik went into civil aviation after the war. He died in a landing accident in

Staaken Staaken () is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. History First mentioned in a 1273 deed as ''Stakene'' (from Middle Low German: ''staken'', "stakes") in the Mittelmark region of the Margraviate of Brandenbur ...

, Berlin, while piloting one of the world's first passenger aircraft, the Junkers F.13.Billik's page on The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/billik.php Retrieved 18 December 2012.

Decorations and awards

* Prussian military pilot badge *

, 1st and 2nd class * Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, with Swords

Inline citations

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. . * — ''Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War 1''. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2002. . * — ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1: Part 2'' Osprey Publishing, 2004. . * — ''Sopwith Pup Aces of World War 1'' Osprey Publishing, 2005. . * Shores, Christopher. ''British and Empire Aces of World War I''. Osprey Publishing, 2001. . * VanWyngarden, Greg. ''Pfalz Scout Aces of World War 1''.

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Billik, Paul 1891 births 1926 deaths People from Opava District Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Luftstreitkräfte personnel German World War I flying aces Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Germany Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1926